Free To Be You And Me

Good piece by Christopher Hitchens on the Salman Rushdie affair, and its aftermath. Self-censorship has become the order of the day.

Freedom of expression must include the ability to criticize others, which means some folks will be offended. Unfortunately, a lot of people around the world, probably a majority, think that certain beliefs--religious ones especially--should be above criticism. The opposite is true. The more strongly held the beliefs, and the more central they are to people's lives, the more important it is that others be allowed to question them, even in ways that may seem hurtful.

I don't expect people who support theocracy to agree with me. What's so disheartening is that many who live in liberal democracies seem to have lost their backbone on this issue.