«Something terribly important has been missing from discussions orbiting around the Mohammed cartoons.
(...)
What's been missing has been an acknowledgment that blasphemy isn't just something that must be tolerated. It's something that possesses a special political value of its own. Blasphemy, in short, is a good thing.
(...)
Formally speaking, in democratic discourse there's nothing special about religious doctrines. Like other ideologies, religion instructs and even commands people about what they should value and how they should conduct themselves. And it does so in a powerful and effective way. Ongoing controversies concerning gay marriage, abortion, war, hijab, pornography, and social services offer clear examples of this. Many clerics actually tell their congregations how to vote.
It's simply not acceptable for a participant to enter public debate, have such a powerful effect upon it, and then claim immunity from the sort of treatment to which other participants are subject.
(...)
You see, religion not only enters the public discourse. It does so on the basis of a special claim secular theories don't make (or at least shouldn't make). Religion, unlike secular doctrines, claims that its views are God's views, that its claims are absolutely right, grounded in some transcendent authority. The rest of us are mere human beings, prone to error, conflicts of interest, and foolishness. God and God's views are of course, in a word, superior.
(...)
It's hard for the religious to understand this, but there are those among us who think most religion not only generally false but also in many ways immoral and detrimental to our society. We critics may not be right in this, but as part of democratic discourse ours is a legitimate and important position.
(...)
For myself, I think the views of atheist Albert Camus morally superior to those of Jesus.
(...)
Resistance to racism, religious intolerance, and imperialism is terribly important, especially today. But resisting them should not occlude the importance of resisting theocracy and authoritarianism, too. Those who support a democratic society must take care not only to honour its traditions of subverting bigotry, racism, and imperialism. We must also, as leftists, do what we've done countless times in the past, defend and stand in clear solidarity with those who are being attacked by theocrats. As part of our defence and solidarity, it's crucial that we publicly affirm the value of blasphemy, including the mockery of religious figures like Mohammed. (...)»
(...)
What's been missing has been an acknowledgment that blasphemy isn't just something that must be tolerated. It's something that possesses a special political value of its own. Blasphemy, in short, is a good thing.
(...)
Formally speaking, in democratic discourse there's nothing special about religious doctrines. Like other ideologies, religion instructs and even commands people about what they should value and how they should conduct themselves. And it does so in a powerful and effective way. Ongoing controversies concerning gay marriage, abortion, war, hijab, pornography, and social services offer clear examples of this. Many clerics actually tell their congregations how to vote.
It's simply not acceptable for a participant to enter public debate, have such a powerful effect upon it, and then claim immunity from the sort of treatment to which other participants are subject.
(...)
You see, religion not only enters the public discourse. It does so on the basis of a special claim secular theories don't make (or at least shouldn't make). Religion, unlike secular doctrines, claims that its views are God's views, that its claims are absolutely right, grounded in some transcendent authority. The rest of us are mere human beings, prone to error, conflicts of interest, and foolishness. God and God's views are of course, in a word, superior.
(...)
It's hard for the religious to understand this, but there are those among us who think most religion not only generally false but also in many ways immoral and detrimental to our society. We critics may not be right in this, but as part of democratic discourse ours is a legitimate and important position.
(...)
For myself, I think the views of atheist Albert Camus morally superior to those of Jesus.
(...)
Resistance to racism, religious intolerance, and imperialism is terribly important, especially today. But resisting them should not occlude the importance of resisting theocracy and authoritarianism, too. Those who support a democratic society must take care not only to honour its traditions of subverting bigotry, racism, and imperialism. We must also, as leftists, do what we've done countless times in the past, defend and stand in clear solidarity with those who are being attacked by theocrats. As part of our defence and solidarity, it's crucial that we publicly affirm the value of blasphemy, including the mockery of religious figures like Mohammed. (...)»
(Peter Fosl na The Philosopher´s Magazine; ler na íntegra.)
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