Some of the front pages of Britain's newspapers after the High Court determined that MPs must have a say on triggering Article 50. Picture by Tim Ireland AP/Press Association ImagesBrexit has aroused strong passions. There are two opposing sides with apparently little common ground who seem inclined to put resolution of this issue above all else. This is very dangerous territory. It means that people are willing to put aside important values in order to achieve their primary objective at any cost, to resort to language that stirs up hatred, and to vilify perceived opponents even if this undermines other important pillars of our democracy and society.
In this case, two areas of freedom and democracy seem pitted against each other - and experience across the world has shown that both are critical in the fight against corruption. There is the freedom of the press. We may be repelled by hate-inducing headlines from the tabloids: but far better to endure them under a free press than to have the kind of tyranny we see today in Russia or Turkey. And then there is the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. These are fundamental democratic values, which should be defended robustly, even when the media don't like the rulings judges give.
