serious thinking time

A coworker of mine forwarded me an article today by Bruce Bawer titled An Anatomy of Surrender. Here's a link to the article. I highly suggest you read it. The author discusses current disturbing acts of suppression concerning freedom of speech specifically related to writings or other works of art criticizing or even just discussing Islam in a "negative" light. I put quotations around negative because the use of that term depends on who you're talking to.

Following is an excerpt that really struck me.

Last year brought another cartoon crisis—this time over Swedish artist Lars Vilks’s drawings of Mohammed as a dog, which ambassadors from Muslim countries used as an excuse to demand speech limits in Sweden. CNN reporter Paula Newton suggested that perhaps “Vilks should have known better” because of the Jyllands-Posten incident—as if people who make art should naturally take their marching orders from people who make death threats.*

*bold font mine

Just yesterday Parfait and I were discussing how easily we've begun to give up our freedoms as a people. This article was thought provoking and I think that's exactly what we all need to be doing: thinking and questioning. We need to not be afraid to question what's happening around us, even if those questions may be upsetting to oneself or someone else. Does Islam support violence? If so, do we need to be "respectful" of that religion and therefore condone that violence? No. This is actually pretty hard for me to write about. I feel that there's a large part of my mind that's been conditioned to be accepting of another person's religious beliefs and I think that's how a lot of people think. But when that acceptance of a belief degrades into an acceptance of atrocious acts of violence we need to question what's supporting our passivity. Is it fear? Is it laziness? Or is it a feeling of helplessness? I can say for myself that it's definitely a combination of all three. I don't know what I can do, how I can do it or what the repercussions might be. Not just the repercussions for myself but for other people as well. Being raised in the Mormon religion has helped me realize the misunderstandings and prejudices that can result from lumping members of a faith together. Just became one Mormon believes something doesn't mean all Mormons believe it or that the Mormon faith even teaches it. The same applies to followers of any religion, including Muslims. But being extra careful to separate individuals from a group can also fail to acknowledge the principles or laws that a religion does in fact teach. Clearly, I don't know enough about Islam to be making many statements but I also know that the fear of not knowing enough and the fear of hurting the few individuals who might be an exception to the rule keeps me from making any statements.

After seeing an exhibit at El Museo del Barrio I told Parfait that I was envious of the artists' work we saw because they seemed like they actually believed in something and wanted to make a change. I told him I could never make art like that because I don't believe in anything. Upon further reflection I realized this was inaccurate. It's not that I don't care about anything (though when I'm depressed or really upset, as I was then, I literally do stop caring, and that's difficult) it's that I don't know what to do and I feel completely helpless and like I don't know anything so who am I too judge others? When there are so many unknown variables how can I make a strong statement, one that I truly believe in?