As long as political, religious and military leaders take themselves too seriously, and -- worse -- as long as they show no sense of humor, we should worry. Is there a study showing that freedom declines along with humor?
Let's start with the dismissal of the editor of France Soir for the publication of a cartoon which has already created a firestorm in Denmark.
Some twenty armed Palestinian scaled the walls of the EU offices in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, amid growing unrest after cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed were published in several European countries. Among the 12 caricatures, one shows Mohammed with a bomb-shaped turban; another depicts him as a wild-eyed, knife-wielding Bedouin flanked by two women shrouded in black. In Islam, depicting the Prophet Mohammed is tantamount to blasphemy.
We have blasphemy problems here, too. I don't know what Cindy Sheehan was actually charged with, but given the attitudes about Our Glorious Leader, I wouldn't be surprised if the Capitol Police have "blasphemy" right next to "walking the halls without ID" and "stepping on Capitol grass."
Meanwhile, John Aravosis has been following the hard-hat reaction to a cartoon printed in the Washington Post. And the matter continues to reverberate with the usual numbers of accusations about lack of patriotism and a heavy-handed reaction from the Joint Chiefs.
January and February are tough months. People lose it. And they lose respect.
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