The EU has history. Lots of it.
It acts both as an inspiration and a millstone round our necks.
Due to this history, and political leaders write lots and lots of laws throughout the history of the continent which all seem like a great idea at the time. As a result of this, most EU countries have a huge "hangover" of legislation, such as monarchs not allowed to marry catholics, no insulting of God and its ok to shoot a Scotsman in the back with a bow and arrow in Cardiff. While these were great ideas when religious warfare was rife, when the country is run by bunch of porridge eating taliban and if you are at war with said nation, they are not relevant for modern times. (The examples are an exaggeration, but you get the point.)
As a result you still have these anti-free speech laws, great idea if your trying to destroy an ideology that just committed genocide.
You have your blasphemy laws to get all those all those bloody prodistants/catholics/jews/etc.
You also have these racist and sexist laws from times gone by.
The point you have missed is that we also have laws that override these relics, the EU bill of human rights for example. There are those who will use these relics for political purposes ( a good example in Britain is the use of a law designed to get Nepolioinic war veterans off the streets to remove animal rights protesters.), but if you use the court system, it will override them.
Don't judge the past by the standards of today. For we have our own standards and they have theirs.
Slashdot Mirror
The EU has history. Lots of it. It acts both as an inspiration and a millstone round our necks. Due to this history, and political leaders write lots and lots of laws throughout the history of the continent which all seem like a great idea at the time. As a result of this, most EU countries have a huge "hangover" of legislation, such as monarchs not allowed to marry catholics, no insulting of God and its ok to shoot a Scotsman in the back with a bow and arrow in Cardiff. While these were great ideas when religious warfare was rife, when the country is run by bunch of porridge eating taliban and if you are at war with said nation, they are not relevant for modern times. (The examples are an exaggeration, but you get the point.) As a result you still have these anti-free speech laws, great idea if your trying to destroy an ideology that just committed genocide. You have your blasphemy laws to get all those all those bloody prodistants/catholics/jews/etc. You also have these racist and sexist laws from times gone by. The point you have missed is that we also have laws that override these relics, the EU bill of human rights for example. There are those who will use these relics for political purposes ( a good example in Britain is the use of a law designed to get Nepolioinic war veterans off the streets to remove animal rights protesters.), but if you use the court system, it will override them. Don't judge the past by the standards of today. For we have our own standards and they have theirs.