The Dutch assault on free speech
The Netherlands are even farther along the road to societal disintegration than the rest of the West. Not only is physican-assisted suicide legal there, but so is "marriage" between any number and combination of individuals of whatever genders.
The Dutch are in the news at the present moment, however, because- like a number of putative Western democracies, including Canada- they are unclear on the concept of free speech. An admittedly marginal Dutch right-winger is on trial for "hate speech-" his crime being to question the wisdom of Holland's open borders policy.
Sorry, guys. We don't have a mere cultural difference here. Nations like Holland- and even Canada- are only partially free societies as long as speech which is not demonstrably slanderous is criminalized.
You cannot have laws against "hate speech-" even speech far more repugnant than that which has occasioned the current Dutch trial- and claim to be a free society. The Dutch case illustrates the reason: once the principle is admitted, any speech critical of any government policy can be interpreted, if one is willing to go through enough rhetorical and intellectual gymnastics- as "hate speech."
Any speech at all- especially if it is critical of the government currently in power.
And democracy cannot permanently survive that sort of thing. Freedom cannot survive it even temporarily.
HT: Real Clear Politics
The Dutch are in the news at the present moment, however, because- like a number of putative Western democracies, including Canada- they are unclear on the concept of free speech. An admittedly marginal Dutch right-winger is on trial for "hate speech-" his crime being to question the wisdom of Holland's open borders policy.
Sorry, guys. We don't have a mere cultural difference here. Nations like Holland- and even Canada- are only partially free societies as long as speech which is not demonstrably slanderous is criminalized.
You cannot have laws against "hate speech-" even speech far more repugnant than that which has occasioned the current Dutch trial- and claim to be a free society. The Dutch case illustrates the reason: once the principle is admitted, any speech critical of any government policy can be interpreted, if one is willing to go through enough rhetorical and intellectual gymnastics- as "hate speech."
Any speech at all- especially if it is critical of the government currently in power.
And democracy cannot permanently survive that sort of thing. Freedom cannot survive it even temporarily.
HT: Real Clear Politics
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