Non-negotiable

Bill Maher’s material is very hit-or-miss.. he’s often too acerbic for me, but this segment from a few weeks ago was excellent.

(Some language not safe for work or for people who get offended)

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39d1fHRHrM4)

A couple of my favorite quotes from that:
“Our culture isn’t just different from one that makes death threats to cartoonists, it’s better.”

“The western world needs to make it clear: some things about our culture are not negotiable and can’t change. And one of them is freedom of speech. Separation of church and state is another. Women are allowed to work here and you can’t beat them: not negotiable. This is how we roll. This is why our system is better, and if you don’t get that and you still want to kill someone over a stupid cartoon, please make it Garfield.”

When comparing cultures, it can sometimes be very easy to slip in to moral relativism and just accept just about anything (a “peculiar institution”, for example), but it’s important to draw the line somewhere. I think Maher’s list here, though certainly incomplete, is pretty easy to get behind.