IS THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH… all the other freedoms pale in comparison.
But Sadly, we in Canada do not have it.
This week past, saw a supposed pastor, Terry Jones, denied entry into our country because he has a tendency to burn Korans. Not a nice person, but not so un-nice that we can be denied our right to hear what he says, whether we agree with him or not.
This is what Democracy is based upon.
The only time a person should be thwarted in his or her efforts to speak and be heard, is if they are directly calling for death or injury to someone or some group. For instance, “all Martians should be burned in the street.”
And dear reader, we have laws that deal specifically with those types of situations, they are adequately – indeed perhaps too adequately, encompassed in our country’s criminal code.
What we do not need are Kangaroo Courts a.k.a Human Rights Tribunals, stamping out Freedom of Speech in their Zeal to Cleanse the Mouths and Minds of Society. The right to say and hear what other people think is the fundamental thing that separates Democracy from Dictatorship.
Recently, we saw and heard the spectacle of the President of Iran delivering his annual address to the United Nations. His rants, said more about how vile he and his administration is, than his silence could ever portray. This, then, is the value of retaining the United Nations – but I digress.
But now here in Canada, we have a guy denied entry into our country for burning books.
I could try to pull at your heart strings and tell you about the thousands of our soldiers who have died for our Freedoms and indeed they did, but in the scheme of the things that is not the issue here. True, those dead soldiers made it possible for us to Live in Freedom, but it is up to Those Of Us Among The Living to see that our Freedom Survives.
So What To Do?
First, in the case of Terry Jones, we need to know who exactly made the decision to turn him back at the border and on what supposed authority. Given the importance of this, once it is known, I would send the bureaucrat or politician packing.
Second, we should demand that the Human Rights Tribunals be all disbanded.
Third, we need to tell our fellow citizens that if they are not prepared to think for themselves, then sooner or later, someone will step and do their thinking for them.
In Canada, and indeed around the Western World, this can already be seen happening.
As I see it…
‘K.D. Galagher’
