Prove it!

Truth in advertising gets more interesting everyday according to an  article on the Fox News website.  Take for instance a recent edict by the European Union which goes into force next month; Bottle water manufacturers saying their product rehydrates could result in jail time.

“Bottled water manufacturers will not be allowed to make the claim that water can prevent dehydration, when a new law goes into effect in the UK next month.

The edict, the Daily Telegraph reports, follows a three-year investigation. European Union officials now conclude there is no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.”

This imposed insanity would be laughable, a joke if it weren’t so serious.  If a similar burden of “proof” is required across the board the EU could alter other aspects of expression.  We’ve gone from accepting “a likelihood of actuality” and now require proof beyond a reasonable doubt; looking for certainty in an uncertain world.

If the local pastor preaching from the pulpit were tasked with proving the doctrines of religion, what then?  “Jesus is the Christ”, the EU will require proof; but religion requires faith, not proof. Haul that fellow off to jail for making statements he can’t prove.  

Some might say, “This could never happen.”  Think again, how else could the Gospel be considered Hate Speech?  Those who speak out against abominations of immorality are threatened with criminal charges by miscreants who fall back on their “right” to behave any way they please; then go beyond that and make it a crime for anyone to ridicule their lifestyle choices.

Closer to home, you might recall the Canadian anti-gay activist who was found guilty of hate speech because he believes that homosexuals are “sodomites” who spread filth and disease.  “In 2005, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission ordered him to pay a $17,500 fine and stop passing out his leaflets after four complainants said they were offended.”

“In matters of free speech, Canada and the United States draw the line in very different places. The U.S. First Amendment is so strong that it guarantees the right of the KKK and neo-Nazis to march through the streets. Canada is far more squeamish – “a pleasantly authoritarian state,” as Alan Borovoy, the former head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, once put it.”

Isn’t that special, I love the way totalitarian rule got painted as “a pleasantly authoritarian state”; the only thing missing might be “Disney-esk” birds chirping under an azure sky filled with soft puffy clouds.  Instead of jack booted brown shirts their goon squads are dressed in Martha Stuart color coordinated ensembles.

 

The evening weather report could be fun too, “There’s a cold front moving in later and might bring rain.  Hazardous driving conditions which used to be caused by wet roads can no longer be included in our forecast; because, as we all know, rain can’t be proven to cause wet roads.”  I can see a Saturday Night Live skit in there somewhere.

One thing is an indisputable fact; the EU has some of the dumbest bureaucrats on the planet, which can be proven.  Their total financial collapse might not be such a bad thing after all; give that area of the world a chance to start over, this time let common sense have a chair at the table.

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.