Free Speech

In the article about the Danish cartoon in the newspaper, Ramadan brings up an important point: free speech should be self legislated. I agree with Ramadan's point, it is hard to put laws about what can be said under free speech. It is not hard, however, for a person to put moral boundaries on what they choose to call free speech. When it comes to the actually cartoon, the newspaper should have realized that the cartoon was wrong, especially by the amount of journalists who were uncomfortable with the whole issue. Freedom of speech is a great thing but it should not be used to insult other cultures, especially by going against a religions rule about the image of god. It's not just that the Muslim's were insulted, it's that the newspaper broke a rule of their religion. Just because it is okay to draw Jesus and God does not mean it is okay to draw Muhammad or other Islamic prophets. It is understandable that the Muslim people were offended by this cartoon. If I were to start using my free speech to actively insult everyone's mother, people would be offended and would think I should stop. This is the same thing, by publishing a caricature of Muhammad in the newspaper they may as well have insulted every Muslim's mother (of course the cartoon is more insulting and extreme than insulting mother's but the same concept still applies).