The M-word.

Kathleen Parker makes the sensible case that free thought and free expression, leading to dialogue and conversation, should trump the intolerance of political correctness and the 'thought police'.  This in response to the furor about Juan Williams and Bill O'Reilly in their comments about Muslims.  With regards to Bill O'Reilly and the 'girls' on 'The View', what exactly did they expect when they invited O'Reilly?  Provocative statements are his M.O.  This is one part of modern liberalism that really bothers me.

Juan Williams has learned an important lesson: Beware the M-word.

The former NPR analyst, fired from his radio job for an offhand remark he made about Muslims on the Fox News network, has become the latest victim of the thought police.

What did he say? That he gets a little nervous when he sees people on airplanes in "Muslim garb." Bzzzzzt. Off with his lips! And so Williams is no longer affiliated with NPR, though he did pick up a nice gig at Fox as compensation -- a three-year contract worth $2 million or so.

Williams's ouster followed closely on the heels of Bill O'Reilly's own public drumming on "The View," the girl show where women of different decades discuss current events in various octaves that cannot be perceived by heterosexual males. There. How many people did I manage to offend with that facetious but true-ish description?

Both Williams and O'Reilly may have failed to sufficiently qualify their statements in the moment, but neither deserved the outrage. The Sept. 11 attacks obviously were carried out by men who claimed to be committing mass murder/suicide for Allah. And guess what? Lots of Americans suffer an involuntary free-associative moment when boarding an airplane alongside someone whose attire says, "Oh, by the way, I'm a serious enough Muslim to dress in the way Allah commands," but no worries.

Perhaps we shouldn't entertain those thoughts, but we do. Is it better that we air our fears and address them, or should we repress them and keep our prayers to ourselves? Wait. Let me rephrase that. Let's do keep our prayers to ourselves, but let's also speak openly about our fears.

I'd happily wager that Williams said nothing that 99 percent of Americans haven't thought to themselves. What might have followed that statement -- far more useful than a sanctimonious public flogging -- was the conversation we're now having. Or at least that I'm having. Hello?