me against myself
Motivated by a post by Roman I decided to write a few things that bother me the last few days. I am perplexed and I have questions regarding what values come first, which should come first or whether there is a question of "ranking" at all.
I always considered the freedom of speech and expression as one of the highest values of mankind, just like Roman. However should there be a line in that freedom. What comes first our right, anyone's right to express freely their thoughts or artistic intuitions and be heard by the public. Or respecting the customs, way of life, the symbols of other cultures, other people, of the "different" ones.
We have seen works of art referring to Jεsus in a contemptuous way, and I have always defended the artist, thinking that the best is for our society to protect their artistic freedom against the "old-fashioned" opinions of the close-minded religious ones, the christians.
But I am an atheist, as most - or at least a lot - of the cultivated, sophisticated and liberal people of our western societies are. The same ones that will fight and protest for our freedom of expression.
But what if it is not religious symbols, but what we consider sacred or special that are treated in a disrespectful way. What if I create a work of art using the photograph of your dead child with his opened skull and his freshly outpoured brains being fucked or pissed or shit. Will that be offensive enough, will our society accept my artistic expression or will people get angry at me and make me retract my work?
What if I graffiti the graves of your beloved ones, writing mother-fucker all over. Is that vandalism? Or another expression of my artistic aspiration?
Burning a flag is outlawed in many western countries. However the act can be one of the highest expressions of opposition.
So do we protect and respect what we consider as valued or sacred, and that respect comes above freedom of speech? But we protest and fight for our right to tasteless cartoons that offend and use disrespectfully the symbols of others?
Isn't that too self-centered? Remains of a colonialism era?
These are just a few questions that I have not found any answers. Please this is not a post against what Roman wrote. I totally agree with him. But at the same time, I also have my own self-doubts and confusion.
I always considered the freedom of speech and expression as one of the highest values of mankind, just like Roman. However should there be a line in that freedom. What comes first our right, anyone's right to express freely their thoughts or artistic intuitions and be heard by the public. Or respecting the customs, way of life, the symbols of other cultures, other people, of the "different" ones.
We have seen works of art referring to Jεsus in a contemptuous way, and I have always defended the artist, thinking that the best is for our society to protect their artistic freedom against the "old-fashioned" opinions of the close-minded religious ones, the christians.
But I am an atheist, as most - or at least a lot - of the cultivated, sophisticated and liberal people of our western societies are. The same ones that will fight and protest for our freedom of expression.
But what if it is not religious symbols, but what we consider sacred or special that are treated in a disrespectful way. What if I create a work of art using the photograph of your dead child with his opened skull and his freshly outpoured brains being fucked or pissed or shit. Will that be offensive enough, will our society accept my artistic expression or will people get angry at me and make me retract my work?
What if I graffiti the graves of your beloved ones, writing mother-fucker all over. Is that vandalism? Or another expression of my artistic aspiration?
Burning a flag is outlawed in many western countries. However the act can be one of the highest expressions of opposition.
So do we protect and respect what we consider as valued or sacred, and that respect comes above freedom of speech? But we protest and fight for our right to tasteless cartoons that offend and use disrespectfully the symbols of others?
Isn't that too self-centered? Remains of a colonialism era?
These are just a few questions that I have not found any answers. Please this is not a post against what Roman wrote. I totally agree with him. But at the same time, I also have my own self-doubts and confusion.
posted by το τσογλάνι at 9:48 μ.μ.
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