Eva Bradley: The opinions of friends

The supporters of Charlie Hebdo march through Paris

Freedom of speech and the right to express an opinion are principles that form the cornerstone of any democracy.

They are two things we expect and take for granted, but in the wake of this week's Paris terrorist attack the reality is that freedom of speech now comes with a very high price tag.

There will now be few brave enough to speak freely about issues that put them in the cross hairs of Muslim extremist groups for fear of paying for that freedom with their lives.

In a time when journalism is sliding down a steep and slippery slope toward amusement instead of information, and cheap and cheerful has replaced the investment in investigation, Charlie Hebdo represented the Fourth Estate at its dwindling finest.

It went where others were afraid to go and in so doing made itself a target and a yet also a martyr.

News organisations will now go in one of two directions - they will cower and quake, understandably afraid to say the things that need to be said about Muslim terrorists for fear of the consequences, or in a united front the media will stand together and force the world to focus on a problem that grows bigger with every voice silenced in fear.

What is happening in Paris is global. But in our own lives on a micro level the theme is the same.

Social media has enabled us to express our opinions instantly and (for some reason I still can't quite understand) often hideously unfiltered.

As a result all of us are now able to stand up for what we feel passionate about and broadcast our thoughts and feelings, perhaps not to the world ... but to the world we live in.

Whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen although I have learned that often the less you know about your friends' opinions on things the more you like them.

Since I'm no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing my own thoughts on many topics, I've been cut a few times by people I considered friends.

A de-friend on Facebook is the small-town equivalent to a man walking into an office with a gun and pulling the trigger. Both actions are motivated by people who can't accept that others have a right to freedom of speech and a fanatical belief that their way is the right and only way. Yes it is pretty uncool to make a parody about someone else's religion, but when you get killed for doing it, the punishment does not fit the crime.

When we can split the atom and create new life in test tubes, why can't we all just get along? Or at the very least accept that some people will believe in one god, some in another. Why is being right so much more important than being tolerant, and kind? Those are some big questions for what's supposed to be a humour column.

But there's nothing funny about waking up to the news 12 people have lost their lives simply for being brave enough to resist intimidation.

The world today is not as good as it was yesterday. Just like glaciers recede and grow, religious violence comes and goes with varying levels of brutality over the course of history.

It feels unnervingly like we are on the edge of another major violent epoch and as my son sleeps peacefully in my arms while I type, I can't help but wonder and worry a little about the world he will grow up in.