We should all take a deep breath and enjoy the fresh air that is Geert Wilders. Even more so, we should be grateful to the Amsterdam court that dismissed the state’s hate speech case against Mr. Wilders. I have been loosely following this drama over the past few years and cannot express the level of relief to see some sanity still left in the Netherlands and a big win for free speech. See, Mr. Wilders is a politician who is willing to say what he believes regardless of who he may offend or what the results may be. Unfortunately for the political establishment in the Netherlands, what Mr. Wilders has been saying is resonating with a large number of voters and is helping spur the growth of the Party of Freedom of which he is the head. The political establishment, who benefit from maintaining the status quo, would like to see him quietly go away, but Mr. Wilders is standing firm. In this case, the leftist thought police and Islamic organizations who disagreed with Mr. Wilder’s views on Islam decided to use the legal system to try to shut him up. This may seem ludicrous to those of us who have grown up under the protection of the First Amendment, but disgracefully, the Dutch Penal Code makes these types of cases possible. Articles 137c and 137d of the code state that anyone who either “publicly, verbally or in writing or image, deliberately expresses himself in any way that incites hatred against a group of people” or “in any way that insults a group of people because of their races, their religion or belief, their hetero or homosexual inclination or their physical, psychological or mental handicap, will be punished.” So basically, when in the Netherlands, be sure you choose your words carefully, because if the chef is insulted because you didn’t like what he served up, then according to this law, you “will be punished.” I do not know the history of how this law was passed in the Netherlands, but don’t doubt for one minute that this is not possible in the U.S. One only needs to look at the passage of the hate crimes legislation a few years ago by our U.S. Congress to see where the thought police would like to take us. I celebrate Mr. Wilders for his willingness to stand up and start discussions that may be difficult and unpopular, but need to be debated in the public arena. We have a multitude of issues in the U.S. that need to be brought to the forefront of public discussion, but our weak politicians who are supposed to help facilitate these discussions lack the will and leadership to do so. Political correctness rules the day, so in an effort to protect people from being offended, the underlying causes of many of the problems we face today in our communities and nation go unnoticed or ignored instead of being tackled in open debate. The Islamization of the Netherlands, as Mr. Wilders puts it, is a growing problem and one which he is not afraid to discuss. In his own words, “Citizens should never allow themselves to be silenced. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak.” Our politicians should take a few notes and observe what will and leadership look like. Thank you Mr. Wilders… keep up the fight. To read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576403392105899036.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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