Daniel McConnell: Being offended is price we pay for living in a free society

We have suffered far too often from groupthink in this country and events at an Oireachtas committee meeting on the matter of surrogacy betrayed the very liberalism that many people proclaim to extol

Senator Sharon Keogan who said that it is her belief that surrogacy was "harmful, exploitative, and unethical" and "not in the best interest of the child". Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

In The Friends of Voltaire, writer Evelyn Beatrice Hall used the phrase: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" as an illustration of the great philosopher’s beliefs.

Often misattributed to Voltaire himself, the power of that phrase nonetheless continues to resonate and, I would argue, has never been more important. This is because we live in a new age of intolerance.