A few years back I wrote a post about how the digital world was saving the first thing we would normally grab in a fire - our photo albums. With 3D Printing we are a step closer to being able to back-up physical objects. In the comments Anita spoke of her Grandmother's ruby earrings that were stolen in a robbery. Would a back-up have been able to adopt the memory? Can we save the things dear to us.
The cost of Free Speech is similar to whether the replica captures the original.
I have just finished reading 'Infidel' by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (AHA). A Somali refugee fleeing an arranged marriage, she ended up in one of the countries at the very forefront of the European Enlightenment - Holland. This is a country where they are weary of being 'proudly Dutch' since patriotism is not that distinct from racism and a stone's throw from Xenophobia. She flourished.
Ayaan - Theo
In flourishing, she became a member of the Dutch Parliament and took on the plight of Dutch Muslim Women who she felt weren't receiving the benefits of a free society because the way the Dutch had learnt to prevent conflict between different world views was to allow separate 'pillars' within society. Communities could determine their own values. They could have their own schools. AHA argues that this means that Dutch society is effectively allowing the abuse of women within parts of the Muslim community. She tried to shine a light on some of the practices. Her primary desire is to bring about a similar enlightenment to that which occurred in the Western World. Many in the Muslim world objected to this apostate. Strongly. She had worked on a short film to expose the issue. While she received protection as a member of Parliament, in November 2004, the director of the film, Theo Van Gogh was murdered with a note to AHA stabbed into his chest.
I came across the book with a recent storm over whether AHA should be allowed to speak at an event at Yale. A group had collected signatures saying that her approach amounted to hate speech against Islam and she shouldn't be given a platform. When you allow Free Speech, you allow criticism of everything. You aren't saying it is true, but anything that can be said is allowed to be said.
The cost is that nothing is holy. Nothing is treated with that reverence where no one would dare point out any gaps. There is something beautiful about holy objects and ideas. They give us comfort. They allow us to believe that despite the difficulties we face and the dirt in the world, we can always come back to purity.
Watching Frankie Boyle and Borat show Free Speech in all its glory. Absolutely nothing is holy. Every time you think Frankie has said the most shocking thing you have ever heard, he warns that something else is coming up. You feel dirty. In truth though, perhaps this dirt is a form of soap. If you don't find something shocking funny, or worse, you don't find something shocking shocking. We have a problem. You strike on something that needs to be thoroughly scrubbed.
Patriotism is awesome. It helps bring groups together. It helps you forget about your own little issues and be part of something bigger. When it morphs to Xenophobia and you start treating others with disrespect - it is time to discard it. The cost is worth it.
Having holy & untouchable objects and ideas is beautiful. It allows calm. It gives us a focus point and a guide to steer through a complicated world. When holy hides abuses and dirt - it is time to challenge it. Like a ring that has been replicated, it will not be the same thing we had loved. Its authenticity has been challenged. We have to build up that love or transfer that love to the new object, the cleaned belief. The cost is worth it.
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