I am offended ! (part 1)

This coming Wednesday (Apr 23) at the Ideas Cafe, we will discuss how people are offended from the perspective of the offended and the offender.


For part 1 we will deal with offense arising from the politics of religion and culture.

Blasphemy is a sin for the religious and a crime in countries with strong religious influences.  To refer to their deity in anything by respectful terms is unthinkable.

Yet atheists want to question the existence of these very deities and the fundamental value system that is based on holy books anchoring these believes.

Should this discussion be considered as a freedom of expression by the atheists or blasphemous remarks that offend the religious?

When someone is offended,  is the offender stepping into other people's sensitivities or is the offended too thin skinned ?

No one likes to be challenged, especially about something that they fervently believe in.

At times we are justified in defending our belief and value systems while occasionally, it is beneficial to face these challenges and discover the weakness in our believes that has been covered by our allegiance to these believes.

Is it always wrong to be too easily offended?

Should we not be offended by fragrant disregard for justice and civil disorder?

But one person's view of civil society may be another person's sense of restrictive society where dissent cannot be openly displayed.  Burning the national flag and defacing public statute of historic figures may be seen as anarchy by those offended but simply expression of time for change by others.

Then there is the meeting of different cultures.

Canada as a multicultural society is adept at accepting and managing the different cultural practices and values.  Where these practices are at odds with each other, the "reasonable accommodation" approach is used to deal with these conflicts on a case by case basis.

Thus the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have Sikh members retaining their turbans.

But where is the reasonable accommodation for the deep gulf between the religious and the atheists?

How can one religion get along with the other religions when each of them believes that they believe in the one true god while all others are pagans and cults?

Faith is supposed to remove all doubt so there really is no room for any other religion but one's own.

The pacifists among us will say that it is more important to get along and conflict should be avoided at all costs.  However, not being offended by any circumstance amounts to not having any principles that we want to uphold and defend.  We will be taken advantage of by other believes and cultures that aggressively assert themselves.

So, should I be offended from time to time?