The Tyranny of Nice

[JM]

The Tyranny of Nice

In an important sense, Canada, one of the oldest continuous constitutional democracies on the planet, is no longer a free society. Oh, I don’t mean there are jackboots goosestepping through Cornwall, and razor wire along the 49th parallel. If there were, even the most lobotomized multiculturalist drone might notice. But I do mean that, in its determination to enforce a dubious government-mandated “niceness”, key elements of the Canadian state have taken a jackhammer to the cornerstone of a free society: freedom of expression, freedom of ideas, freedom of belief, freedom to engage in the whole messy rough’n’tumble of vigorous debate that distinguishes open societies from lesser, stunted, insecure ones...
- Steyn's introduction to The Tyranny Of Nice

The Tyranny Of Nice at The Steyn Line

 

[Galatians220]

This sounds like a "must read" for many of us, J. M. Thank for the heads-up on it!

Margaret

 

[Grymir]

Looks good. Looks like it's sequel should be "But that's not fair!"

 

[Zenas]

Our generation is full of nancy-boys and limp-wristed metro-sexuals who whine to the government to fix everything for them. Gone are the days of men who provided for their families and would rather die than not do so. Forgotten are the times where argument and disagreement were respected and those who engaged in them civily were respectable.

Now all conflict is to be quelled. The State will dictate your attitude to you, and you'd better like it because they said so. Those with powerful lobbies will not stand to be disagreed with on any point.

I fear I may be too hard-headed to live with this generation.

 

[Marrow Man]

"Niceness" was one of the internal criticism of the ARP by its own vision committee a couple of years back. It's ok to be nice, I suppose, but when niceness is taken too far, it creates a "culture of mediocrity" (to use a phrase by the committee).