Minister for Justice is a blasphemer
Grandad May 14th, 2009
I was asked to write a piece today that would be offensive to some religion or other, in protest at the proposed blasphemy law.
I am not going to do that.
It’s not that I’m afraid of the law, but rather that I don’t believe in being offensive for the sake of it.
This proposed blasphemy law is such a preposterous piece of bullshit, that frankly I find it very difficult to find any logic behind it. It is however symptomatic of a political system that uses laws like Elastoplast, to the extent that there is little in everyday life now that isn’t covered by some law.
This country has become over reliant on laws. Originally laws were introduced to protect the people. Now laws are being abused left right and centre to control the population, and in extreme cases as a tool to provide extra income for the government coffers.
I am a great believer in the adage that “Laws are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men”. Laws should be a written statement of the obvious, and used merely to prosecute transgressors. They should exist to protect society from the few, and not to protect us from ourselves.
How often in recent times have we heard the law being abused? We have government ministers refusing to give up absurd pensions because “the pensions are within the law”. We have a Taoiseach who “will have to take legal advice” before answering a simple question. Laws are being used now to protect the guilty which is an absurd state of affairs.
I am not going into the law in detail. If you want to read all about it, I suggest you try blasphemy.ie which is an excellent site. They explain the new law and the history behind it here. They also have an excellent analysis of the absurdity of the law and campaign proposals here.
I live my life by the common moral code. As it is my belief that this is the right ethical way to live my life, I can argue that it is my religion.
I would further propose that the majority of people in this country would aspire to that belief.
I find the proposed law extremely offensive in that it reduces my personal dignity in the eyes of the law by implying that I need to be controlled, and I would argue that the majority of people would feel the same way.
Therefore, under the terms of the proposed 2009 Defamation Bill, I hereby call for the arrest of the Minister for Justice and that the maximum fine of €100,000 be imposed
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