There is a difference between ‘negative liberty’ and ‘positive liberty’. Real freedom involves unavoidable trade-offs between the two.
People rally against provincial and federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and in support of Ottawa protestors outside the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg on Feb. 4.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
The convoy’s comparison of Canada’s current government to Nazi Germany draws on previously existing statephobia.
A person holds a copy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the so-called freedom convoy protest on Parliament Hill.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.
Participants of the freedom convey have been facing minimal police and state interference.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Participants in the “freedom convoy” have been allowed to carry on with minimal police and state interference in contrast to how Black and Indigenous protesters have been treated in the past.
A man holds a sign on Parliament Hill to support trucks lined up in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.
(AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
‘Freedom convoy’ protesters are turning the language of freedom against their own governments. The implications and repercussions of this are enormous.
A person holds a sign for the “freedom convoy” a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, as people rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Parliament Hill.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Instead of a self-serving, diesel-stinking, neighbourhood-clogging mob that negatively impacts the freedom of others, the convoy should consider going home and learning about different perspectives.
Many countries, including South Africa, use regulations to control smoking in public so that they do not harm non-smokers. Likewise, getting vaccinated is for the common good of society.
Civilians protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Cape Town, South Africa.
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The core of the objections, whether they are about vaccinations, lockdowns, social distancing, or mask wearing, seems to concern an apparent erosion of personal liberty.
Protesters gather at Indiana University in June 2021 to demonstrate against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for students, staff and faculty.
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Subtly shifting the crafting and delivery of public health messaging on COVID-19 vaccines could go a long way toward persuading many of the unvaccinated to get the shot.
Cash incentives are likely to be effective for people who are willing to get vaccinated, but haven’t done so yet. Freedom incentives could shift those who are unsure or unwilling.
John Locke and John Stuart Mill don’t provide much in the way of justification for ignoring public health advice in a pandemic. Mikhail Bakunin, however…
Samora Machel, Mozambique’s founding president.
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Frelimo, which governs Mozambique, has squandered the enormous political capital it enjoyed at independence. It now remains in power through violence, intimidation, harassment, and threats.
Demonstrators shine their cellphones during a protest in St. Louis in 2020.
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A privacy expert says citizens will need to exercise their right to public protest if they want to preserve their privacy.
Like the best myths, the tale of Igbo Landing and the flying African seems to transcend boundaries of time and space.
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Governments face a wicked “balancing” exercise involving a novel deadly pathogen. But it is very likely some laws and decisions have overreached, and important human rights have been displaced.