I don’t speak much French. Two days ago I probably would
have bungled, “Je Suis Charlie.”
But now I know “I am Charlie.”
That is to say that I now not only know how to say “I am
Charlie” in French, I know “I am Charlie.”
Since the founding of the Free State Foundation in 2006, we
have proclaimed at the very top of our website that our purpose is to promote
understanding of “free market, limited government, rule of law principles at
the federal level and in Maryland” and to protect “individual and economic
liberty.”
On a day-to-day basis, our work primarily involves promoting
reform of communications law and policy in free market-oriented ways; defending
the First Amendment rights of U.S. media companies and other speakers; supporting
the intellectual property rights of authors and other creators of intellectual
property; promoting a global Internet governance model that is free from
government interference and control; and, occasionally, urging more efficient,
less burdensome government in Maryland. These are important issues all.
But today it is most important to take a stand on what is of
utmost importance to the survival of the Western values embodied within the
“rule of law” principle we proclaim. It ought to go without saying that freedom
of expression is at the very core of the rule of law principles we proclaim at
the Free State Foundation. That is why, over the years since our founding, we
have devoted significant attention to promoting an understanding of the First
Amendment in our own constitutional context.
So, for me, when I say today “Je Suis Charlie,” I mean to
say forthrightly that there no longer should be equivocation about the threat the
U.S., France, and others confront from radical Islamic terrorists who are
waging war on core values that we profess to hold dear. It is time to stop
sending mixed messages that can be interpreted as condoning the silencing of
speakers in the name of not offending those who profess to be offended. Because
the hard, cold truth is that there is no easy off-ramp on that road counseling
self-censorship that doesn’t involve the ultimate surrender of freedom of
expression and the rule of law.
That is what I mean to say today when I say: “Je Suis
Charlie.”
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