Freedom

"It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority."
~Lord Acton

Interesting story coming out of Sweden this week. Apparently, a school in Lund (southern Sweden) confiscated an 8 year old boy's birthday party invitations on the basis of discrimination - because he didn't invite everyone in the class.

Has the pendulum really swung this far?

There is a fundamental problem with a group imposing their will and beliefs onto everyone else, but this is so Orwellian that it actually makes me shudder. It's the state determining what it right and wrong for it's people, and masking it as a defense of the individual. What's worse, they're doing this to small child, and potentially determining his future responses to similar situations.

Freedom isn't easy - but we MUST be willing to let others make their own choices, and suffer the consequences if they turn out wrong. At some point, each of us has to stand up and argue in favor of each person's right to choose - even if we wholeheartedly disagree with the one they're going to make. As long as it doesn't interfere with another individual's freedoms and personal security, then frankly... it's none of our business.

And nor is it our government's.

So the next time you are working with someone whom you feel is about to make a poor choice, remember the situation above. Spell out all sides to the story, and then - step back. Our responsibility is to educate those around us, but sometimes the only way people learn is by making a mistake.

Choice, after all, defines freedom.

~Guy