Totalitarian Tolerance is Nothing New
The inflexible forces of tolerance have scored another victory against intolerant speech. French actress Brigitte Bardot was fined 15,000 euros for the statement: "I've had enough of being led by the nose by this whole population which is destroying us, (and) destroying our country by imposing their ways." She was referring to the Muslims of course, specifically to what she views as their inhumane killing of animals. So to demonstrate she was wrong, the government imposed the fine for even writing the statement.
This is where the politically-correct movement is heading in the United States and Canada too. We musn't criticize Islam. We can't preach against homosexuality or we risk going to jail (in Canada and some states). Those who work against illegal immigration are called racists.
Many would also love to silence pro-life activists. Have we forgotten the police brutality against Operation Rescue and other pro-life people participating in peaceful civil disobedience? Or the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law that was finally struck down for violating first amendment rights? Or the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law that limits political speech?
In the pro-life movement, we look back to the anti-slavery movement of the 1800's for inspiration. They faced much worse restriction of their first amendment rights than we have seen. In the 1830's, the postal system in many parts of the country refused to deliver "incendiary publications," such as those that criticized slavery. John Quincy Adams fought for years to overcome Congress' gag order that kept them from even considering citizens' petitions against slavery. Anti-slavery newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy was murdered in Alton, Ill., because he refused to stop his abolitionist writing. And the unlawfully-elected proslavery government of "Bloody" Kansas made mere possession of Uncle Tom's Cabin a crime punishable by death.
Repression wears many "respectable" faces. Today it is the face of tolerance. Evil must not be criticized, for that would make someone feel bad. So evil and oppression go on while too many nice people enable it by their silence. Martin Luther King, Jr. condemned the silent compromise with racial oppression, and the leaders of the Moral Majority movement condemned the silent compromise with other forms of evil, such as sexual immorality, perversion, and abortion.
Ms. Bardot has pledged that she will not be silent on the Islamic takeover of her country. Respectable citizens of France may be too polite to say what she says, but when they go to bed worried that the Muslim riots will spread to their city, they have to know in their hearts that she is right. Tolerance of evil is always easier, but we must always stand against that oppression that would silence all dissidents, whether in the name of tolerance or for any other reason.
Perhaps King Solomon put it best: "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them."
And again: "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord."
Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.
This is where the politically-correct movement is heading in the United States and Canada too. We musn't criticize Islam. We can't preach against homosexuality or we risk going to jail (in Canada and some states). Those who work against illegal immigration are called racists.
Many would also love to silence pro-life activists. Have we forgotten the police brutality against Operation Rescue and other pro-life people participating in peaceful civil disobedience? Or the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law that was finally struck down for violating first amendment rights? Or the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law that limits political speech?
In the pro-life movement, we look back to the anti-slavery movement of the 1800's for inspiration. They faced much worse restriction of their first amendment rights than we have seen. In the 1830's, the postal system in many parts of the country refused to deliver "incendiary publications," such as those that criticized slavery. John Quincy Adams fought for years to overcome Congress' gag order that kept them from even considering citizens' petitions against slavery. Anti-slavery newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy was murdered in Alton, Ill., because he refused to stop his abolitionist writing. And the unlawfully-elected proslavery government of "Bloody" Kansas made mere possession of Uncle Tom's Cabin a crime punishable by death.
Repression wears many "respectable" faces. Today it is the face of tolerance. Evil must not be criticized, for that would make someone feel bad. So evil and oppression go on while too many nice people enable it by their silence. Martin Luther King, Jr. condemned the silent compromise with racial oppression, and the leaders of the Moral Majority movement condemned the silent compromise with other forms of evil, such as sexual immorality, perversion, and abortion.
Ms. Bardot has pledged that she will not be silent on the Islamic takeover of her country. Respectable citizens of France may be too polite to say what she says, but when they go to bed worried that the Muslim riots will spread to their city, they have to know in their hearts that she is right. Tolerance of evil is always easier, but we must always stand against that oppression that would silence all dissidents, whether in the name of tolerance or for any other reason.
Perhaps King Solomon put it best: "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them."
And again: "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord."
Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.
posted by Wesley Wilson at
7:45 PM
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