"A dictatorship has four characteristics:
one-party rule, executions without trial for
political offenses, expropriation or nationalization of private
property, and censorship.
Above all, this last.
So long as men can speak and write freely,
so long as there is no censorship, they
have a chance to reform their society or to
put it on a better road. When censorship is
imposed, that is the sign that men should
go on strike intellectually, by which I mean,
should not cooperate with the social system
in any way whatever."
Ayn Rand
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We at Freedom Party are pleased to announce the launching of a campaign aimed exclusively at fighting the alarming spread of censorship in Ontario --- Censorship Alert!
Yes, the pervasive extent of censorship in our province is alarming, and includes restrictions on the language we may use, the units of measurement we employ, the numbers and types of television broadcast and cable channels we receive from our cable companies, the religions we may openly support or criticize, the movies available in our theatres, the political books we are permitted to import to Canada, the political opinions we may express, and much much more.
If you were under the impression that these freedoms were somehow guaranteed to us under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, then consider yourself to be put on the Alert! Our fundamental freedoms are being systematically violated each and every day by lobby groups, politicians, bureaucrats, and government agencies who are all of the common opinion that they should have the right to make our choices for us.
Censorship Alert! has been formed to fight for your right to make your own choices when it comes to areas of expression.
Unlike most "anti-censorship" campaigns, which tend to be selective in whose opinions and views deserve the legal right to freedom of expression, Censorship Alert! is a campaign opposing all government imposed censorship on the simple grounds that such censorship is not only dangerous to the foundations of a free society, but is wrong in principle.
With the current Liberal-NDP-Conservative government coalitions in both the provincial and federal legislatures, political support for increased censorship is virtually unanimous and has unleashed upon our society a subjective view of law that is becoming increasingly pervasive, even in areas unrelated to censorship.
It goes without saying that Censorship Alert!'s goals are of a long-term nature, whose effects will not be so readily self-evident. Most Ontarians have no idea whatever as to how extensively our right to freedom of speech has been curtailed; worse, they are philosophically impotent in their ability to argue against censorship, and thus end up unwittingly supporting the idea that others may make their choices for them.
Another chief problem in fighting censorship lies in the necessity of having to defend some of the "extreme" examples of freedom of expression. Few people have the moral courage or will necessary to defend the right to expression of those who adopt highly unpopular views. It is assumed, quite wrongly, that in protecting these individuals' right to express their views, that one is in agreement with those views. Thus, the battle against censorship can only be fought and won by those with a consistently principled approach to the issue, which in turn, requires a thorough understanding of the real issues involved, and even more importantly, of the issues that are irrelevant to the nature of censorship, yet are constantly used to justify it.
We at Freedom Party believe that one of the best ways to begin fighting the threat of increased censorship (in addition to the censorship that already exists) is to begin by informing the public about what censorship actually is, how censorship laws are being used and applied, and of the ultimate danger posed to any society that allows censorship to take root. An informed public is always better equipped to make decisions than an uninformed one.
And that's what Censorship Alert! is all about!
Accompanied by a newsletter of the same name, Censorship Alert! is a campaign of information, advocacy, and action whose short- and long-term objectives are:
Tax-creditable contributions to our campaign have been and will continue to be used exclusively for the purposes outlined; our first 5,000-copy print-run of Censorship Alert! was distributed through retail video and bookstore outlets in Toronto, Kitchener, London, and Windsor, making it Freedom Party's first major campaign to extend beyond the immediate area around London, where the party was first formed in January 1984.
As expected, public and media reaction to the campaign has been slow and protracted. But most significantly, Freedom Party has come to be seen --- by the media and public alike --- as being the only identifiable group publicly opposed to any and all forms of censorship. As a consequence, we were the only group approached by London's media to offer a freedom of speech viewpoint when John Crosbie unveiled his government's controversial "anti-porn" legislative package in June 1986. And students on London college and university campuses have been discovering that their teachers and professors recommend a visit to Freedom Party offices, should they wish to research a reasoned and objective approach to defending freedom of speech for school projects, essays, and speeches.
Despite these advances and recognition, the process of education and advocacy is a long and difficult one. It requires a great deal of money and a great many supporters.
So let's face facts. Censorship ultimately affects everyone and that means YOU. If you have any doubts about this, give us a call or write us to request a free copy of Censorship Alert! or read the newsletter online. Like many others who read our first issue, it may take the shock of realizing the seriousness of the situation to compell you into action.
We need your support and we're asking for it because we can't do it all alone. Help us sound the Alert! while there's still time --- and while there's still the limited freedom of expression left to do even that.
And if you're already convinced, what's holding you back? Don't let fear or uncertainty be the things that inhibit you from taking action! You have more than enough reason to act. In addition to money, we can use the support of volunteers to help distribute Censorship Alert! in their communities, to send us articles and clippings about censorship, to let their friends and acquaintances know about what we're doing, and of course, to let us know how they feel about what we're doing.
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last updated on April 28, 2002
