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| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
The average canadian likes to think they are liberal thinkers but has no problem when it comes to forcing their own regiment on others. Doing that defies the very definition of liberal itself! Being liberal is not all about accepting different races and sexualities (although that does play a part of it). Being liberal truely means live and let live. Being a liberal thinker means you have strong beliefs but also defend the right for others to think how they want. |
Jay everything you say about "liberal thinking" is correct if we are refering to the political ideology of liberalism. Unfortunately, most Canadians have no idea what the word liberal actually means when it comes to politics. While most Canadians characterise themselves as being politically liberal they are infact politically conservative.
Small c conservatives believe in the balance of rights/freedoms and order. They accept government regulation as necessary to make sure that the rights of some don't infring upon the rights of others. It is mainly conservative thinkers that demand political correctness because to them there is no greater sin then offending another.
True small l liberal thinkers think the way you do.... that everyone has the same rights and freedoms, the government should not institute controls on those rights and freedoms, and that it is the duty of citizens to ensure that everyone has the same rights and freedoms whether you ascribe to the opinion being expressed or not.
Certainly more Canadians believe that people's rights need to be balanced against the rights of others. This is largely due to the fact that we are a political culture born of compromise. From the very foundation Canada was a collection of states that had to set aside some of their own interests in order to protect the interests they held most dear in forming the confederated Dominion. This spirit of compromise was then enshrined by our courts which ruled again and again on issues of jurisdiction by trying to balance the rights of the province with the rights of the confederation. Eventually this method of thought filtered down to the individual level when the idea of individual rights and freedoms was first instituted in Canadian law and eventually the charter. Our history is full of compromise, our society works on compromise, and our courts force compromise, subsequently, we as a nation demand compromise. Is this the best path.... I don't know, I think that we must be willing to compromise on some issues, however, I believe that we have lost far to many individual rights in favour of the "good of the whole." Unfortunately, for you and I, there is not a large enough portion of our population that is eager to see a shift in the balance of individual vs. societal rights so the current pattern will likely continue until it results in widespread outrage.
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| quote: | Originally posted by RickyM
you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about. |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down 
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