Events of the last two years have given us a bright lesson in the practical power of principles.
Washington Post columnist Marc A. Thiessen recently lamented Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau’s tyrannical turn. In Canada turns authoritarian to shut down the ‘Freedom Convoy’, Thiessen opens with
Remember the outrage when the Trump administration sent the U.S. Park Police and other law enforcement officers to clear Black Lives Matter protesters from Lafayette Square? Well, some of those who criticized President Donald Trump then are now applauding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for invoking never-before-used emergency powers to clear “Freedom Convoy” protesters from Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and provincial capitals across the country.
Theissen indicates a point that goes far beyond the hypocrisy of the Left: Principles have long-term consequences. When BLM violence was minimized, excused, and/or outright allowed without official resistance, the principle was established that civil violence is justified if the cause is "right". The violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol followed. After "peaceful" BLM protests “merely” blocked traffic and shut down commerce and business, the Canadian truckers' blockade of traffic, commerce, and business followed. So, after political powers across the world used "emergency powers" to lock down lives and livelihoods around the world over COVID, is it really any surprise when Justin Trudeau used “emergency power” to shut down dissent, protest, and livelihoods over the Trucker protests?
Precedents and principles have consequences, whether anyone chooses to acknowledge them or not. It’s time to reign in the political class and demand that they do their basic jobs of securing our freedom and individual rights.
Related Reading:
The Scary Ease with Which Some Americans Accept Authoritarianism
Moral Rights and Political Freedom by Tara Smith
NJ Governor Murphy’s COVID-19 Double Standard Toward the Demonstrators
MAN’S RIGHTS; THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT by Ayn Rand
Why Should One Act on Principle? By Leonard Peikoff
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