Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh View Post
Many secularists prefer to argue from the position that such principles as that embodied in Article IX cited above allow for a "unit veto." That is, if any ONE person objects on the grounds of their beliefs that ALL persons present must refrain from that activity during a public meeting/function of governance in order to refrain from offending and/or embarassing the one person thereby discomfited.
Of course secularists argue on these grounds, as does everybody else steeped in the tradition of Western liberal freedom of the last two centuries.

If any ONE person objects on the grounds that his own private thoughts are his own then the rest of society will have to suit him and refrain from thoughtcontroling him. If any ONE person thinks his poetry is worthwhile then the rest of society will have to suit him and can not ban his writings.

That is our Western individual freedom, and indeed society will have to respect it regardless of whether they think the individual a spoilsport or a pesky nuisance.



This man's conscience is his own, and the others have no right to forcefeed their religion on him. Which, in effect, is what is happening here: one can not fully partake in governance unless one subscribes to the exact religious practises of the council. I thought America had a revolution over this sort of state control over a man's conscience, over this religious unfreedom. In this regard, it is not British ideas of liberty that America adopted, but those of another country.



Are you sure you are being consistent with your general philosphy here, Seamus? What if those dratted secularists with their insufferable provocations are more in line with your political position?