![\""Sassy,"](\"http:\/\/www.arroya.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Sassy-2.jpg\")
<\/a>“Sassy,” a little girl looking for a place to be.<\/p><\/div>\n
I pressed him for more information. He just shook his head and stared into the room of bustling activity as the Samaritans were clearing the breakfast tables. He looked like he was afraid to speak. My young acquaintance needed a shower, clean jeans, and some decent shoes. I told him about the dangers of crossing our desert\u2014the extreme cold temperatures, the federal agents that would be hunting for him, the fear and loathing that so many Americans have toward migrants heading north. He spoke very little English, but somehow we connected. He asked for a clean pair of socks.<\/p>\n
I asked him what kind of work he did in Guerrero. He told me he was a college student studying to be an engineer, but could do construction work. \u00a0I told him, \u201cCuidado.\u201d Be careful. The desert is a dangerous place. He replied, \u201cIt will be better than Guerrero.\u201d<\/p>\n
He crossed himself several times, picked up a packet of soap and a toothbrush, and was out the door.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Victoria and the wall<\/p><\/div>\n
And I have to confess that this kind of experience with a migrant both moves me and terrifies me. As much as I love Mexico, I cannot ignore the fact that hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico and Central America do not trust the police, their government, or the renegade lawlessness of the drug cartels. In fact, many believe that they are one and the same. This young college student believes that he may lose his life if he reports the things he saw in Guerrero.<\/p>\n
I think about him each day, and whisper little half-prayers to the winds and to God. He is closer to my idea\u00a0of a decent human being than most of the members of Congress.<\/p>\n
He prefers taking his chances in the Sonoran desert. Free speech has a price in Mexico.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Samaritans stirring the pot<\/p><\/div>\n
I’ve been thinking a lot about free speech and its implications since the recent massacre of journalists and cartoonists in the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. I had never heard of Charlie Hebdo or seen any of the cartoons before this incident. To be honest, I was repulsed and shocked by some of the drawings; most of them I simply didn’t understand. Finding the caricatures crude and puzzling, I decided that the humor was a cultural anomaly–a French thing–and France was\u00a0diving into areas that some Americans would label as hateful, racist and anti-religious. Charlie Hebdo reminded me of\u00a0Mad Magazine<\/i>, the radical rag of my youth.<\/p>\n Clean clothes and hope<\/p><\/div>\n Free speech in a democratic society is often messy and provocative. Frequently things get dirty and uncomfortable. We try to organize our complex world, but the best we can do is sketch out a crude map of life from our own particular vantage point. Cartoons, if they are good, often distill this complexity into a few simple drawings, a few words, that deliver deeper truths.<\/p>\n I applaud satire and artists who push the envelope and make me think. They peel away the comfortable layers of my civilized world, often exposing the very things that hold my life together. In a perfect world, artists should be able to create freely and not be restrained by social mores. They should give you a punch in the gut. \u00a0I would like to say that I defend the right of free speech and the expression of all ideas, no matter how uncomfortable. \u00a0But this is probably not altogether true. \u00a0I draw the line at child pornography, incitement to violence, libelous statements, and probably a few other things I haven’t thought of.<\/p>\n As much as I crave order and simplicity and truth, the politics of free speech are murky.<\/p>\n Shoes that fit<\/p><\/div>\n This is not a perfect world. If a cartoon or article is provocative and offensive to some, it is impossible to predict what will happen. This is the unfortunate state of the world today. Artists and journalists were martyred in Paris for their expression of free speech. They took a risk and they died.<\/p>\n No one should die for a cartoon. No one should die for writing a book. Violence toward another human should not be part of the equation.<\/p>\n But it is.<\/p>\n I honor and respect the artists’ right to express whatever they choose, even if I find the art odious and offensive. Artists and writers must make a choice; there may be freedom of speech, but unfortunately, there may also be consequences. \u00a0We take our chances.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>