U.S. law enforcement agencies seek and prosecute persons who are known to actively incite others to attack U.S. residents on the basis that Americans are “enemies of Islam.”

The promoters of the anti-Muhammad cartoon contest didn’t seem to realize that their action could be just as effective, and perhaps more so, toward inciting such attacks on the rest of us as well as on themselves. The so-called Islamic State must have been delighted by that assistance and by how much it has added to our risks.

Calling the promoters’ motive merely an affirmation of their right to”free speech” (everything tries to get under that umbrella nowadays) does not hide that by their “speech,” if they did not intend to promote such reactions, then they completely misunderstood human nature.

Yet promoting the understanding of human nature is supposed to be the main purpose of most cartoon commentary. Seldom are cartoons drawn “just for fun.”

Generously giving the promoters and the participants the benefit of the doubt – that they didn’t mean to break any U.S. law – then this was at least another example of a failure to engage the brain first.

Richard B. Innes

Gorham

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