When I Grow Up ...

February, the month of love, has begun with the clashing of cultures in America and Europe, brought about by newspaper cartoons which some found offensive.

The Pentagon brass were offended by an image in the Washington Post which portrayed an injured soldier. No, the Joint Chiefs did not call in air strikes, but they did write a letter to the Post expressing their displeasure. Contrast that civilized reaction to the behavior of Muslims in Europe who were offended by the portraying of their prophet in print.

Most of us come across images, including cartoons, on the Internet, or in newspapers, which offend us, but in free societies we try not to restrict such forms of speech. Around the Internet are sites showing video of Muslims beheading Infidels, yet it is an inanimate object- a drawing - that is being condemned, not murder of a human. At this very moment, in a Muslim land, a young American woman is under threat of death by Islamists, yet her plight, as was the case with previous hostages, does not cause as much alarm amongst Muslims as a few cartoons created by non-believers.

The cartoon pictured here, “Kids and Parents”, caused much consternation for American Muslims when it appeared in “The Palm Beach Post” back in 2002. There was outrage and protestations, yet this cartoon does not display an image of Mohammad. It was demonstrating the evil of a religion which encourages children to become suicide bombers. Muslim organizations like CAIR protested this cartoon but never protested the gruesome reality that the cartoon revealed.

“Expose the Left” has more on the anti-troop cartoon from CNN. Michelle Malkin has pictures and video of the Mohammad cartoons, and Outside the Beltway is blogging about “Muslims’ Day of Anger”.