Tragedy in Paris

I was fully prepared to launch into my continuation of a trip through France last week when the unspeakable tragedy befell Paris.   I was afraid something like this would happen, that some act would thrust blood upon the fair streets of that lovely city.   It's sad to say but my fear came true.  It was no fault of the Gendarme or politicians, or even Parisiens.  This was an act of terror.  Such things are almost never forseen, and once enacted, things drastically change.

This post isn't about terror, but rather about speech and the freedoms I as a blogger know I hold.  I can speak here, and people can agree or disagree in discourse.  We live in violently shifting times, though, where that freedom is threatened.   People who disagree with others are killed or worse, simply for holding that different view.   As a writer, I fear what is coming, the violently shifting spectrum of speech.

What we saw in Paris is a prelude to a shift in human nature, in what we as writers and readers must either fight or cope with.   We should not be afraid to speak our minds, to speak civilly.  We can agree to disagree.  I've never brought my own politics into this blog, but as a writer I should not be afraid to write, no one should.

Freedom of speech is absolute to a point.  It is a fundamental foundation on which all blogs can count on.  We shouldn't be afraid to speak our minds with the possibility of repercussion that endangers us.

Could anything have been done to prevent this?  Absolutely.  We live in a world of 20/20 hindsight.

My heart goes out to the people of Paris, to the families of the victims.  Let us not be silent, let us speak as one on this matter.   Death for a difference of opinion is the death of humanity.

Food for thought.