When did the concepts of free thought and progress become a smokescreen for a bigger agenda? I would say last week, if I had to put my finger on it. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair told the press that their parties would only field pro-choice candidates next election. The left wing in Canada prides itself on free thought and free expression, accusing us conservatives of being brittle and inflexible in our thought. I guess Mulcair and Trudeau have decided that values are relative as long as your values line up with theirs.
That's not free thought, that's facism.
To be clear, I was not going to vote Liberal or NDP next election anyways. But now I'm certain that I won't, and it has very little to do with the fact that I'm Catholic. No, I can't vote for these parties because they have made a contentious moral issue part of their party platform, and as a citizen of Canadian democracy, I won't have my Member of Parliament bound to a single reading of this divisive issue. Abortion ought to be a subject that every Member of Parliament is entitled to speak about from their conscience, and what Trudeau and Mulcair have done is monstrous.
I suppose I'm also surprised that either opposition leader could be this stupid. Looking quickly at the United States makes it clear that marrying the pro-Life or pro-choice crowd in an official manner is a recipe for disaster. I may not agree with abortion, but I'm damn sure I don't want my government trying to win or lose my vote on that issue either, as they'll probably just use it as a scare or guilt tactic to get me to vote one way or another. This is what has happened in the United States and it leads to more partisan yelling and less productivity everyday at the national level.
The people I feel truly sorry for are the grassroots supporters of the NDP and the Liberals, because they have been betrayed. After years of being able to claim that they are free thinkers on these contentious issues, their democratic debate has been finished for them by a proclamation from on high. "Don't worry, my children," say their leaders, standing above them with stone tablets. "I just received the ten thousand commandments to being a good progressive Canadian, and asking questions about abortion is now against our code of law."
The laughable part of all this is that after years of accusing Harper of whipping votes, Mulcair and Trudeau are about to do the same about a more contentious issue. Well done, left-wingers, well done.
I'm not sure there's much chance of changing their minds, but if you happen to support the NDP or the Liberals, and if you happen to think that free and open debate is important, I would suggest writing Justin and Tom a letter. Canadians should not stand for this kind of bullying from the pulpits of their leaders. Regardless of what you believe about abortion, it is your belief about democracy that matters more: can you honestly say that this issue has been put to bed? Or do you believe there may be good and fair reasons to augment the abortion regime in Canada at some point in the future? Tell your leadership what you think, before we end up in the same insane party politics of the United States.
This latest stint by the left-wing leadership is a very good example of why I stopped voting for people left of centre. Because when the very same people who opposed the moral absolutes of their time impose new moral absolutes in my time, doesn't that just scream hypocrisy at a whole new volume?
