Can a Cartoon Start a War?

If you haven't heard, some Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad are causing all kinds of trouble. Before you all go dusting off your copies of The Clash of Civilizations, let's take a look at what's happening here. Imagine a U.S. paper printing a cartoon of Jesus shooting up a school with an AK-47. You best believe the Bible Belt would be up in arms.

Was it legal to print the cartoons? Of course. It was also mean-spirited, unwise and insensitive. With the right of free speech comes the responsibility of sound judgment. With the lack of sound judgment comes consequences. And that's where we are. Some politicians are making apologies; some are refusing to apologize. A newspaper editor in France was sacked for printing the cartoons; newspapers in Italy reprinted the cartoons and ran editorials criticizing the media for caving in to public pressure. People are protesting and boycotting all over the Middle East.

Instead of trying to find some common ground, we have "East" and "West" finding one more reason to demonize each other. It takes two to fight. And two to make up. We need to realize we're all in this life together.

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