Right, even if proven wrong.

Research has shown that people do not change their views if presented with both sides of an argument. In fact their views become even more entrenched because they adopt any argument supporting their beliefs while rejecting those against. In the US, Mitt Romney has had to do some explaining for comments he made at a fund raiser in Boca Raton in May when he said," There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. These are people who pay no tax." Which is not true because the vast majority of Americans pay federal taxes, including income tax and payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare, and state, local and sales taxes. But Republican voters are convinced that paying tax to the government goes to an army of useless bums who do nothing except sit around for handouts while Democrats are convinced that Republicans are a party of heartless rich people who want to enjoy all the facilities that the US has to offer while paying no taxes. It is only worse where religion is concerned. Fanatics believe that only their religion is the only true word of God which gives them the right to kill anyone who criticises them while reserving the right to abuse others. A trailer of a film called the Innocence of Muslims on Youtube has resulted in riots in Muslim countries. US embassies have been attacked and the US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens and 3 embassy staff were killed in Benghazi. The trailer was about 14 minutes long, extremely badly made and very offensive. Direction, acting and sound recording were poor. Whether there was any truth in it we do not know but, even if there was, it was wildly exaggerated. The people in the middle east do not understand why the film is not banned by the US government and the maker arrested because they have no concept of free speech in their countries. Freedom of speech is the First Amendment in the US constitution and cannot be touched by anyone. Governments in these countries want an international law making it a crime to insult Islam or their Prophet. But what about Muslims insulting other religions? In an article in the New York Times Thomas Freedman has given translations of some of the things said by prominent people in Muslim countries. Hasan Rahimpur Ajghadi of the Iranian Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution said that Christianity is " a reeking corpse on which you have to constantly pour eau de cologne and perfume, and wash it in order to keep it clean." The Muslim Brotherhood web page says that Jews are " the descendants of Apes and Pigs." We must remember that pigs are forbidden for Jews just as they are for Muslims. Egyptian cleric Mazen al-Sirsawi said," If Allah had not created the Shiites as human beings they would have been donkeys." If you routinely address others as Zionist pigs, infidels or kafirs then you should not object if they use names for you. But of course everyone is convinced that only he is right. And therein lies the problem.