Rex Murphy: The right to your own opinion is a keystone of a true democracy

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It certainly does not have to genuflect a belief that it does not have or a cause that sees its supporters differently or use any formula of words that fashion or social pressure insists that it must.

And it is without a doubt, the right to your own opinion is the basic molecule of human dignity since it is the basic molecule of a true democracy. Being that a crowd is not a court, and a mafia has no conscience. In fact, we have developed institutions and codes that for generations have been the basis of social cohesion and general harmony.

Thus, we have the rule of law, not so much to protect ourselves from evil strangers, but to protect ourselves from ourselves in those moments when passion prevails over reason. Likewise, we maintain the rule of law as the chain-link fence that protects the precious equality of each individual with all other citizens. And perhaps equally important, the rule of law protects every citizen’s right not to be disturbed by state power and protected from sudden bursts of irrationality.

Security guarantors

Undoubtedly, the aforementioned understandings have been the guarantors of our security, our progress, and our social cohesion for a long time. Despite this, it should be noted that although these truths are old and proven, they are under challenge, even threat, in this new and hectic world of protests, riots, online complaints, and uncertain, weak or absent leadership.

Now, a new anger has entered the social and political world, where debate is either rejected or closed, intense assertion has taken the place of argument and deliberation, and anger is the new currency of political exchange. Clearly, it is a strange and, at least, worrying moment, and citizens get very little from their leaders to understand this moment, assess its potential for division and, in too many cases, try to avoid its challenge through tacit or explicit support for many of your claims or radical facts.

Meanwhile, the leaders refuse to look at the moment head-on. And sadly, fair swaths of the media are actually failing to report on this because in some cases they stopped being witnesses in favor of being participants.

While the crowds’ target, the individual is purged, a concessionary apology is issued, and the various institutions exploit in a virtue signaling deal with their critics. Clearly, politics in the broadest sense is taking a strange and potentially very dangerous turn.

Source: Rex Murphy | National Post