Knife

The idea of assassinating a novelist after his writing about Muhammad is brutal. 

The way Salman Rushdie was stabbed fifteen times onstage scares me. His liver was damaged. His small intestine had to be removed. He had stab wounds over the neck, the right eye, the left hand, the chest, and over all the face. One year after the miraculous recovery from the knife attack, the Booker Prize winner wrote a memoir to reflect on his journey close to death.

His message about the freedom of expression is clear. It is therefore no surprise that one day after the knife attack, Biden reminded all Americans and people around the world of our commitment to truth, courage, resilience, and the ability to share ideas without fear.

Who won't support freedom of speech? We all should value the right to speak freely. 

But what about the right not to? Sometimes silence is golden. Salman Rushdie mentioned his right eye injury. After the serious damage to the optic nerve, he lost his right eye. His doctor proposed to lower the eyelid and then stitch it shut. I didn't have to listen to his loud noises of anguish to know that procedure really hurt.

Salman Rushdie gave us two pieces of advice. First, if you can avoid having your eyelid sewn shut, avoid it. Second, if you are the surgeon, don't say to your patient "it was successful" after the awful operation. If you choose such expression, mind you, your patient could have sewn your mouth shut.