Je suis Charlie – I am Charlie. The rallying cry is reverberating around the world of supporters of free speech and freedom of expression after the 7 January massacre in which 12 people were killed at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France.
The tragedy at Charlie Hebdo has provoked international debate over freedom of speech, forgiveness and the maturity of the global conversation.
Times are changing. We preserve our right to poke fun at incongruity, such as violence in the name of God. At the same time global outcry has demanded that we recognize Muslim extremist do not represent the beliefs of the faith of Islam any more than we can say the Klu Klux Clan represent the mainstream beliefs of Christianity.
The global conversation is maturing.
And the sad truth is it took 12 deaths of dedicated journalists to raise the bar of this conversation.
Forgiveness is the next conversation. How do we forgive such atrocity, without in any way endorsing it? Without forgiveness, we will perpetuate the cycle of hatred and indifference that leads to such acts.
It is time to call out the thought-leaders.
It is time that our planet began acting as one people who deeply care for each other.
Hatred is as much a response to indifference as is to hatred.
But I must first be outraged and angry.
Forgiveness is a conversation for tomorrow.
Je suis triste. I am sad.
Thought provoking
Hello Teresa.
I am sad as well and sometimes I am happy and there are times when I am affected by many other my emotions. This is the natural state of the human condition. So too is separateness and duality. The effects of external separateness and duality are too complex to comprehend. We can try. But does this just create debate, opinions and more separateness? Who is right and who is wrong? Will we let judgments and criticisms be our focus or can we simply “be the change we want to see in the world”?
Freedom of speech is desirable, so is respect. Violence is not. Violence deepens our pain and suffering. Pain is inevitable, suffering can be a choice. Total responsibility for our inner self can put us a bit closer to this choice. So too can be the desire to heal all separation both externally and internally. Healing the separation from our own internal love can bring us more understanding of ourselves, if we extend that understanding to others, forgiveness can be part of a meaningful and universal focus.
“Blaming suffocates healing; responsibility regenerates — ” ( No Stone Unturned, The Path to Freedom )
A line from my poem, Findings.
“I found that the responsibility for all our suffering lies in the battle within, and
this enabled less blame, for to blame is to lose that battle”.
Oneness, unity and love are our natural state as well. Are we ready to make the choice?
LOve Steve.
Thanks you for the beautiful, thoughtful response Steve. 🙂
Unfortunately, this is tragedy because it`s in Europe. But what about the thousands killed in Nigeria by Boko Haram? What about Palestine? What about Siria? what about DOnbass and Lugansk???
I couldn’t agree more. It would be wonderful if the global media shone the light on the darkest corners. I believe we are the ones to bring those stories to the media. For we are the media. And when we get the photos and the stories out, change will come. If you want to write some blogs on this topic, I’m happy to look at reposting them for you.
Freedom of Expression does not mean Freedom to insult. There is a huge difference between the two. Hope the world will understand one day. I am a Muslim and i haven’t insulted any Religion up to date.
I know it is difficult, and I am not sure exactly how we move past. But was thought provoking and I do hope as a species we can learn to respect one another.
It is terrible to see innocent persons killed and all in the name of a religion. Lets hope that such things can one day be eliminated but until then we can only give support and condemn the animals that did this crime. Of course this isn’t the only crime against humanity that’s happened just the one the media picked up on. The world is full of such events today and many go unnoticed by all but those that are caught up in them. Pray for all as it could well be any of us next time.
Agreed. I think the big challenge is that people who want to commit murder, will murder and any reason will do whether it be the illusion of vengeance, retribution or otherwise. I also think that just because you can doesn’t mean you should. By that I mean that if we poke at wounds that are sore for some, we’re likely to get a snarl. A snarl is fine. Death? Inexcusable. My heart and prayers go out to all involved. Truly it is time for us to evolve from our more barbaric ways. It is time for mature discourse rather than a quick fix of violence. Violence solves nothing. Communicating effectively and openly is the only chance we have but we must find a way to hold respect as we speak, honor as we consider and integrity in our outreach. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Blessings.
Really great post, I pray for the best to come in the future. I wish for people to love each other more, thanks for sharing.