On liberty in Britain:
The way cabinet ministers think of themselves today and what they do are at odds. They think of themselves as reasonable, tolerant, humane and liberal people, but their actions tell an altogether different story.
- taken from the Summerfield Lecture
It’s in The Independent, so it will be subscriber only soon. It’s from a lecture by Henry Porter. It’s important. Read it. At least scroll down and read the last six or seven paragraphs of the left hand column and the first paragraph at the top of the right, and see what we’ve already lost.
Link c/o the ever-vigilant (but in a good way) Chicken Yoghurt.
Song playing as this was published: Beth Orton - “Blood Red River”
Excellent essay. Not to the level of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” but the point is made.
Yes, well, that would be kind of hard to live up to. The thing is, the government doesn’t appear to have sat down and decided that Habeus Corpus (say) must be abolished to help lay the foundations for a thousand glorious years of facism, or something - I pretty much agree with the quote that these ministers really are doing what they think is best for society - but they do seem to pass very wide-ranging laws without (apparently) thinking about any consequences other than upon their immediate and narrow target. Far, far too often I’ve heard high-ranking ministers or even the attorney general explain that a new and oppressive piece of legislation “isn’t meant for everyone, just a few, dangerous individuals.” Completely ignoring the fact that actually, it will (or at least should) be applied uniformly.
Mr Fact, you are a Hero. I had a ticket for the Summerfield Lecture, but at the very last minute had to abandon plans. I was more than a bit peeved. Now I am happy! (Well, not about ID cards and the fact that the actions of a few are being over-emphasised and magnified to create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion in order to justify wide-ranging curtailment of the rights of the many, obviously. Or that I don’t appear to have a mini bar of Green and Blacks stashed anywhere about the house. In fact, I’m quite peeved about that!)