The Rally for Free Expression

Libertarians and libertines seem to have colonised Old Palace Yard, the area opposite the House of Lords with a statute of King George V slap bang in the middle.  My history is a little off, but it would be poetic justice if King George had espoused something that would mark the Yard as the new ‘occupy’ territory of libertarian protest.  Why not? The anti-war movement had tent city outside parliament, ‘Occupy’ had St. Pauls and Unionists had Ulster Hall for their rallies.  Although I do not wish to encourage some sort of shabby tent city, having a place for regular small-medium scale libertarian protest would be a sight to see.  It would show our opponents we mean business and can mobilise feet on the ground.

Saturday’s protest in the cold sunlight wasn’t as big as the Rally Against Debt, but there were new faces there to defend the right to free expression.  I had heard few of the speakers before, although TFA members Sam Westrop and Hasan Afzal were present, the latter giving a good speech.  Nick Cohen and Baroness Cox were brilliant in exposing the hypocrisies of the political class.  They wage the PC war against Christian traditions but are silent when Sharia Courts up and down the country – and beyond – are subjugating the basic human freedoms of women.

The problem was the single mindedness of most of the speeches from the lesser names.  One after the other was some sort of atheist and the rhetoric descended from standing up for free expression to insulting religion.  Looking round as the crowd grew – but never to the scale of the Rally Against Debt­ – I saw banners and posters just attacking religion and a minority defending free speech.  It seemed a bit obsessive.

I did not want to hear about why religion is crap.  I want to hear about the arguments against all forms of censorship.  I feel I did but it got masked by too many speakers, with too little oratorical style on the same subject – religion is bad yo!

That said, I am glad I went.  I believe in complete free speech, whether it offends or not.  I am glad to say I went because we have to show those who stand against us that we are many in number.  I believe, with basic good manners, that rather than calling the opposition idiots, though they may be, we have to unpick the reasoning behind their views, determine the reason for their ideas, and then engage in debate.  No issue should be off the agenda.  We can win with words.

By Tim Aker

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