Is Charlie Hebdo's Dark Humor Sick?

The caption about the Paris Terrorist attacks reads:

"They have arms. F--- them. We have the Champagne!"

Charlie Hebdo's dark humor is irreverent, provocative and attention-getting.  Irreverence for irreverence's sake is amusing. It is one way to alleviate anxiety, reduce stress, and cope with irrationality.  

The image makes visually transparent the contrasting value systems. 

• The French Choose Champagne, Freedom, Celebration and Life.
• The Terrorists Choose Guns, Tyranny, Massacres and Death.  

Hebdo is not sick, the Terrorists are.

But the best, irreverent humor challenges holy gail assumptions, hits on home truths, and shifts our mindsets about topics, such as the relationship of liberty to terrorism.

Liberty and free speech are highly cherished values in the Western Democracies. What are the parameters for liberty and free speech in the era of Terrorism?

The Rights to Liberty and Free Speech are Not Virtues.

France makes certain hate speech illegal. But we need liberty and free speech to cultivate virtues and the highest forms of ethical purpose.

Are Liberty and Free Speech the Best Weapons to Wage the War on Terrorism?

There are no simple solutions or explanations for the deep root causes of terrorism? How could we use relevance, irreverence and humor to shift our mindsets in addressing these wicked problems?

I invite satirists and cartoonist to create humor about this post. "Why They Hate Us" Does Not Explain the Deep Root Causes of Terrorism?" This post challenges holy grail assumptions.

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For more posts to evoke critical thinking, go to:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/today/author/13319

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