Salient’s Publication of Cartoons Naive

To the editors:



In defending its publication of the now infamous “Danish cartoons,” the prevailing arguments of The Salient are a defense of free speech and the need to reveal the absurdity, and even hypocrisy, of our “cultural sensitivities” (“Salient Publishes Danish Cartoons,” news, Feb. 14). Under different circumstances, these implied goals would not only be acceptable, but even admirable. However, in defending these cartoons and publishing them, The Salient has made a grossly naive mistake. As The Salient well knows, we are at war, and thus, The Salient should have asked itself, “Does publishing these cartoons help our allies or our enemies?” The ensuing riots that some of our allies have struggled to subdue, and the inevitable use of these cartoons as recruiting tools and propaganda by the Jihadists answer this question loudly and clearly. There are other means by which The Salient could have challenged Harvard’s misguided sensitivities, but in this instance, The Salient has put its desire to grandstand and challenge the liberal orthodoxy of Harvard ahead of our country’s goal of winning a war it has so eagerly supported.



SEAN BARRETT ’07

February 15, 2006