September 3oth is recognized around the world as International Blasphemy Day. This holiday was created in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon, which blasphemously depicted the prophet, a serious religious offense in Islam. Riots ensued. Over 100 people were killed. Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran were attacked and set on fire. Danish, Scandinavian, and European art, flags, and buildings were defaced across the Middle East. All because some people believe their religion is above criticism and satire.

Religious tolerance is one thing that I hold very high. People of the world have enough things to fight over without throwing made-up big brothers into the ring. Another right I hold very highly is my right to fully criticize any religion if I so please, as is your right to criticism my religion (or lack thereof). People have grown to believe that their religion is above criticism or satire, which simply is not true. Multiple people from the University of Northern Iowa (all being some Christian denomination) have audibly voiced their dislike about the dissenting religious opinion written on their sidewalks. Boo hoo. There is a little thing in this country called the Constitution, you should read it sometime. And that big document, a little tiny freedom is asserted to everyone. This freedom is known as the freedom of speech!

The situation at UNI is not a deviant case. This same of type of blatant idiocy in the face of free speech is coming to a head everywhere today, International Blasphemy Day. Keep in mind, this holiday was not constructed for anti-religious purposes, but to expose the fact that religion is not above criticism or satire in any way. But the lack of understanding in the mass populace of religious people is absolutely astounding. I entered into a full fledged argument with a lady today who believed her rights were being violated by people writing anti-religious statements on the sidewalk. Um, what? In case you, humble reader, are unaware, there is no law stating people must respect the opinions of others, which is what this lady was fervently unaware of. Her (stated) problem was not that people were expressing an opinion dissident to hers (not likely), but that they did it in such a disrespectful way! (Sigh) Free speech protects the rights of people to say whatever they feel like (relatively), as long as they are not committing a crime in the way they do it. In this instance, this woman first claimed that these messages were done in such a way that they constituted vandalism. She was incorrect. She then slated her argument to defacing me for being an immature child, which lasted only as long as I entertained it. Her entire argument fell apart then when she tried to prove that her views are Constitutionally protected. Ah ha, ah ha, ah ha.

It is ridiculous how people in America, and most specifically in this case religion, believe that when they are in the majority, that makes them correct. In my book, Constitutional law comes before your personal belief any day, whether you like it or not.

So, a Happy Blasphemy Day to all!