Boris Johnson: The Man Who Mistook His Hat For The War On Terror
THIS week London mayor Boris Johnson talks about his hat:
I hitched my rucksack, tucked my right trouser leg into my sock and was about to clamber aboard the King of the Road when I realised there was something terribly wrong with my appearance. I clapped my head. My helmet! I’d forgotten to wear the symbol of my new deference to correct thinking… the chinstrap of social obedience.
Lest readers mistake this for filler and evince that you ne London mayor and a columnist, Johnson ties his hatless head to the war on terror and 42 days detention:
We need to be clear about the trade-off. The price of liberty is a small but appreciable loss of security; the price of security is a loss of liberty. In the case of the 42 days, the increase in security is obviously too small to justify the loss of a freedom such as habeas corpus.
As for cycle helmets, we should be allowed, in our muddled way, to make up our own minds. Sometimes we will go for hatless, sun-blessed, windswept liberty; sometimes for helmeted security.
In next week’s column Johnson wonders what white linws in the road say about London’s drug culture followed by insights into how lengthening red traffic lights are a precursor to the oncoming recession…
Posted: 17th, June 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Politicians Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
