My Rights Can Beat Up Your Rights
A public school in Toronto, Ontario is trampling all over the religious rights of parents, and getting away with it. The school is doing that new "anti-homophobia training" thing where they show videos to the kids and have discussions - and understandably, some parents don't want their kids involved in that crap.
Too bad for the parents. The school is making no exceptions. The whole story can be found here. This was the most chilling paragraph:
So there you have it. Religious beliefs don't trump human rights.
Forget the fact that "human rights" are determined precisely by religious beliefs, which would seem to make "human rights" subordinate to and dependent upon religious beliefs.
Forget the fact that the practice of Sodomy is itself a "religious belief," even if that "religion" is - properly speaking - Atheism.
Forget the fact that, included in "human rights" is the "right" to practice one's own religion, and not be forced to practice someone else's religion. It would seem that, in enforcing the "human rights" of the Sodomites, the school is willing to trample the "human rights" of conservative parents to practice their own religion unhindered, not to mention the "human rights" of all parents to regulate the education of their children.
No, these are little inconsistencies that we would rather not deal with. You know why? Because "religious beliefs do not trump human rights" is pithy, short, easy to memorize, and fits nicely on a bumper sticker. And unfortunately, Modern Man is not much more intellectual than that.
C'est la vie.
Too bad for the parents. The school is making no exceptions. The whole story can be found here. This was the most chilling paragraph:
While the board has a policy to consider accommodation based on religious rights, "religious beliefs do not trump human rights," said Patricia Hayes, a rights expert with the school board.
So there you have it. Religious beliefs don't trump human rights.
Forget the fact that "human rights" are determined precisely by religious beliefs, which would seem to make "human rights" subordinate to and dependent upon religious beliefs.
Forget the fact that the practice of Sodomy is itself a "religious belief," even if that "religion" is - properly speaking - Atheism.
Forget the fact that, included in "human rights" is the "right" to practice one's own religion, and not be forced to practice someone else's religion. It would seem that, in enforcing the "human rights" of the Sodomites, the school is willing to trample the "human rights" of conservative parents to practice their own religion unhindered, not to mention the "human rights" of all parents to regulate the education of their children.
No, these are little inconsistencies that we would rather not deal with. You know why? Because "religious beliefs do not trump human rights" is pithy, short, easy to memorize, and fits nicely on a bumper sticker. And unfortunately, Modern Man is not much more intellectual than that.
C'est la vie.
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