The document argues that in order to protect one's own civil rights, they must protect the rights of others. It states that a nation cannot truly be liberal unless it acknowledges and protects the equal rights of every individual. Additionally, it claims that if a government removes people's rights, it should only ever be a temporary measure in response to breaking social contracts or disasters, and those rights must later be restored for the society to remain liberal.

1. Position Essay
Scott Holzli
If one would seek to protect their own civil and social rights they must also protect
others. The source is obviously a strong supporter of liberalism and equality. A nation cannot be
liberal unless it acknowledges and protects the equal rights of every individual. If we were to
allow a single group’s or individual’s rights taken away we open a door that would allow a
similar thing to occur to us. To ensure that an individual can hold onto their rights there must
be protection of all individuals and their rights.
If people’s rights are to be removed by a government it should always be a temporary
measure. There are some cases where people’s rights have been taken away inside of liberal
democracies. These are usually the result of the breaking of a social contract or a reaction to a
disaster. Peoples rights would be taken away to ensure security and the ability to restore the
peace. But in a liberal society these acts are always temporary and people’s rights are later
restored. An example would be the War Measures Act which has been invoked by the Canadian
government on three separate occasions but each time the rights of the Canadian people were
restored. An example of where rights were not restored would be