We take it as a right to criticise our governments, churches, leaders and anyone else who we think need to have a good hard look at themselves and their actions.
The media has a role to play of holding up a mirror to the world in the hope people will see how their actions come across and change their ways for the better.
I hold little hope of that for many in the Middle East.
They see any image of Mohammed as being blasphemous and will go to extreme lengths to ensure those responsible will be frightened into submission.
I see killing people over religion, or an image, as blasphemy to whichever god we happen to worship.
The attack on the supermarket was nothing more than hatred towards Jews, who are - and have been throughout history - an easy target.
Unfortunately one of the attackers got away - a woman called Hayat Boumeddiene - which is a shame because terrorists need to be dealt with extremely harshly.
And here I will say that I have already picked out some presents for next Christmas.
I'm going to send information packages to Muslim extremists explaining humour, which many of them seem to be lacking, and also freedom of speech and thought. I know the latter two are being squeezed in almost every country around the world - particularly the politically correct, security fearful West - but that's nothing compared to any of the lands being ruled by extremist jihadis.
Beheadings, murders, kidnappings.
And it isn't just in the Middle East or Europe, the Muslim group Boko Haram has just slaughtered 2000 people in a village in Nigeria.
Most of the victims were women, children and the elderly - you know the types who will always give cowardly thugs trouble.
They were easy targets for well-armed assassins who left bodies so thick on the ground that those trying to bury them gave up counting the death toll.
Now Boko Haram is also the group that kidnapped some 200 Christian schoolgirls and forced them to convert to Islam before marrying them off to its fighters.
Such charmers ...
All that I can say to these terror groups who want to cow those of us who believe in freedom of thought and word is - "Up yours."
Je suis Charlie.
Just what the heck has been happening on our roads?
Mayhem, destruction, death and injury.
And this is at a time when police and authorities have introduced an almost zero tolerance to speedsters.
Personally, I don't know how they can actually back that up in court as car speedo accuracies vary so much there has to be a built-in tolerance greater than 1 km/h.
And I laugh uproariously when New Zealanders point the finger at tourists causing chaos on the roads.
Yes, some tourists are not great behind the wheel but neither are a hell of a lot of Kiwis.
I can say this because driving back from Auckland the other day I almost ran head on into a red Holden.
It was around Ngatea and we were tootling along at about 100km/h - on the correct side of the highway I should point out - when this moron decided to play chicken with us.
I saw him coming from quite a way off and thought that he would complete his overtaking move down the line of traffic well before we got too close.
But we got closer.
And closer.
And very, very much closer.
By that stage I had my foot on the brake and was looking for an exit off the road. If it was just me, I'd have been braver, but I had three young people with me.
Needless to say, he managed to squeeze into the line and, as he flew by, I gave him a good mouthful of Anglo-Saxon, boosted by a waving fist.
I don't care if idiots like that kill themselves, the problem is when they take others out with them.
-Richard@richardmoore.com
Richard Moore is an award-winning Western Bay journalist and photographer
