Daniel Keyes

I accept no man’s authority to approve or disapprove my right to publish something.

Hear, hear!

While the Danish cartoon debate is old news, the free speech debate is as relevant as ever. In light of the release of Levant’s new book, Shakedown, I decided I’d share an essay I wrote on this subject for my “Language of Persuasion” class about a year ago. In the paper, I defend the thesis that the Danish cartoon riots were not about cartoons at all – Muslim fundamentalists used them to fuel outrage and create fear, which became a powerful tool in an organized effort to attack free speech, and the Western media submitted to that fear. Levant was one of the few who did not, and he was taken to the human rights tribunal for it.

Read it here: Terror as a persuasive medium in the attack on free speech

The Danish cartoon scandal was not about cartoons at all. It was about the freedom of speech. The riots were an organized campaign designed to silence any criticism of fundamentalist Islam and it managed to strike fear in the hearts of the Western media. Fear prevailed over the freedom of speech during that violent time. But the battle is far from over. If the Media realizes that submitting to fear will only encourage more violence the next time someone speaks out, and if they approach sensitive issues with more courage the next time, free speech will reign once again.