Human Life Or Principles?

I just watched an episode of South Park (cartoon wars), which brought up a good point. The topic was freedom of speech and expression, on the topic of showing the image of Muhammad. Either we could defend freedom of expression, or risk people getting hurt from terrorism. Those who have seen the episode know what i am talking about.

So, which is more important? The deaths of a 1000 people, or defending rights? Really, i just want to find out if you all think fundemental human rights are more important than human life.

I personally think that principles and rights are the most important, because ideas can survive throughout generations, whereas deaths are forgotten after months or years.

I saw part of the episode, and I think that the lives of 1000 people are more important han showing a TV show. Rights are here to protect the people, not the opposite.

What would be the good of the ideas if the world turned into a cemetery? Ah, the cemetery of ideas...original.

In school I never really liked my principle but I still considered him a human life.

Everyone should have the ability to say what they want to.

However, if want you want to say is: 'all black people should die' , then I really don't know or it is ok to defend that persons 'freedom of speech'.

All i know is that there's no Idea that could justify the cost of a human life, that's where i draw the limits of FREEDOM.

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Originally Posted by Unicorn

All i know is that there's no Idea that could justify the cost of a human life, that's where i draw the limits of FREEDOM.
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Agreed

Frankly, I think people can say what they want. Its their right to say what they want. If you think all blacks, jews, asians whatever should die, go ahead and say it. Im not going to like it, but its your freedom of speech. However, its when someone acts on it that it becomes a problem. The second someone acts on their prejudice, thats when things get ugly

Hard as Nails

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I personally think that principles and rights are the most important, because ideas can survive throughout generations, whereas deaths are forgotten after months or years.[/b]

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I haven't seen the South Park episode, but this is a great discussion...you definitely get credit Hard ass Nails.

I think I have to agree with preserving a right over momentarily saving a life by religiously restrictive means.

I think that preserving an idea or right could have more beneficial affects than initially realized. You know, one could even argue that more lives would be saved in the end.

If there's a great idea that lives throughout generations, it could help the evolvement of society in general; the more evolved society still has to live with the religious bombers, but continues to grow. They foster the idea of giving the individual their due rights and grow in infinitely many indirect ways b/c of sticking with this fundamental idea of growth and development by NOT restriciting religion, ideas, or any practice.

...the bad we get are those guys who like to blow people up and stuff, since it is their right to practice what they want. We'll still have our laws to make it a crime to commit terrorism, but they'll keep getting through the cracks since we're not restricting their religion. But the GOOD we get is that those thinkers of the world have a better environment/society that allows them to grow mentally since they're given such freedom to explore what they want.

You could say it's a greater immorality to try to restrict human development than to perform the act of killing someone or a group of people once. Human development is definitely important, and it's messed up to say this, but hopefully these fools that kill others in the name of their human-defined religion will go ahead and kill themselves with their own act too, most of the time.

If groups that think with this self-destructive mentality stay stuck at an arguably less developed state of mind, then maybe they'll eventually die off as more primitive states of mind ease away into history.

They just don't know any other life, and that's why they're concerned with the things we're concerned about. I really don't think anyone out there will want to kill others if they're riding down the street, blowed on a sunny day, jammin' out with the A/C blowin' and exhaling the last smoke remnants of a sweet you just finished off and tossed out the window 2 street blocks ago, holla'in out "hootie hoo" as John Law just rolled by.