The assault on Charlie Hebdo offices and killing of ten journalists on January 7th was an attack against freedom of expression. It was an attempt to silence free thought but instead woke the need to preserve it. The killers themselves proved this the very moment they opened fire–it was then that journalists the world over replied with weapons much more powerful.
Many people outside of France knew little about Charlie Hebdo or its message. But by the next day the spirit of Charlie Hebdo was printed on newspapers and periodicals across the world.
Threats against free expression have always existed and have manifested themselves in various forms. Aside from silencing journalists through violence, journalists are often intimidated by arrest, incarceration, or forced to be the mouthpiece of government.
As long as the pen can move across paper freely it will always be mightier than any weapon or means of coercion devised.
Cartoon by Mike Flugenock.
