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Opinion

Silencing dissent will only spark more 

Reid Midgett
Opinion Columnist

Imagine an America in which the founders of this country are insulted and ridiculed. Imagine the pain and the hurt that would be caused by the debasement of George Washington or Benjamin Franklin. It could perhaps destroy the very fabric of this country and its democracy. It's a good thing that would never happen in a morally superior country such as this.

Turkey, on the other hand, isn't so far advanced as the United States and must protect its leaders and founders from the abuse of people. 

A parliamentary commission in Turkey approved Thursday a proposal to ban all Web sites that are deemed "insulting" to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey. This proposal arrives a few weeks after the government banned access to YouTube when some complaints were raised about videos insulting the country's founder.

Perhaps it is not the place for a Western outsider to cry out against this move by the Turkish government, to cry out for freedom of speech and of expression. Nationalist Turks even said themselves that this is an internal affair not open to criticism from the rest of the world.

Yet this is a Web site -- multiple Web sites, in fact -- that may get banned from ever being seen again in the country. This is not just the principle of free speech that is being endangered -- it is the freedom of a people to not have their government control their private lives. The next step will be monitoring their homes in hopes to catch them slandering their founder and their leaders through their own means.

It is illegal in Turkey to speak of the government breaking up or to talk poorly of Ataturk. Imagine living in a place where one cannot wish for political change or talk of past governments in an effort to better the present one. This is how the Turks live, and yet the government expects them to glorify their oppressive lawmakers and only speak well of them.

If a government seeks to oppress its people, it is only logical that they will lash out and criticize the government. In turn, it will work harder to silence them. This cycle continues until one side breaks and peace is disturbed.

If Turkey wishes to enter the European Union, it will have to start making some changes. It cannot restrict its people from something as global as the Internet, and it cannot invade the privacy of their homes by banning sites. It is respectful and reverent to speak highly of the man that founded the country, but painting him in a negative light should not be punished. If this were true in America, almost everyone in the country would be guilty of this crime.

Criticism and expression are beneficial to every society, even if they sometimes spark conflict. At least then the conflict is brought to the foreground and can be dealt with instead of simmering in the minds of a country because its people are forced to stay silent.

Midgett, a communication junior, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu