Here in the West, we’ve had a free press since, well, maybe since the Magna Carta. Certainly we’ve had one since Tom & Ben wrote their little "Fuck you" letter to King George. So we’re used to the idea that newspapers can be satirical, or insulting, or unsettling, or downright mean. Every major city in America has a rag newspaper full of half-baked mud-pies. Nobody takes them seriously. When we read over-the-top, incendiary headlines, we don’t even blink.
Over in the Muslim world, they are blinded by rage. I’m sorry they’re hurting, I really am. But I’m thrilled to know they’re reading something, anything, that brings them unvarnished tidings from the outside world. If the light stays on long enough, their eyes will adjust. The people will be sore, but they’ll be better informed.
Don’t go live in the woods, Jon. Don’t join a commune. Don’t go into a cave in the desert, there to ponder the folly of man. It’s no fun, not for long, anyway. Stay informed, stay aware, prop your eyelids open with toothpicks if you have to. It hurts, but it’s better that way.
