You say that the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens don't compare. Well, who would you compare them with from past ages in any case? If you want to make comparisons, do make them fair.

If you don't mind, I won't do that because I don't think it will add to the debate. In fact, I think it would detract from it. But I'm sure if you think back over the last 50 or 100 years you won't go short of people in the UK who were imprisoned for actions they took because of political views - I exclude religious beliefs to avoid muddying the waters. Yes, we can hair-split whether they were jailed for the actions or the beliefs that led to those actions, but I think that would be unproductive. And in the US, thanks to McCarthyism, there is an even more direct link to people being punished for views, rather than actions.