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.
3 Comments:
interesting post.
i take your point about our most sacred (secular) symbols.
but if you vandalise an existing physical object that's not freedom of speech / expression, that clearly has physical implications.
i would not like it if you were to create something (work of art, written piece or whatever) that offends the things that are most important to me.
but i would protect your right to do so.
as long as i would have had a choice as whether to actually see your creation or not (i.e. it should not be forced to anyone).
thanks roman for not getting my post the wrong way. I agree with you, but I believe you agree too that there is a line that it's up to the individual to cross it or not.
And if I create something that offends you the moment it is public there is a great chance you will see it even if you don't want to (some muslim must have come across the cartoon for example). But if it is not public then there is no freedom of speech....
anyway, I get oversensitive on cultural issues sometimes. ;)
go on then! write more stuff!
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