Freedom, Rights and Justice - What comes after you win?

Something that many people struggle with is the understanding of what a Right is compared to a Liberty. Libertarians, ironically, are the worst at failing to know the difference.

In light of the expanding Urewera camps saga, I have found myself thinking more and more about how poorly people understand these things. Not only that, but how those who wish to change "the System" often have this utopian ideal that once they have "won freedom from tyranny" everything is just going to fall into place.

Well first, let's talk about rights and liberties, then I'll talk about the faulty thinking involved with "when we win" mentality.

Rights are not the same as liberties - and yet many people declare liberties as rights.

A right is something that people are obligated to ensure you have. Right to freedom of speech, for example, is the right to say what you want without censorship. However it does not protect you from recrimination. This right obliges people to give you a forum within which to speak your piece. But once you have said your piece, they have no obligation to agree with you. Nor do they have an obligation to react favourably.

What the right is doing is granting that others must accept your liberty to speak your mind.

Liberties are freedoms. They are things you are free to do, but nobody is obligated to give them to you. Using the above example, you are free as a Nationalist to walk into a Jewish/Pacific Island community and mouth off about how you don't like said ethnicity. However, they can choose to beat the living snot out of you for offending them. Freedom of Speech does not protect you from people if you offend them.

That is why we have laws that help police freedom of speech. Those laws that prevent people from spreading hate speech exist to find a safe equilibrium between freedom of speech and freedom to live a life without discrimination.

See, liberties can conflict - which is when rights have to be looked at and considered. It is reasonable to suggest that said racist nationalist is abusing his right.

As the old saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should...

My favourite little bugbear is how smokers say "I have a right to smoke." Actually - you don't. You have a liberty that allows you to smoke. But non-smokers do have a right to object to smoking in their presence, and as a smoker you have an obligation to respect that right.

But moving to the meat of the discussion... the story seems to go that Tame Iti and Jamie Lockett were planning an IRA-style war on NZ. Tame Iti's goal is to see Tuhoe become an autonomous nationhood separate from the rest of the country.

Why? Because it would appear that the Tuhoe did not sign the treaty and do not feel that they are part of this nation. Yet for over a century they have been drawing benefits from this nation.

Now I've studied the treaty and the issues surrounding it. I feel that the Crown's clumsy and confused handling of the Maori have had disastrous effects on their culture which are still being felt.

But I also feel that it is time to look forward, not back. I feel that many activists do use the past as an excuse to avoid facing the future - that they act out claiming lofty goals, but really habouring more self-serving actions.

Here's a question for not only those who feel that Tuhoe deserve their own nation, but to more radical groups such as the Islamist terrorists who fight to convert the world - what happens when you win?

Much like George Bush's ill-planned invasion of Iraq, what happens after it is over? Has anyone thought about how they plan to build a nation? Thoughts of how manageable a world-wide Islamic rule could really be, given that evidence has shown time and again that homogenous rulerships collapse.

Going to the Tuhoe, how much land would become Tuhoe land? How would it be managed? How would the economy be kept alive? Who would rule? Where is the money coming from and going? What kind of exchange rate would you expect to have, seeing as you most certainly would not have NZ currency, and it is highly likely that most nations will not trade with you.

What kind of exports would you be able to genuinely ask for? How much land is likely to be manageable if you end up in a genuine war?

Look at Ireland and the IRA - that was a disaster. Why on earth would anyone want to pursue such a course? The IRA and Britain fought for decades, and the reason peace is coming isn't because everyone is getting what they want - it's because everyone has realised conflict wasn't solving anything, both sides were just so tired of the violence and horror.

The people were tired of the violence and horror.

Why would you even entertain the idea of bringing such a thing to this country. New Zealand isn't perfect, but until now it has enjoyed a degree of safety from such thinking. We, as a nation, probably felt that nobody would be so silly. Even with our shocking falling education rates, most New Zealanders are more informed than many nations.

New Zealand has enough problems with gangs, drinking and violence. We have an issue with people who want to blame the government and police. Listen to how people are accusing the Police and Government of trampling on civil liberties. But as has already been pointed out, if Tame Iti's associates had been genuine - if a Napalm bomb or other attacks actually eventuated - then we would have heard many of the same groups complaining about why didn't Police act sooner.

The reality is that we must all take responsibility for our actions, and face up to the consequences when challenging the state. In NZ, we enjoy a lot of freedoms - and our justice system is better than many other nations. It is not beholden to the Police, and we have a lot of law in place to prevent the police from abusing their position as protectors of those freedoms we value.

I genuinely believe that New Zealand needs to find a new identity. That we, as a nation, need to gain pride in ourselves and our country. Not through the All Blacks, or any such over-hyped nonsense. But in the little things that make New Zealand such a special place to live.

We need to talk to each other without getting angry - we need to respect each other and come to realise that New Zealand is not a western nation, not an eastern nation, not a Pacific nation even. It has the ability to strike out on its own as a meeting place for all nations. We have a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic population, and we should take pride in that. Our country has been treated as a microcosm for years by companies wanting to test what the pick up of certain technologies would be like - let's now do that for politics.

Let's show the world that you can have different religions, cultural heritages and different lifestyles and still form a vibrant and supportive community. The foundations are already there. Put out the invitations - and let's make this country something we can be proud of again.

Love and Huggles

Conan

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