The Interview, a comedic film featuring a plot to assassinate the current North Korean dictator, King Jong-Un, was recently canceled by Sony. Several major movie chains were refusing to debut the movie on December 25th, as their theaters could potentially become “terror targets.”

Fearful of compromising their employees’ safety, as well as they customers’, AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Cineplex and Cinemark stated on Wednesday, December 18th that they would not show the movie in their theaters. Sony, which had lost intellectual property, as well as sensitive materials due to a cyber-attack by North Korea, then released a statement, in which they declared The Interview would not be released. It appears as though North Korea has won a battle against not only Sony, but against freedom of speech, a right that we truly take for granted.

Sony’s movie, although offensive, had been compromised by fear of retaliation, which is terrorism. As a nation that prides itself on protecting freedom worldwide, even declaring a “War on Terror,” we should not be so sudden to allow terrorism to dictate our actions.

North Korea holds no jurisdiction in the United States, nor do they have the right to threaten the people who inhabit it. A country as openly evil as North Korea should not be allowed to strike fear into innocent people. Were I in charge of Sony, I would release The Interview, refusing to back-down from their threats.

This ideology isn’t economically sound, as Sony had valuable information, such as movie plots, released and ruined by North Korea, and it would certainly occur again if Sony did follow through with the movie’s release. Regardless, if I found my company, and my rights being threatened by a dictatorship through terrorism, I would have gone through with its release, just to demonstrate that it is my right, our right, to have freedom of speech. I would have even launched a debut showing of the movie on the border of North and South Korea, if I had the opportunity to.

The war on terror, which began in 2001, is far from over, and now it even encompasses North Korea, which rely on cowardly tactics to get what they want. This threat is not just one directed to our country, but one to all countries. We must all work together, as a world, to create an environment where we do not have to be fearful of releasing our own, unique content; one where terror does not exist.