— thedissenter

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Tolerance

Don’t be liberal about being liberal.

By: Editor
15-02-2011
Economy, Free Market, General, Human Rights, Liberty, Tolerance

The short video at the bottom of this post is about as neat, succinct and certain in defining classical liberalism as you will find anywhere.  It builds on Dr Nigel Ashford’s short book Principles of a Free Society, commissioned by the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation which identifies the core elements to a Civic Society: Democracy; Equality; Free Enterprise; Freedom; Human Rights; Justice; Peace; Private Property; The Rule of Law; and Spontaneous Order.

In Northern Ireland there are many who loosely use the term ‘liberal’ to flatter themselves. Mostly, they haven’t a Liberal ideal or principle in their head. They use the term ‘liberal’ in the same way as they talk of ‘rights’: a vague sense of moral superiority wrapped in rhetorical cliché.

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Intolerance and exlusion a norm?

By: Editor
30-07-2010
General, Human Rights, Parading, Republicanism, Tolerance

There is no doubt that the Parades Commission has become an impediment to dialogue by acting in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner.  This may because the Commission is caught between it’s regulatory responsibilities, its inability to understand that it has no ‘public order’ role, and the tendency to accept advice or comment coming directly from politicians (or the NIO) as being of greater importance than the facts before them in a particular and local case.

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Snake Oil

By: Editor
22-02-2010
DUP, General, Parading, Republicanism, SDLP, Tolerance, Unionism, UUP

All the ingredients were there: the crisis, the Prime Ministers, the big house, the Belfast Telegraph survey, the Parties doing all night sittings and the press pack.  At the end of all that we have the “Agreement at Hillsborough Castle” as it is officially described.  Not a deal.  Not “The Hillsborough Castle Agreement”.  Nothing definitive, just ‘agreement’ as part of a step process: same process as the “Agreement at St Andrews‘.

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No Offence

By: Editor
18-09-2009
Bill of Rights, Human Rights, Parading, Republicanism, Tolerance

Republicans and nationalists seem to have very thin skins.  This readiness to take offence is almost impossible to address, least of all politically, in a civil society.  In Northern Ireland, Republicans have been adept at turning an emotional response to something misunderstood (deliberately or by default) into a political cause.  ‘Resident’ groups have regularly claimed the great offence taken at Loyal Order Parades, without any great examination or challenge as to the nature and cause of that offence.  There has followed the “right not to be offended”, again almost taken as read.

The summer interview with Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty by the Economist (below) will not have been welcome in Republican Nationalist circles.


Around 12 minutes in, Ms Chakrabarti says: “I would say to people of faith, and to people who are not of faith, that the one right that none of us should ever have is the right not to be offended”.   

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