Agents of ill will, not piety, are villains of peace
The bloody attacks on French cartoonists have the Western media talking about press freedom, but the hail of bullets that cut down innocent lives in Paris is about much more than that.
The shootings were a pointedly political attack, a premeditated sneak attack, a dagger in the heart of Marianne, an assault not just on a tradition of liberty, but reason and civilization itself.
It is perhaps inevitable that early reactions to the shock should be self-reflective: What does this mean for freedom of speech in France? What does it mean for the future of political satire? If a red line was crossed editorially, is the right response to pull back, or double down, asserting the right to offend? All of these are important questions, and while it seems everyone has an opinion on the matter, there are few easy answers.
