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Religious Rightly Engaged: "Christian Activists Should Be Admired..." (more on our side!)
http://www.torsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/MeedWard_Marianne/2005/06/19/1095297-sun.html | 06/19/05 | Marianne Meed Ward

Posted on 06/19/2005 8:43:03 AM PDT by Heartofsong83

Religious rightly engaged

'CHRISTIAN ACTIVISTS' SHOULD BE ADMIRED FOR THEIR PASSIONATE POLITICS, SAYS MARIANNE MEED WARD

By MARIANNE MEED WARD

WHEN THE Religious Right enter the political arena, all rationality flees. But it's not they who are lacking sanity; it's their critics.

What a symphony of hand wringing we've endured since a story broke a few weeks ago about "Christian activists" taking over the Conservative party by securing the nominations of religious candidates in at least eight federal ridings.

Good God! You don't mean to tell me that these Christians are actively participating in the democratic process? They're actually showing up at riding meetings, prepared and ready to vote? They actually care about politics? How frightening! How uppity! Why can't they be apathetic like the rest of us, and just sigh tragically like a stranded damsel waiting for her prince when the corrupt Liberals take another victory at the polls?

Bollocks to the fairy story, say these Christians (using more polite language, of course). To heck with waiting for the prince. They are going to save themselves. It's almost -- gasp -- feminist.

But we like our Christian activists better when they're organizing sewing circles for stained glass windows. It would be comical if it weren't so tragic. We crap on people who are engaged citizens using the very political processes established for citizen involvement.

The charges: They're imposing their "agenda."

They're "single issue."

They're "out of touch" with the rest of the country.

The defences? There are three.

First, politics is about imposing an agenda. What do y'all think the Liberal Red Book is? Without an agenda, you become a dithering, ineffectual jet-setter who uses power to reward friends. Yes, I realize that sounds a lot like the previous and current Liberal governments. We'd all be so much better off if they actually had an agenda beyond staying in power. That's about the only thing they've mastered. If only they would use that power for something good ... but that takes an agenda.

Second, all parties are single issue, especially at the point of an election. The two (and only two) times I ever voted conservative were during the Mulroney years, for the GST and free trade respectively. Two separate elections. One issue for each. Those twin "devils" were supposed to be the ruin of our country. Yeah, right. The dollar is the highest it's been in two decades. Our economy is roaring along while the U.S. economy tanks. What a crime it is to vote single issue.

For some people, one of those elections hinged on far less than even a single issue: Their vote came down to five words during a televised debate: Brian Mulroney hammering John Turner over his patronage appointments with the phrase "You had a choice, sir."

For all our high-falutin' talk of intelligent, rationale debate on a wide array of political issues, politics pretty much comes down to emotion -- how you feel about the person you're electing the moment you walk into the polling station. (Assuming you even get there; only 60% of eligible voters even bothered to do that in the last election.) Conservatives are no more guilty of being single issue than anyone else, and they're probably far more "guilty" of having a well-thought out, well-researched position on their issue than the rest of us who are more knee-jerk and emotional. We should be so lucky if everyone in the country had even one political issue they cared enough about to haul their butt over to a riding office, party memberships and position paper in hand (do the rest of us even know where our riding office is, much less how to use it?)

Third, the religious right is out of touch with the country. Who cares? If it's true (and on their pet issues -- banning same-sex marriage and abortion -- I suspect they are out of synch if not out of touch) they'll suffer at the ballot box. That is, unless the rest of us high-minded folk who think we're above petty politics waste our democratic privilege and stay home to catch Desperate Housewives. And an appalling 40% of us did stay home in the 2004 election.

Voter turnout has been in decline for the past 20 years. The highest it ever got was 90% in 1917. The "single issue" that year? Conscription during World War I, supported by most of Canada but opposed by Quebec. Robert Borden won the election by forming the pro-conscription Unionist Party, a coalition of Conservatives and Liberals, and extending the right to vote to women and overseas soldiers, both of whom favoured conscription. Darn those pesky single issues.

I don't share the political views of religious conservatives, but I think they're a shining example of democracy in action. And they're behaving no differently than countless politically active citizens before them. We should thank them for reminding us that democracy without engagement isn't worth the paper the Constitution is printed on.


TOPICS: Canada; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: canada; christianity; christians; religiousright
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1 posted on 06/19/2005 8:43:03 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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To: Heartofsong83

Wow. Great column.


2 posted on 06/19/2005 8:47:06 AM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Legislatures are so outdated. If you want real political victory, take your issue to court.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Yeah it sure is. I'm about to add a second column from the same chain (in Winnipeg, where the Winnipeg Free Press editorial slammed Christians a couple weeks ago - search up "Barf Alert" to find it).


3 posted on 06/19/2005 8:48:39 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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To: Heartofsong83
Makes you wonder what liberal Canadians are so afraid of. If there were good Muslims running on the Liberal Party ticket, they'd say it was an exercise in "diversity." Oh why, oh why can't Christian activists be extended the same respect?

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
4 posted on 06/19/2005 8:48:49 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop

They are just looking for a political punching bag, and they are using the US election results to try to make the claim that Canada is "diverse" and "tolerant" but it will backfire badly if we get organized well enough...


5 posted on 06/19/2005 8:54:30 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1426118/posts for a similar column


6 posted on 06/19/2005 8:56:46 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

An analogy: we don't want Howierd Dean to shut up / our enemies don't want the politically active Christian right to shut up ~~~


7 posted on 06/19/2005 9:01:37 AM PDT by 68 grunt (3/1 India, 3rd, 68-69, 0311)
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To: 68 grunt

No, they want the Christian right to shut up. Bad analogy.


8 posted on 06/19/2005 9:05:42 AM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Legislatures are so outdated. If you want real political victory, take your issue to court.)
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To: Heartofsong83
Our economy is roaring along while the U.S. economy tanks.

Gosh, I'd better tell all the people buying new, $400,000 houses in my (rural, Southern) county that our economy is tanking.

9 posted on 06/19/2005 9:09:47 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Tax-chick

It all depends on where you go.


10 posted on 06/19/2005 9:13:33 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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To: Tax-chick

Well, in all fairness, the economy is tanking in places that are not the South

Reason # 7619 for you to leave your Yankee/West Coast hellhole and move to the wonderful paradise that is Dixie, that is, if you ain't liberal.


11 posted on 06/19/2005 9:13:50 AM PDT by AzaleaCity5691 (I will never be reconstructed, Deo Vindice)
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To: AzaleaCity5691; Heartofsong83

The author could rephrase: "The economy is tanking in the parts of the U.S. run by Democrats."


12 posted on 06/19/2005 9:16:19 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: Heartofsong83

The US economy is not tanking....anywhere.


13 posted on 06/19/2005 9:18:59 AM PDT by concrete is my business (build a foundation of superior strength)
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read/ping?


14 posted on 06/19/2005 9:24:35 AM PDT by little jeremiah (A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. P. Henry)
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To: Heartofsong83

The dreaded "Christian Activist"

15 posted on 06/19/2005 9:52:10 AM PDT by Earthdweller (US descendant of French Protestants_"Where there is life, there is hope"..Terri Schindler)
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To: Tax-chick

>Our economy is roaring along while the U.S. economy tanks.

>Gosh, I'd better tell all the people buying new, $400,000 >houses in my (rural, Southern) county that our economy is >tanking.

The Canadian economy didn't go thru the post 9/11 recession the US economy did. Canada hasn't had a recession in over 10 years and in fact really is in full "biggest boom ever" mode in many places. No federal deficits either. With oil at $58US a barrel and with all commodity prices shooting up the Canadian economy is doing gangbusters. Alberta's economy is stratospheric. The whole province, economy, population and all is growing by 10%+ a year.

In Toronto, Vancouver and many places in Alberta $400,000 won't buy you a garage in a half decent neighbourhood let alone a house. The real estate boom is bsed more on low interest rate bubble mania than true economic fundamentals and strengths.
The saying goes, when stocks are poor, real estate is hot.


16 posted on 06/19/2005 3:25:38 PM PDT by rasblue
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To: rasblue

Interesting perspective, thanks. In North Carolina, $400,000 buys a palace.


17 posted on 06/19/2005 3:27:07 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Keep telling yourself that, pal. Its a perfect analogy.


18 posted on 06/19/2005 8:37:27 PM PDT by 68 grunt (3/1 India, 3rd, 68-69, 0311)
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To: Tax-chick; rasblue

Canada's performance is not really that spectacular. It is kind of like a country long undergone bad times suddenly going better. The same is happening with NZ - it is touted that we never have had this good since 1968 with...4.8% of unemployment and 3.5% economic growth each year from 2000 onwards. But in real monetary terms, all countries' salaries are growing by the same amount.

When you look carefully in NZ's case, people still leave home for jobs overseas, and the average Kiwi is still very poor. To illustrate my point, let me introduce Joe Average, a typical married middle class family living in Northcote in Auckland. They together earn $80,000 ( = US$56,800. This is already the upper median level income for New Zealand), and with marginal tax rate of 33% they got only $61,400. Add to it medical insurance which is very likely to run about $3000 (in NZ it is not as common to see medical insurance included under employee benefit packages), a 3 bedroom house costing at least $450,000 (=US$319,500) and two cars each costing about $40,000 to $60,000 the middle class is marginal poor by US standards. By my personal conversations with my uncle it is very similar with Canada. And the most lethal point is that consumer goods costs the same in New Zealand as in the US, even after assuming the US dollar's weakest level over the past 5 years! Anbd no, I'm not comparing with prices in WalMarts.

So what would you choose? A seemingly booming-like-never-economy that is much poorer even after all these growths, or a seemingly-in-the-tanks economy where the salary is growing at the same rate but with a much richer starting point?


19 posted on 06/20/2005 6:37:25 AM PDT by NZerFromHK ("US libs...hypocritical, naive, pompous...if US falls it will be because of these" - Tao Kit (HK))
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To: NZerFromHK

I would choose to be right here in the burgeoning urban sprawl of Charlotte, North Carolina.

I had no idea housing was so expensive in Canada or New Zealand. I wonder why that is, when both countries have so much available space? My original point about US$400,000 houses in my county was not to say that houses were terribly expensive - my family of 9 lives in a new house with plenty of space for well under $200,000 - but that there are obviously a considerable number of people around here with very large incomes.


20 posted on 06/20/2005 7:53:35 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("Children don't need counting, because whatever number you have, you never have enough.")
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