I have worked at The Daily Reveille for seven semesters now, all of them in opinion. I was a columnist for three, a managing editor for one and opinion editor for three. This section has never been afraid of controversy, nor will it ever be. We have published the work of individuals from all spectra of politics, beliefs and persuasions. This too, will never change if the paper retains its courage.
There are plenty of other things I wish I could have written about today, but I cannot. Since Alice Wack’s cartoon depicting three angry Muslim radicals incensed over the depiction of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper appeared letters have been coming in questioning why we ran the cartoon and even our right to do so.
I tend to tread carefully in the issues of religion. I was raised, for the most part, as a Reformed Presbyterian and still remain a Christian, though, as anyone who knows me will tell you, not a very good one. I will never castigate anyone for what they believe in or how they practice their faith. In this same vein I expect individuals, regardless of their beliefs, to accept the rules of a secular society.
Was Alice Wack’s cartoon offensive? For religious Muslims who see depictions of their prophet as blasphemous, perhaps. However, Alice’s reproduction of one of the offensive images was not intended to be an endorsement of such, but merely to illustrate an issue that, at the time, was not being reported as widely as it is now.
I’ve known Alice as long as the two of us have been students here at this University, and we have both worked at this newspaper for the same length of time. I know her to be one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have met in my 22 years. She has not one indecent bone in her body, which is much more than I can claim for myself. So, I believe folks might understand why I take the criticism of her personally. Not, of course, that I don’t believe this criticism should be illegal or not done.
We are a free society, and I begrudge no one their right to speak their piece. What enrages me is that some individuals believe that their faith or their notion of tolerance warrants them protection from criticism of their beliefs, but when they themselves protest they act far more drastically than just objecting to the cartoon or boycotting Danish products, which are acceptable methods of protest, and go so far as to stray beyond the boundaries of law.
I make no accusations, but out of individuals who are writing, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, no one seems to have deplored the fact that the illustrators of the original cartoons are in hiding, that demonstrators have burnt Scandinavian embassies and that a Jordanian newspaper editor, Jihad Momani, has been fired and jailed for running the cartoons and declaring them, according to Newsweek, as silly. Apparently, these actions aren’t as contemptible as the fact that our newspaper has allowed one of its cartoonists to publish a cartoon.
Freedom of speech, in my mind, is absolute. Whether it is Collins Phillips in the Quad, a man flying a purple and gold Confederate flag while tailgating or someone writing a letter to call me a son-of-a-bitch, that is a sacred right to me. This newspaper’s job is twofold. We report the news, which is the duty of news, sports and entertainment. My section holds up the other end of that arrangement: we are, through our columnists, cartoonists and the letters we receive the voice of this campus.
In my own columns, I stake out what I believe is closest to the truth. I believe in little or no regulation on the behavior of individuals. The only limitation I believe there is on speech is slander, or, when written, libel. Blasphemy, while it might fly in a church, mosque or temple, has no place in our secular society of laws. This may seem revolutionary to some, but I simply believe that the government has no right to stop someone from being offended.
Some, including the obtuse fools who are running this country, believe that the press has a responsibility to not step on sensitive toes. I don’t. In fact, I am happy to read these letters; at least folks are reading.
So, Alice Wack will keep drawing her cartoons, as will new cartoonists, hired last week before all of this started, Pike Barkerding and Jamar Simien, and I will continue to write my columns, as will everyone else who works for me, regardless of who is upset. If you have concerns, send us a letter. Until then, let freedom ring and the chips fall where they may.
 
Ryan is a history senior. Contact him at [email protected]