Here’s something for my fellow bloggers to think about:
Ahmad Abu Khair, a 33-year-old Syrian who has been blogging about the revolutionary events unfolding in the Middle East, was reportedly arrested on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times‘ technology blog.
Although according to the Times “the charges against Khair hadn’t yet been made public,” it’s reasonable to assume that Khair’s arrest was connected to his posts in support of the uprisings in the region.
Reading about Khair’s arrest last night, I thought about the freedom to blog that I take for granted. How easy it is for me to post on so many topics, so many of them trivial when compared to what others are posting in other, less open parts of the world.
I also wondered: If the words I typed on the screen posed a threat to the government and put me in danger of arrest, jail or worse, would I still blog?
Would you?
Thanks to Adam Johnson (@adamjohnsons) for pointing out the story.
Andy writes! 
Andrew – a very profound thought in today’s blog. It is sad that Ahmad Abu Khair was arrested for stating his opinion in an open forum. Goes to show what a strong voice one person has on the internet. Something many of us take for granted sometimes. Thanks for pointing this out and highlighting the importance of being able to speak freely on the internet.
Thanks for the comment, Travis. It really is astounding how the power of online communication can threaten closed regimes. This kind of ties back to my thoughts in the previous post about the merits of open systems for fostering creativity, innovation and, in this case, protests and (hopefully) democracy.
Hardly a day goes by I don’t marvel at the freedoms we have here in comparison with people in other cultures. Yes, I do take my freedoms for granted and thanks for the reminder. And blessings to people like Ahmad who have the courage to speak the truth in danger. Would I? I’d like to think so, but it’s easy to say that sitting in my office listening to Pandora.