The Sky Is Falling!

There is nothing quite like the cringe-inducing self-righteous, sanctimonious interviews heard on the CBC's morning show "The Current", to make any sane listener wonder why this very pointed agenda? True, it is a fascinating experience to hear guest speakers reveal themselves and it is a lesson in incredulity to hear the usual host pander to the most absurd allegations levelled against the government, for example, or in support of liberal-left ideals gone totally topside, but it can be unbelievably irritating.

In the absence of Anna-Maria Tremonti there still is no relief from the cloying lean of the CBC interlocutors. The interview with reporter Marci McDonald a few mornings earlier by guest host Gillian Findlay yet another spectacular case in point, with the review of Ms. McDonald's book, The Armageddon Factor, describing the rise of the Christian right in Canada. Quietly, compellingly derogatory of Christian beliefs and ethics, a tight web of spin was unfurled.

There are many within the Canadian community who are not religious, who are purely secular, agnostic, atheist, who still will defend the right of those of a religious persuasion to have their say and their way. We will defend basic community rights and individual freedoms, but we will also appreciate that those of a religious community have their values based on biblical precepts of humanity's goals to become better than we are.

The secular view is not always in confrontation with the religious view. There are times when the two complement each other; times when they emphatically do not mesh. And it has become quite clear that Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognizes and respects that hard fact. Leading him to govern, not with a dreaded "secret agenda", but in a prudential recognition that he represents all Canadian citizens.

Ms. McDonald's conviction that Stephen Harper's secret alliance with the fundamentalists, the born-agains, the evangelical components of Canada's religious communities, to lead him to replace the values that are reflective of most Canadians in our tolerant and pluralistic society describes her paranoia, her deep-seated psychosis, not reality as most Canadians see it.

Canadians appreciate that their prime minister has unmovable scruples and if they're derived from his Christian belief, so much the better. Given that Canada is still primarily a Christian-oriented country, deriving its ethics and values from biblical teachings, and that this has stood us in good stead over the duration of the country's existence, most Canadians think this to be a positive.

It is not seen as alarming that religious influence may gain traction in political policy; that traditionally respected separation of church and state will still be evident. If a slightly greater marriage between the two is discreetly attained it can result in more responsible, common-sense and ethical behaviour from our politicians themselves. One can only hope.

Prime Minister Harper's agenda is not a hidden one, but one well displayed. It is to serve his country well. And he has most certainly done that. There are areas for improvement, and there always are, always will be be, regardless of who holds the base of government power. No prime minister of this country would attempt to turn us into one redolent of fundamentalist values.

It simply does not reflect the condition of the nation, the reflection of most peoples' views and values. Religion is a private matter that does slip over into public affairs. But there is no "Christian agenda" in the playbook of this government. Secularists and religious adherents alike appear, for the most part, to acknowledge this simple and reasonable fact.

It is only the hard-core anti-religious, anti-Conservative types which Ms. McDonald exemplifies that run about shrieking the sky is falling.

And it would be most interesting to have her take on the religious beliefs and changing character of Canadian society through the introduction of Islam, and the fundamentalist factions within it, aching for sharia to be established in this country.

What? Nothing to say about that?