A View From Middle England - Conservative with a slight libertarian touch - For Christian charity and traditional belief - Free Enterprise NOT Covert Corporatism

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Christians in crisis?

It now seems that the Blairite New Britain has a fully fledged army of politically correct zealots all ready and eager to have a go. Blair smiles sweetly when confronted. But the seriousness of all this is that here we have a man whose views on democracy and free speech seem to have been sent to Mars and back. Much of them are undemocratic and give the nod and wink to these zealous jobsworths.

One such jobsworth works for Wyre Borough Council or more preciously the people of Fleetwood in Lancashire. A Christian couple (Mr & Mrs Roberts) in Fleetwood tried to display Christian literature next to gay rights' leaflets. They were astonished when the council objected. The jobsworth saw his opportunity and phoned the police who apparently had "experienced and skilled police officers" ready to come round to the Roberts' house for a "re-educating session". They thought some homophobic offence had taken place.

Now, after a long time and the approaching trial (yes, it had gone that far!) the police and the borough have caved in. The couple have been awarded an out-of-court settlement of £10,000 which they will give to charity.

I find all this very threatening, that the state has taken it upon itself to suggest that a particular way of living is to be accepted in total by all. Mr Roberts has made plain he never implied, suggested or believed in unpleasant remarks. He simply wanted to make a point of view. Personally, I would have let the gay leaflets go, but Mr Roberts has a perfect right to his methods and his views, so long as they are lawful.

It is the way the police are prepared to pounce on democratic rights to pander to these "New Labour" fascists that makes me so angry. It is a holier than thou approach. Banning free speech is the first line of attack when the argument is weak.

Blair struts the world speaking of democracy but his Downing street bunker mentality, with all its attractions for the rather nasty hangers-on, has made him so less plausible as a democratic advocate. How is it that the police have had to revisit his place to insist on emails and documents being handed over? Obstruction of justice in the bunker?

The police must wonder what their political masters want. Is it chasing people down over free speech violations or making sure that crime doesn't pay? Suddenly it appears somewhat scary!

0 comments:

Post a Comment