Maple Leaf continues its fall

Here are some worthwhile if rambly reflections on the implications of the recent passage of Bill C-250 in Canada, which would add sexual orientation to the list of things with respect to which you’re not allowed to stir up “hatred.” In principle, the legislation makes any general expression of traditional sexual morality a crime in Canada: if you say there’s something seriously wrong with some kinds of sexual activity, then you’re stirring up hatred against those who define themselves by reference to that activity.

I was wondering with some friends a week or so ago whether American exceptionalism would continue forever, or whether we would go the way of Canada and the rest of the Western world. Our official instructors, authorities and theoreticians—experts, educators, academics, top media people, leaders of mainstream religion—all want us to go the way of managerial PC, no doubt partly because that would mean that official instructors, authorities and theoreticians control everything. On the other hand, there’s still a lot of kowtowing to the idea of free speech, and various innovations of the past 20 years or so (right-wing hate radio, the internet, homeschooling) have made it possible for more and more people with no official status to make use of the idea.

We shall see.

5 thoughts on “Maple Leaf continues its fall”

  1. Orson Scott Card had an
    Orson Scott Card had an essay on his site(sorry,no link)stating his belief that people would begin to quietly seceed from gov’t in various ways.His example was over gay marriage,but I think the home schooling movement is a much clearer example of people simply removing themselves.People have simply abandonded public education as unreformable.Before libertarians do a happydance over the thought of gov’t simply being abandoned ignored,look at the educrats authoritarian response to this “seceesion”,demanding child services seize home schooled kids and demanding the arrest of home schooling parents.After Ruby Ridge and Waco,we know how far state agents are willing to go to enforce the “Law”.The fact is as gov’t is ever more dominated by elected and unelected elites,the state is losing moral legitimaticy in the eyes of more and more people.

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  2. From the log entry:

    “In
    From the log entry:

    “In principle, the legislation makes any general expression of traditional sexual morality a crime in Canada: if you say there’s something seriously wrong with some kinds of sexual activity, then you’re stirring up hatred against those who define themselves by reference to that activity.”

    Lawrence Auster once predicted that if present trends continued the day might come when publicly calling spouses “husbands” or “wives” instead of “partners” would be considered an offense, actionable as “hate speech.” That day may not be far off.

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  3. Where does M live, that the
    Where does M live, that the state is still pulling homeschooled children on truancy charges? Even Iowa and Michigan gave up the ghost on that years ago. Ruby Ridge and Waco were gun control cases; homeschooling was peripheral to them. (Neighboring families were no doubt schooling their kids at home with little problem.)

    The worst such case, that of John Singer in Utah in 1979, had a complication that his champions (such as Reason magazine) did not tell us about at the time. The state did not come to Singer’s farm for his children. They came for the children of the younger of his two “plural” wives. Their natural father had been awarded (temporary) custody due to her bigamy.

    Homeschooling is entrenched in this country now. We’re not going back to the old days without a fight. Canada may be a different story. If so, will somebody please clue us in?

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  4. Mr. Kalb, you need not
    Mr. Kalb, you need not despair. The Canadians are foolish and on the path of destruction; we should invade and secure our Northern border. But such thinking is evil according to popular thought; such thinking is equal to refraining from attacking Japan during its expansion.

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  5. From Dec. 2002, here’s an
    From Dec. 2002, here’s an excellent essay about the implications of Bill C-250 (which, as Mr. Kalb noted above, has now passed):

    http://www.theambler.com/dec16-31_02.htm#svend

    (and here’s a related piece on the true goals of the gay rights movement: http://www.theambler.com/dec16-31_02.htm#surrey )

    Now a Canadian pub owner may be charged because of “abusing” two lesbians’ “human rights” by asking them to leave when they started French-kissing:

    http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/05/03/canada/kiss040503

    Canada is indeed headed towards becoming – in fact, already is, to a great extent – a tyranny where queers are a protected, privileged class, and Christians and others who oppose them become a discriminated-against majority. (Apartheid, 21st-century Canadian-style.) But, Mr. Murgos, most of us Canadians aren’t yet ready to welcome American troops as liberators, though I daresay maybe that day may come, if or rather when, they start jailing Christians for our beliefs, and public profession of them. (Of course, we wouldn’t want to remain indefinitely occupied by American troops, or worse still, merge with the U.S. – well, some might, but not most of us, and definitely not I – and would want to once again be an independent, sovereign nation after freedom had been restored. Same as in Iraq…)

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