Eurotrash Chicken Out: No Mozart if it Riles Muslims

Roger Kimball is one of the most erudite and profound critics of the current downward spiral of values and traditions. His piece on the spineless Berliners is rich in irony, as their nannified highbrow critics of religion balk when they might be on the receiving end of the Near East version of their own recent barbarous invasions of peaceful and peace-loving countries.

It is not--not yet--too late to put a stop to our habit of appeasing a murderous fanaticism that demands privileges and indulgences it refuses to grant to others.
The spectacle of Deutsche Oper's decision to cancel "Idomeneo" suggests that the West's dealings with Islam have entered a new phase. Yesterday, we waited until after the Muslims took to the streets before capitulating; today, it appears we have moved on to pre-emptive capitulation.

Self-exploding ragdolls scare these hypocrites. Ann Althouse has more.

Kimball ends the Op-Ed with a great quote by G.K. Chesterton.

Where will it end? I suppose that depends on how much we really care about the liberty and freedom we champion with words. Freedom, as some wit observed, is not free. Will we have the gumption to pay the cost? The jury is still out on that question. I hope and pray that the answer will be yes. "There is," G.K. Chesterton noted nearly 100 years ago, "a thought that stops thought. That is the only thought that ought to be stopped."

Every generation faces its own challenge and, as was the case in the last century [two and a half times], the Europeans are failing to measure up.