Freedom of expression is on everyone’s mind following the barbarous attack in Paris.
I remembered three quotes from Thomas Paine yesterday:
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
“Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person: my country is the world, and my religion is to do good.”
“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.”
As the late Christopher HItchens would remind us, scripture is often violence.
Planet of the Blind 