Ireland Debates Whether to Allow Truth

Ireland is debating the merits of some of the most draconian legislation that we have seen in recent years, criminalizing not only speech that offends people, but even the possession of materials that might.

In the video included below, Irish Senator Ronan Mullen speaks with righteous indignation against enshrining the “right to not be offended” as some kind of perverse protection in law. This does give us an opportunity to discuss the very concept of rights, because what’s interesting is that if this law were to pass, an actual right would be trampled in the attempt to enforce this non-right of being protected from offense.

The proposition would ban free speech, which really is a right, and particularly the right to speak about that which is true. People are offended by truth all of the time, but when the West was built on the foundation of natural law, we recognized that it is truth that we must conform ourselves to — that it is a higher reality. Without that bedrock philosophy nor any concept of objective morality, there is an attempt to elevate people’s feelings as the highest good to be defended. Thus, the most emotionally immature people become the highest caste of society, in a reversal of what ought to be. Their victimhood, proven only by their expression of unmetered emotionality, is their currency.

This bill further fails to provide a definition of the “hate” that it seeks to ban and even imprison people for, though it does encompass the threat that misgendering people would merit such punishment. To misgender, by the modern definition, is to speak truth. It is to refer to a man as “he” regardless of his attire, makeup, or even surgical mutilations, because we recognize that which is true. Thus, this law is an attempt, as we have seen elsewhere, to create a society that is so grounded upon lies that it imprisons those who speak truth.

Philosopher Josef Pieper, expanding on Plato’s understanding wrote:

“The natural habitat of truth is found in interpersonal communication. Truth lives in dialogue, in discussion, in conversation — it resides, therefore, in language, in the word. Consequently, the well-ordered human existence, including especially its social dimension, is essentially based on the well-ordered language employed.”

Without the ability to engage in interpersonal communication, we struggle to find truth on our own. We can’t discern it. We are prevented from coming together in the once-cherished art of argument, wherein we seek to unite in the search for truth.

The attempts of man to conquer nature, without regard to objective moral law, always seems to result in the rather blasé effect of one group of people merely abusing others. It’s not as novel as those promoting transgender ideology like to believe. It very quickly becomes a battle for dominion over other men, as in this case, where the focus becomes the punishment of those who won’t comply with the lies.

Ultimately, it’s not “hate” that they have a problem with, which is why they cannot or will not define the word. “Misgendering” is a little closer. What they have a problem with is truth itself. That is what they want to silence, because the ideology of death and mutilation cannot stand its luminance.

Note: I also created a video about the bill that Ireland is debating, for those who desire more information.