CharlieHebdo became, probably, the most controversial incident of recent memory in the EU. Everyone felt in duty to say a word. And everyonewanted to have an unambiguous answer about who's guilty. Most peoplewere protecting one side, blaming the other, not being ready to blameboth journalists and their assassins. Meanwhile, if one part isobviously wrong, it doesn't mean that the other part is right. Itoften happens that no one is right – and this is the case. Suchopinion was expressed by the Russian psychologist Dmitry Leontiev in an article published earlier this week at Psychologies.ru.
And Isupport it.
Dmitrysays that in the Paris massacre and its aftermath, one moral systemfaced the other. And both have one common feature –all-permissiveness. One part was assured of knowing the highest truthwhich gives the right to hold court and punishment. The other wasruled by a feeling that there's nothing sacral if there's no God.“But that is not freedom. True freedom always has its own limiterwhich differs it from chaos and mayhem. Self-expression withoutthinking of consequences brings us to freedom without responsibility.Grown-ups don't act like that. And irresponsible lawlessness is not apart of European values but a teenage disorder.”
Actionsof terrorists cannot be excused.
Human life is the most sacredvalue which anyone can hardly argue. If we choose to say that theywere right killing Charlie Hebdo caricaturists – then we supportthe power of chaos and all-permissiveness. This is a dead end.
Yes, Iam a journalist. And I am not religious. But still it is hard for meto completely excuse actions of the French journalists, evenconsidering the huge price they paid.
Of course, they did not deserveto die, but is abusing someone's beliefs really a part of free speech? “Psychologists know well that making jokesof others is one of the forms of aggression – the highest,creative, refined, socially excepted, endlessly better then all otherforms of aggression, but still aggression,” Dmitry Leontiev said inhis comment.
By theend of the article the Russian psychologist calls us to find out whatis going wrong and come to more mature understanding of valueswithout changing them. “We should remember not only about freedomand guilt, but also about responsibility and conscience.”
