You probably don’t recall the filth that used to be broadcast for years by the infamous Father Coughlin. His program was widely syndicated over the radio networks.

Hateful speech, in the US, is protected speech. Those who speak it cannot be jailed, cannot be fined. So how does one get it knocked out of the arena of public discourse?

You identify the problem accurately: How do you get a society to shift its baseline for acceptable comment?

Changing societal views on any matter is a time-consuming affair. There are still Americans railing against the use of flouride in drinking water, and that’s been normal practice for over 50 years.

I think the Saudis are taking the right steps. They’re reforming education, from the textbooks and curriculum to the conduct of teachers in the classrooms. Saudi media are criticizing and ridiculing those who go beyond the acceptable. Government officials condemn excesses.

But the past can’t be erased overnight. Saudi religious education (which comprises a too-big a part of education in general) was corrupted, thus corrupting the views of generations of students. This, I hold, was the result of a combination of thinking “Well, a religious message can’t be a bad thing,” and great official indifference and neglect of what was actually going on.

The fact is, there are parts of the Quran that can be exploited to make particular political points. There are harsh words about Jews and Christians in the Quran. There are also kind words about them. What one chooses to emphasize makes all the difference.

The Old Testament is not a great source for favorable comment about religions the Israelites were seeking to displace as they moved into the Holy Land. Protestants in Europe didn’t have much to say favorable–but a lot to say hatefully–about Catholicism… and some Protestant sects still feel that way.

We are never going to see all Saudis, all Arabs, all Muslims suddenly wake up one day and say “Oh, we must have been wrong! Jews and Christians are our brothers!” Our best hope is that most can reach the realization that a way to co-exist peacefully must be found.

I don’t think that the Saudi government should censor people (though it does have control over government publications), but that these views seem accepted by a significant portion of Saudi society.

For example, in the US it is our own society that will tend to censor hate speech through condemnation and general disapproval. It still happens, but it is not widespread, and people tend not to flaunt it, because the society disapproves. The societal view is probably more important than whether the government wants to silence them or not.

The NY Sun is a good local paper. How it influences NYC readers is, of course, of import. But the UK’s Sun is also their largest circulating tabloid. The import of its voice in serious matters is next to non-existent. “Next to,” because they do sometimes break a big story.

The NY Sun took a story that was sure to reinforce existing prejudices among readers. That’s not a really difficult editorial decision; it’s a marketing decision.

I’ve said clearly that these are abhorent publications. But I’ve also noted flaws in the Freedom House report methodology. If you think that’s the “Saudi point of view”, then maybe the Saudis are closer to where you want them to be. My role, as I see it, is to provide context, not mitigation.

I do confess that when it comes to Saudi Arabia–as with most things in life–I’ve a tendency to see glasses half-full, not half-empty. The Saudi glass, as I see it, is moving above the half-full mark, but has a long way to go before it gets to full.

You may have forgotten, but in America, public opinion is important. Right now, the public’s approval of the Saudis is a little less favorable than their approval of Michael Jackson. In fact, Saudis may be descending to the Scott Peterson level.

“In his inaugural address, President Bush told Americans that “We have seen our vulnerability – and we have seen its deepest source,” which he identified as “ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder.” If this is true – and we think it is – then Saudi Arabia must be counted among America’s chief enemies. No other country or organization is as responsible as the Saudi government for publishing and promoting hate-filled, violent propaganda abroad. The Saudis’ brand of fundamentalist Islam, Wahhabism, is perhaps the greatest obstacle to promoting democracy in the Muslim world

“No other country or organization is as responsible as the Saudi government for publishing and promoting hate-filled, violent propaganda abroad” – Saudi Arabia’s policy is to export terrorism, so it’s no surprise that they’re only updating the manuals for Saudi schools.

The New York Sun is fast becoming one of the most popular newspapers in the NYC area. When a popular paper states that Saudi Arabia is one of our chief enemies, that is something new.