Religious Offense Quotes
Most political cartoons offend. The problem for the Yale Press was that if they did not print the cartoons, the violence and intimidation of the most extreme Muslims will have been rewarded as a strategy. If they printed, some people will be injured and killed in the likely rioting. If rioting did not occur spontaneously, it would be whipped up by the extremists. A Hobsen’s choice for publishers the world over that is exactly what the most extreme Muslims have planned.
The colonial American were quite knowledgeable about trials like this one which were occuring all over Europe. The result was the demand for the First Amendment in order to ratify the original Constitution. In this particular case, the major crime that triggered the investigation and trial was the fact that La Barre did not remove his hat in respect as a religiohs procession of Corpus Christi went by. During the investigation, the mayor searched La Barre’s residence and found blasphemous literature the worst of which appeared to be Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary which the Mayor ordered to be burned along with the head and body. The photo is a plaque in Abbeville to the victim reminding all of the danger of mixing religion in civil law.
This absurd law was in existence for 22 years. But its vestiges lasted for over 100 years. It was not until the 1880s that it became fashionable to celebrate Christmas in Boston. The founding fathers were well aware of many early American laws interfering with religion and many religious laws interfering with those who did not believe a particular doctrine. The separation of church and state evolved from years of European abuses and American abuses as well.
After this statement was issued by the embassy, a mob stormed the embassy as shown in the graphic. The reason that this statement is an important quotation is that that Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President took the situation as an opportunity to attack the President. Specifically he claimed that this statement was an “apology” and it was terrible for America to apologize. The administration and most media fact checkers could not find anything in the statement that was an apology as opposed to as statement of United States policy and practice. Romney and his supporters insisted it was an apology. So the statement itself has become a major historical quotation where people can judge for themselves if indeed it was an apology. There are many who believed that under the circumstances an apology might not have been a bad idea. A few years earlier when a Danish magazine had published some insulting cartoons of The Prophet, riots broke out around the world and dozens of people were killed.
After this statement, he himself contracted syphilis.
The church was in constant roil with the Bishops, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor each striving for superiority over the other two, almost like branches of government fighting for power. This was the bishops attempt to “impeach” the Holy Roman Emperor who was never charged or given an opportunity to face or refute the charges. He was not even present at the Council. See {611260} for his reply.
