“More recently, Maclean’s magazine has been dragged before the Ontario Human Rights Commission for allegedly publishing ‘Islamophobic’ hate literature by printing columnist Mark Steyn’s demographic analysis of Europe, which warned readers of the birth of Eurabia. While exaggerated, Steyn’s forcefully argued prose is in a long tradition of challenging journalism; it hardly constitutes Nazi propaganda. Yet today almost any criticism of a group is met with demands for legal redress and veiled threats instead of civil public debate.
“As 2008 dawns, Canadians must realize that, rather than hide or oppress differences, we must relearn how to see the common humanity in each other. It would help if we could understand human rights as what they are meant to be: legal protections to ensure that individuals have the freedom to live truly dignified lives, being able to express their humanity through their religion, their speech, their association with others, their family life and upbringing of their children, their ability to work and obtain the necessities of life.
“‘Rights’ were never meant to protect us from exposure to different ideas, on one hand, or sanction identity politics on the other.”
