Je suis… Nous Sommes… Charlie.

We stand and salute with the deepest respect those who lost their lives and were injured in this week’s tragic and cowardly act of violence on the journalists and cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo.

While Voltaire never actually said “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (it was actually his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall), it hardly matters; they are words that confirm what we all know we must do.

On this side of the Atlantic, the words of George Washington underscore those sentiments and remind us that the exchange of ideas, the reflections on our life and times, and yes, even satire, keeps us vital, alive, and questioning. We shall forever be beholden to the gifts of democracy as long as we unite to keep it alive.

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.