Adults should be able to decide what they agree and disagree with, without politicians inserting themselves into the process.
When you see a politician or political party fail to use their existing authority, while demanding even more authority, you can be sure that they aren’t being entirely honest with you.
And that’s what is quite disturbing about the latest move by the Trudeau government to ‘protect Canadians online.’
As reported yesterday, the Liberal government plans to introduce legislation to ‘curb’ ‘hurtful or offensive’ social media postings.
Of course, ‘hurtful or offensive’ is subjective.
What one person may find hilarious, another person may find offensive.
And it’s key to point out that the government is going far beyond hate speech.
There is already legislation against hate speech, which gives the government the power to take action against individuals who spread hate online.
If confronting hate speech was the goal, the government already has all the power they need to do so.
So, by going beyond that, it appears that this is about something else.
What happened to letting people make their own decisions?
As we have seen throughout the virus crisis, many people in this country have seemingly accepted that politicians are supposed to protect us from ourselves, rather than simply protect our individual rights.
Now, it seems that attitude is being extended online, with the government deciding what is and isn’t ‘offensive,’ rather than letting us decide on our own.
It’s a serious infringement on self-determination, the idea that – as adults – we should be free to make our own choices.
After all, the government is simply another group of adults, and they should be focused on delivering basic services and defending core rights, not making themselves our moral arbiters.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
