Blair's British Thought Police
I was perplexed to read that historian David Irving was just sentenced to three years in prison in Austria for denying the holocaust. Even as I read the headline of the article at the CBC online, I expected to read in absentia. But there he is, wearing handcuffs, being hauled away to prison. In fact, he even sounded contrite, apparently. Because if he hadn't he might have gotten 10 years instead of 3.
The law under which Irving was convicted is not about preventing another holocaust. It's about preventing anyone from thinking that the Austrians would approve of another holocaust. The Austrians are so against holocausts, you see, that they have made it illegal to even discuss whether there has ever already been one. There has. We insist.
I wonder if there is a similar law against denying incest. After all, surely there is incest, so it should be illegal to deny it. Otherwise, people might begin to think that the Austrians secretly approve of incest. What about the shape of the globe? Should it be legal for people to think the Austrians think there is any controversy about the earth not being flat, or about the fact that it revolves around the sun instead of vice versa?
Is this idea of outlawing stupidity going to catch on any time soon? I'm not sure if the U.S. is ready to make it illegal to believe in evolution or to believe in intelligent design. It would put a lot of peoples' minds to rest if they would just make it illegal to think wrongly about it, either way.
Copyright © 2006 Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.
