Must be allowed to publicly express opinions
“Anti-vaxxers should not be allowed to protest on city property”, (Citizen, Dec. 16).
We must tolerate the opinions of people we disagree with, and fight for their right to express them publicly and peacefully, if we hope to maintain that right for ourselves. We live in a time where (free?) speech is more tightly regulated by law than likely ever before. This is truly terrifying.
Our PHO, Bonnie Henry, was on record for quite some time stating that masks were ineffective, and later changed her opinion. Over the recent weeks there have been articles published by reputable, longstanding, credible mainstream news networks, attesting to the idea that perhaps masks are not helping as much as we initially thought, and that we should consider re-examining our approach. Do they work? I don’t know, but the experts are questioning each other and so should we.
My point is that opinions are allowed to change, and SHOULD change, this is how actual science works, but we cannot create a society where debate is muzzled based on our fears. I want to leave my children a country where they are able to experience life as freely as I did (and still hope to), not one where they are told when and where they are allowed to express themselves.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor safety” —Benjamin Franklin
Michael
Duncan