Censorship and freedom – The Malta Independent
Undoubtedly almost all of us have gone against censorship. We say it in advance, because we are all in favor of freedom of expression.
But then, when it is necessary to do so, we must show a certain reserve. One has to put everything in context, because how is it possible to come to a different judgment?
Frankly, however, it is quite difficult to understand the role of judgment in this matter. Either what is being declared holds to the line, or it has no hold.
So, would one allow those who incite people to kill their neighbors to proceed with their mantras and not stop them?
Limits that were introduced by universal agreement therefore covered a discourse that promotes hatred and anti-Semitism (although it does not appear that the same strictures were introduced against those who preach hatred against the Arabs).
However, it seems that there is another factor limiting the ban on censorship: Should those who were allegedly guilty of censoring others in the past be censored themselves now?
You will find people to tell you: Yes, of course they should be!
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SCIENCE
A few weeks ago, during the election campaign, it was the employers’ association I think, which came up with the proposal that Malta’s educational structures should give more weight to mathematical, scientific and technical instruction. I did not always agree with the positions of this union but I fully agreed with that.
Then I was worried when the educators – and it seemed to me that they were also based at the University – came out to protest against the recommendation. They considered being promoted the abandonment of “liberal” education that encourages critical thinking, so that students can instead focus on topics that are considered “useful” by their future employers.
I cannot understand how a scientific framework of the mind can be seen as alien to critical thinking. A key principle of scientific knowledge states that everything that is presented as an explanation will remain acceptable only until it is falsified by the facts. I doubt if it is possible to be more critical than in this way when dealing with the world in which we live.
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FREE HEALTH SERVICES?
How true is it that we enjoy free public health services?
My friend (now deceased) once told me: Our public health services will become really free of charge when medical consultants and specialists work full time with the government without having a private practice. As long as we remain so, many will continue to make use of partially free medical care for interventions within the government system, and the rest for a fee to cover private consultations. And it often happens that the same counselor who gives you private treatment is the one who continues with it in the government hospital.
For the government to really provide free medical services, this man continued (himself a consultant), he would need to pay his full-time consultants and specialists the same amounts they earn on the back of their private practice. So far, no government has figured out how to do this without angering other government officials.
So we continue with a seems to step system. While we are proud to have a free public health system, we know that in many cases, this claim does not count.