Patrick Carroll on constitutions, culture and liberty

The lesson we ought to take from this [vaccine passports in Canada] is that constitutions by themselves do not actually protect people’s rights.  They are just pieces of paper.  What really matters is the culture, and specifically, the degree to which people in society value liberty. 

Consider the fact that many totalitarian regimes also had constitutions and bills of rights (such as the Weimar Constitution in Nazi Germany).  These documents were undoubtedly held in high esteem, but they likewise proved to be powerless when the prevailing culture became tyrannical. 

So while some say that we can preserve liberty if we just get the right law, constitutional amendment, or supreme court ruling, this is a false hope. 

Liberty lives and dies by the culture.  If the culture hates liberty, no government edict can preserve it. 

Then again, if the culture loves liberty, no government edict can take it away.

~ Patrick Carroll, "Vaccine Passports Have Come to Canada. Don’t Expect the Canadian Constitution to Stop Them," FEE.org, August 30, 2021