The Legacy of Voltaire

Speech is civilization itself....It is silence which isolates.
             Thomas Mann

This past week, three heavily armed and religiously motivated gunmen attacked the office of Charlie Hebdo, a fringe Parisian satirical magazine.  A harder-edged Mad Magazine, it goes after a wide range of targets, including those espousing Islamic fundamentalism.  Twelve were killed, including the editor, many of the staff’s cartoonists and at least one police officer to silence disagreeable ideas.  By Friday of this week, the men responsible were gunned down by French police.  From the shock and outrage of the event, an important cause has re-emerged that has been largely forgotten throughout Europe – the freedom of expression.

Throughout Europe, various countries have eliminated or restricted expression for fear of offending.  Whether it be cartoons or restrictive measures against anything entitled “hate speech”, Europe has tied itself into legislative and linguistic knots to prevent anyone giving offense.  A few years ago, Europe shrank from the violence throughout the Middle East over cartoons…cartoons!  As a result, many European countries have attempted to curb what can and should be said about various groups – be they ethnic or religious. 

In their efforts to eliminate “hate speech”, these democratic countries have taken away the choices and the rights that democratic people have traditionally treasured and enjoyed.  As a history teacher, I’m not blind to the historical context that some of these laws have but ultimately, they are self-defeating.  As Voltaire said, “Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.”  And in an attempt to ensure that people are capable of going through life without distress, some European countries have sacrificed a fundamental right of a free people.

As the fallout of these deaths is felt, the reaction has been typical from the home of the satirical and philosophical giant, Voltaire.  And in the writer’s spirit, leave it to the obdurate, infuriating French to reassert values that much of Europe has lost track of over the last several decades.  Freedom of expression and speech means nothing if it only applies to that which is acceptable or safe.  Charlie Hebdo has spent the better part of five decades offending and shocking people with its cartoons and articles.  Though the publication may have crossed the line over the years (some regular readers say it happened often), a free society must accept and allow for it. 

Every free society runs risks.  Yes, there is a chance that another attack might occur, particularly because Charlie Hebdo has declared that they will continue.  However, the power to speak one’s mind, even if one is an idiot or a psychopath, must be equally treasured.  If a government can declare one person’s opinions not worthy of airing out, whose opinions will be next? 

So, how does a nation confront such speech – be it from xenophobes or fundamentalists?  More free speech.  Consider Germany.  While saddled with its own misguided speech laws, speech has countered speech.  A group out of Dresden called Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) has attempted to get its point across through protest marches (no doubt they will be emboldened by the events in Paris).  However, Germans who disagree took to the streets in record numbers to counter protest.  Ultimately, hateful speech needs to be aired so that it may be legitimately countered and defeated.  Otherwise, the baleful ideology festers and grows.

It is heartening to see the French fight back with a renewed commitment to freedom of expression – not just journalistic but individualistic as well.  Though the French have their own nationalist groups (Marine Le Pen’s Front National for example), they have answered the terrorist attacks not with hate but with a reassertion of democratic values and principles.  The West is guilty of many things but at our best, democratic principles represent the full-realization of the individual – be we French, American, Egyptian, Iranian, whoever.  Though we do not always get it right, freedom of expression applies to all and it will be our legacy.