The West's Response to Terrorism

Let's just be clear on this. Today's Islamist terror attack in Paris was an attack on the fundamental freedoms of speech, expression and religion that are at the core of civilized western society. The savage barbarians who committed this act hate us because we do not submit to their religion. They hate us for the freedom that we enjoy. The intent of this attack is to make us fearful of exercising our rights and thereby forcing our silence and acquiescence.

In the coming days there will be many who will do just that. They will say that Charlie Hedbo was offensive and that they brought this on themselves. These people will cite a litany of supposed offenses committed against Muslims as an attempt to explain the attack. These people will advocate submission. They will tell us that we should not practice our freedom for fear of offending Muslims. I say this because these people have done exactly that after every Islamist terrorist attack since 9/11. Following the al Qaeda attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Barack Obama stood before the UN in 2012 and said that "the future must not lie with those who slander the prophet of Islam". He counseled limiting our freedom of speech so that we do not offend a backward and violent culture that has not yet learned to live in the modern, civilized world. More of this appeasement will come.