I was trying to avoid comment on the Gillian Gibbons case, since it goes without saying that (a) she was a decent person with an innocent intent, and (b) Sudan is one of the most reprehensible nation-states on the planet, and it's difficult to think of Sudanese leaders ever doing good.But the Islamic conservatives who protested independently on Nov. 30, demanding Gibbons' execution, raised my ire further. Regardless of her innocence in naming a teddy bear, blasphemy is a basic, integral part of freedom of speech that must be accepted by people that intend to live on this planet in this century. You hear that, religious fundamentalists? I'm all for mutual respect, but the Enlightenment took place 300 years ago, and it is not being revoked by morons referencing their God or Allah or Yahweh. I'm back on my Salman Rushdie high horse of 20 years ago. Death to those who call for fatwas! If you're ready to kill others for their perceived blasphemy, get the hell off my planet.
6 comments:
what you don't get, Loring, is that they never had the enlightenment. It's like the Appalachian folk.
So? It's like the Ottoman Empire. "Here's the benefits of the scientific method. You don't want it, you'll get your ass kicked." Acceptance of Enlightenment concepts is non-negotiable for advancing the species, as far as I'm concerned.
So how come some evolve and some devolve?
I just got done reading a very fascinating book called "A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World" by Greg Clark that tries to answer that question. The review in The Nation magazine called it absurd social Darwinism, which was kinda cruel, I think the author had some very good and interesting intentions to learn why some cultures want to drag themselves down...
The Enlightenment was about ideas. True Believers are immune to ideas--they only have ONE idea (the content varies), and they'll kill you if you don't agree with it. They're a toxic gene in the human DNA and the leading cause of death over the centuries.
Looks like al-Bashir will gain some political capital out of all of this by pardoning the teacher while the chattel call for the death penalty. Is this crass exploitation of the little people? Sure, I wouldn't be surprised if the Sudanese government wanted the protests, to make the government look more reasonable. But it takes two to tango. Lumpen proletariat who get riled up by religious leaders may be victims, but they're also perpetrators.
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