reflections: mohammed cartoons

talk about explosive outcome. i suppose this incident and its repercussions demonstrate one very clear thing: use some common sense and empathy before you act.

while i can understand the fury from muslims with regards to such blasphemous images, it should be clear that violence never solves a problem. i can't spell out the law since i'm not of islam, but i'm pretty sure that all religions do not condone violence, in any form or any reason. sure, some will point to the crusades and shout hypocrisy, but the crusades took places eons ago. times have changed. perspectives have changed. religious zeal is never a bad thing, but it should be kept in check with some level-headedness. enough blood has been shed in the past and we should all be mature enough to act responsibly whenever we feel strongly about something lest we all degenerate into savages who strike out at the smallest of insults.

of course, the danes didn't do themselves a favour and tried to defend themselves and blow over the issue by saying that while they feel and understand the anger, they won't say sorry. why? cos they wish to protect their cherished democracy and right to say anything and everything they want. the concept of democracy is very much like marxism in the sense of idealism. ideally, it would be wonderful for anyone and everyone to air their opinions without fear of retaliation, as like the freedom and equality of peoples championed by marxism. however, idealistic concepts are free and open to outward abuse, as history has demonstrated. communist leaders eventually become dictators while democracy allows unscrupulous persons to deny others their basic rights of privacy, leaving nothing sacred. and in this case, offend millions of people worldwide by forgetting about the sacredness within something these millions of people hold dear to their hearts. the right to speak out is something most precious, though one must wield such a powerful tool with immense responsibility. there's a reason why something is sacred, and even if it doesn't mean anything to oneself, one should always be mindful towards the sentiments of others.

sometimes it's baffling why people are so headstrong when they know it will only result in problems and destructive situations. we may have strong belief systems, but somtimes all we need is a little more tolerance and to take ourselves a little less seriously to avoid petty and rather unsavoury conflicts.