I came across a news story that leaves me very sceptical about the future of the world we are living today.
Quote from BBC News:
"A Dutch court has turned down a request to ban a political party with a paedophile agenda.
Judge HFM Hofhuis ruled that the Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity Party (PNVD) had the same right to exist as any other political party.
The PNVD was formed by three paedophiles in May, prompting outrage in Dutch society.
It seeks to lower the age of sexual consent from 16 to 12 and legalise child pornography and sex with animals.
"Freedom of expression...including the freedom to set up a political party can be seen as the basis for a democratic society," Judge Hofhuis said in the ruling, according to the Associated Press news agency.
"It is the right of the voter to judge the appeal of political parties," he said.
The ruling also noted that the party had not committed a crime.
PNVD's opponents had sought the ban, arguing that children had the right not to be confronted with the party's platform. " http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5187010.stm
I have always considered the Dutch very liberal and always fighting on the minorities' corner trying to balance things out.
However when a moral and legal matter such as this enters the scene I wonder what is going to happen in a few years time...
Although I am not a legal person I cannot understand how laws which are made and supported by the parliament of a country can be broken so blatantly in the name of "freedom of expression".
In a similar and hypothetical way one could gather the number of signatures required by the law, for a party to enter the elections and any law breaking group within a society could enter the elections.
Following the story through http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=/SpecialReports/archive/200607/SPE20060726a.html
and from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_de_Jonge
it becomes apparent that this is the case.
The disgusting subject of pedophilia (or paedophilia) itself is illegal and I cannot comprehend how people can be allowed in the name of freedom of expression even try and legalise this.
There is not enough space here to express how I personally feel about these people but I am worried as a father of what kind of world my son is growing up.
Is this the Europe of democracy and free thinking we want?
Is this the Europe of freedom of Expression we want?
Can we allow criminals to even try and legalise their activities? Should we?
And we are not talking about political statements here but about things which are morally and ethically wrong. We are talking about axioms which are generally accepted as the cornerstone of the way we live.
When does freedom of expression as a constitutional right stops being a right and enters the realm of the oppression of other rights equally as important?
