Je Suis Charlie.

            The attack on the weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday, January 7^th should be seen as much more than the cowardly murders of 10 writers, editors, and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, and the murders of two Parisian police officers. This was an attack on the fundamental freedom of expression. The freedom of speech that all of us here in the United States, Europe, and all democracies around the world take for granted on a daily basis. The 12 people that died in Paris on that afternoon, died because of their thoughts and, in the case of the police who were killed, died defending those freedoms.

            There is no rationalizing the actions of the three gunman. These men are cowards who are unable to comprehend a world in which we are able to express our thoughts and ideas to the wider world. These are men who believe that it is better to be ignorant, close-minded, and follow what you are told rather than to ignite a debate through satire, cartoons, observations, and humor. These are men who believe that any mention of their beliefs in a way that they don’t like should be countered not with dialogue, but with the brief shout of a gun. These are men that aim to scare us so we remain silent and throw away our ideals. This is not the time to be scared. This is the time to speak louder.

            If this incident has shown anything, it is that when our ability to speak out and communicate ideas and opinions to society is attacked, we as a people stand together and fight back. Not through violence or aggression, but in the most powerful way possible, more ideas. More opinions. More cartoons. More humor. More satire. More writing. More Facebook posts. More Tweets. More expression.

            This is when our fundamental freedoms are put to the test. Three individuals think that if they kill those that speak out the loudest they will solve the “problem” that they see in the Western World; being able to poke fun of everything. Everything from the mundane to the sacred. This shows how stupid that way of thinking is. Those that spoke the loudest are now revered more than ever, and their words and works are spreading faster than they could have ever imagined. More people are beginning to speak up. Their voices are louder than before, and they will become deafening as more people join to protect and practice the freedoms that 12 people gave their lives for.

            We should not live in a world where simply putting a pencil to paper can be enough for someone to want to kill you. But we do. It is unfortunate beyond my imagining, but it is the reality we face. How we fight this is by continuing to speak. We have the basic right to ask questions. To find humor in all things. To bring to light details that others may never have thought of. And if someone disagrees? They have the right to counter our ideas with their own. This is the basis for how a society grows.

            Violence, murder, terror; these have never been the tools used to advance ideas and morals in any society. These are the tools of the stupid. Of the scared. We need to show that we are not afraid of ignorance. We need to stand together and show that we will never bow. Never break in the face of terror. We will only grow stronger.

We are all Charlie.