The Right to Offend
Please follow the link to read the excellent speech Ayaan Hirsi Ali delivered in Berlin on Thursday, February 9, to remind us how important it is not to sacrifice or diminish or negate the rights that define us.
Here only a tiny poignant excerpt:
I am here to defend the right to offend.
It is my conviction that the vulnerable enterprise called democracy cannot exist without free expression, particularly in the media. Journalists must not forgo the obligation of free speech, which people in other hemispheres are denied.
It is my conviction that the vulnerable enterprise called democracy cannot exist without free expression, particularly in the media. Journalists must not forgo the obligation of free speech, which people in other hemispheres are denied.
[...]
Berlin is a city of optimism. Communism failed. The wall was broken down. Things may seem difficult and confusing today. But I am optimistic that the virtual wall, between lovers of liberty and those who succumb to the seduction and safety of totalitarian ideas will also, one day, come down.
Berlin, 9.02.06
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Berlin, 9.02.06
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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