I had a very constructive discussion on Newstalk today about assisted dying, with Tom Curran, Gina Menzies, and Between the Lines host Andrea Gilligan
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I went to see Kate Smurthwaite’s solo show Clit Stirrer at the Workman’s Club in Dublin last night, introduced by Margo Carr. The show is a roller-coaster of darkness and laughs, mixing intelligent political commentary with creative puns, and reminding us which is more important.
Kate starts by sharing a disturbing true story that makes us forget we are at a comedy gig, then segues into a biting satire of television adverts and the politics of injustice, together with a video compilation of some of her best television appearances.
Like many of us who speak out about anything, Kate gets a ridiculous amount of online abuse, and this show responds to that. Clit Stirrer highlights that, while some call Kate controversial, what should be more controversial is the reality that her material describes.
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Atheist Ireland is today launching a ‘One Oath For All’ campaign, to enable conscientious atheists to hold the office of President, Judge, Taoiseach, or other members of the Council of State.
Today Michael D Higgins will begin his second term as President, after fourteen elections or uncontested nominations since 1938, all of which have excluded conscientious atheists as candidates.
This is because, in order to take office as President, Judge, or Taoiseach, we would have to swear a religious oath that would force us to dissemble about our beliefs, and breach our human right to freedom of conscience and belief.
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The case in which a woman was convicted in Austria for describing Muhammad as a paedophile, and in which the European Court of Human Rights did not overrule the judgment of the Austrian Courts, is both dangerous for human rights and widely misunderstood by many critics.
It is ironic that the judgment of the European Court came in the week that Ireland was voting to remove the offence of blasphemy from our Constitution, following a decade-long campaign by Atheist Ireland to have a referendum held to do this.
The task now for those of us who support Freedom of Expression is to strengthen the growing consensus within Europe (and elsewhere) that laws should protect people from harm, but should not protect beliefs from criticism, including harsh and unreasonable criticism, and that laws and treaties should be interpreted in light of that modern perception of human rights rather than historic ones.
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