Canada has become politically polarized and it’s not a pretty sight. From what I’ve recently read and heard, such as the hyperbole spouted by renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood, there seems to be an assumption among the liberal progressive (LP) left that you can’t be a true Canadian if you are a conservative.
In fact, LPs seem to feel they have all the answers, that they have “the one and only truth” and that their truth is not an ideology but simply a reflection of Canadian values. Talk about bias and closed minds! Every belief system is an ideology. Lest anyone forget, conservatives built this country into what it is today. Moreover, conservatives and liberals (not liberal progressives) gave their lives in two world wars for this country. Their sacrifices are the main reason LPs can criticize and debase conservatives today.
Speaking of criticism, if a conservative blogger attempts to open a discussion about any topic the left considers “politically incorrect” (e.g., immigration policies), LPs will label the blogger an extremist and/or a racist, just to shut down the debate. Then, if those forms of intimidation don’t work, LPs will resort to calling your views hate speech and bigotry, as they have with Tea Partiers in the U.S.
Well, right wing ideology is actually rather positive. For example, a conservative is a person who believes in the traditional values of self-reliance and hard work, values without which this country would not have “progressed.” A conservative would prefer the government stay out of his or her life as much as possible. Conservatives are willing to pay taxes to help those less fortunate than themselves — as long this is done in a way that teaches them how to help themselves, not become dependant on the state. Most conservatives also have a high tolerance for a variety of viewpoints as well as a willingness to work co-operatively with others — which is why they volunteer in their local communities and abroad and donate to charities.
While the progressive liberal left has tried to co-opt concepts as social justice and equality, conservatives believe firmly in both. For conservatives, social justice means treating victims of crime with as much compassion and understanding as offenders and making the latter pay the consequences of their actions. Conservatives also believe in true equality, such as employment opportunities based on skills, experience and expertise not on the reverse discrimination qualifiers of colour, religion or gender.
An example of this extreme polarization and the LP mind set recently occurred when Prime Minister Harper uttered a joke in the far north about “making the rules”. To LPs, this was evidence of the ”Harper is the king thing” as Margaret Attwood put it in an email to the Globe and Mail. Atwood also states that she is afraid that Mr. Harper is going to have influence over the proposed SunNews TV network. What a mean spirited and silly thing to say given Mr. Harper has a tenuous hold on Parliament at best, with only a minority government.
Why all the hysterical intolerance? Why are LPs becoming so unglued? Does our Charter of Rights and Freedoms not guarantee the right to political affiliation? The right to a free vote? The right to free speech? The freedom and right to find a job without qualifiers? Or, is speech only free when the listener happens to agree with what you are saying? This might explain why so many LPs oppose the very notion that SunNews TV might reflect a conservative point of view — or worse yet, an American conservative point of view.
On that last point, if readers have not already done so, I would recommend reading Peter Foster’s piece in yesterday’s National Post about why the left fears the right in the U.S. It is very revealing.
The crux of the matter is, however, that the left do not own the political spectrum in Canada. Conservatives do indeed reflect Canadian values and if those values are slowly becoming mainstream then LPs like Atwood and so many in our media, better get used to them.
Endnote: Readers might find it interesting that, although I heard the “can’t be a Canadian and a conservative” with my own two ears, I cannot find any media links to that statements. If anyone knows of any, just leave it in a comment and I’ll add it to my post.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveward/22922040/
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