I’ve only just now caught up with a July 3 article from a newspaper called the Napa Valley Register (which, I must confess, is not a publication I ordinarily check out on a daily basis). The article reported on a lecture about Islam by Robert Spencer that had been scheduled to take place at a Roman Catholic church in Sacramento. The event, according to the Register, would still go on as planned, but the venue had been changed after orders came down from the Diocese of San Francisco that Spencer was not to be allowed to speak on church property. Plainly, diocesan officials did not wish to invite criticism – or worse – from those who might be offended by honest talk about Islam.

It was interesting to note that the church at which Spencer was to give his talk is called – of all things – St. Stephen the First Martyr Parish. The lesson being that some Christians, while more than glad to honor their martyrs, are desperate to do everything they can to avoid the slightest chance of becoming martyrs themselves.

Anyway, to get to the point: I couldn’t help noticing that the author of the piece in the Register, one Isabelle Dills, had a fondness for a certain word. In her first sentence, she described Spencer as “a controversial writer about the threat of Islam.” A few lines later she noted that he’s “the director of Jihad Watch, a controversial blog that focuses on terrorism and violence committed by Muslims.” And a bit further on, she observed that “Spencer’s writings about Islam — particularly on his blog — have stirred up controversy around the globe.”

The mot du jour, obviously, was “controversial.”

I certainly don’t mean to single out Ms. Dills for censure. She’s only playing by the current unwritten rules of respectable journalism. These days, after all, anyone who dares to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Islam is by definition trafficking in controversy.

READ MORE: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/whats-in-a-word/