Two Faces of Tolerance

Many of those who supported the right of David Irving, the Holocaust denier, to speak at the Oxford Union the other night, argued that however abhorrent his views one should negate them by debate rather than by banning him. It seems to me, though, that debate is alright when you're arguing about interpretation. However, debating against a Holocaust denier whose views are shaped by a not-so-hidden agenda and are based on the premise that a clear fact does not exist, is a waste of time and effort. Anyone with a real interest in Irving's views could read the account of the libel trial he lost in London a few years ago in which his case was completely dismantled by "proper" historians. Debating against Irving is a bit like a scientist trying to argue against a creationist.

This brings me on to the savaging by the Roman Catholic Church in America of the Golden Compass, the new film of Philip Pullman's novel The Northern Lights. At least the American Catholics haven't, as far as I know, called for the film to be banned, only boycotted. I know that the number of Catholics is falling in the world, yet, even so, it is extraordinarily defensive of them to worry about a movie that doesn't attack Catholicism directly. Yes, there's a layer of the books (toned down in the movie) that attacks the authoritarianism of religion and the abuse of power, doubtless with Catholicism in mind. It seems that in America, religion has become so politicised in a way that's alien to the UK. It's akin to the Muslim fundamentalists that they're the firstto attack. To the religious right, atheists are the equivalent of what Communists were a few decades ago. The Communists banned religion. The Catholic Church and the Communist Parties are both heavily centralised institutions. Yet where's the Christian tolerance here? Philip Pullman is not denying "facts" and does not possess a pernicious doctrine. I didn't notice atheist groups mobilising for boycotts of the movies of CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, another children's book but with an avowedly Christian message. Different religions are, anyway, interpretations of various scriptures. An Oxford Union debate about whether organised religion is a good or bad thing would have been far more interesting than whether or not the Holocaust existed.

Cancer

Yesterday I was enjoying a glass of a not inexpensive Rioja while reading the newspaper. The headline screamed at me that my chances of getting cancer will increase if I drink alcohol and don't eat enough fruit. It just so happened that the tasting notes of the wine I was drinking were near at hand. They declared that my wine's flavour was full of blackcurrant and gooseberry. The thought occurred to me that I could both live longer and grow richer by foregoing the wine and eating blackcurrants and gooseberries instead. The thought didn't last long and I had another glass.