Life Is Not Purgatory
Monday, April 26, 2004
Progressive?
I would venture a guess that I am likely to be the one of the most politically ‘conservative’ individuals within my circle of friends. I voted Canadian Alliance in the last federal election, and Reform before that. My fiscally conservative views are fairly well-defined. I consider a great deal of our national resources to be spent without the required accountability, that taxes are too high and labour movements tend to cause more harm than good in an industrialized nation. I beleive in the social safety net, but feel it is far to easy to abuse. I believe in public health care, but find a 9-month wait for an MRI to be unacceptable. I beleive in capital punishment, but in the nessesity of reform in our justice system before we could ever hope to implement it. I am a moderate conservative.
There is a raging debate in our country about the topic of judicial activism; most of this hype is fear mongering from conservative think tanks, and special interest groups, which have issues with socially progressive changes to the fabric of our society. Politics is inherently regressive and it is my submission that the vast majority of progressive changes to our society are not accomplished and enshrined in our legal framework by the legistlature, or the executive, but by the decisions of the judiciary or are started there.
In Canada, five women had to petition the courts to redefine the term ‘person’ used in the BNA Act (1867). Under the Canadian Constitution women were not persons under the law. It took years of legal wrangling but eventually after a decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England – women were accorded all the rights and privileges under the law.
Brown v. Board of Education (US)
- Effectively ending segregation and boosting the civil rights movement.
Lawrence v. Texas (US)
- Decriminalization of same-gender sodomy as a violation of the 14th Amendment equal-protection provisions.
Hendricks et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al. (Quebec)
Halpern et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al. (Ontario)
Barbeau v. British Columbia
- Legalization of same-sex marriage.
It is the courts that consistently reform our society, for if it was left to politicians who must worry about re-election, only popular progress would ever be made. Consider now that the Canadian Senate is being filibustered to stop the passage of an amendment to the Hate Crime law to cover sexual orientation… on the grounds that such a change in defination may cause certain passages of the bible to be considered hate literature:
Conservative Religious Spin
Get real already… the same judicial activism that grants my friends their right to be gay, will protect your rights to be bigoted and intolerant… welcome to Canada and read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Extremists piss the hell out of me.
I would venture a guess that I am likely to be the one of the most politically ‘conservative’ individuals within my circle of friends. I voted Canadian Alliance in the last federal election, and Reform before that. My fiscally conservative views are fairly well-defined. I consider a great deal of our national resources to be spent without the required accountability, that taxes are too high and labour movements tend to cause more harm than good in an industrialized nation. I beleive in the social safety net, but feel it is far to easy to abuse. I believe in public health care, but find a 9-month wait for an MRI to be unacceptable. I beleive in capital punishment, but in the nessesity of reform in our justice system before we could ever hope to implement it. I am a moderate conservative.
There is a raging debate in our country about the topic of judicial activism; most of this hype is fear mongering from conservative think tanks, and special interest groups, which have issues with socially progressive changes to the fabric of our society. Politics is inherently regressive and it is my submission that the vast majority of progressive changes to our society are not accomplished and enshrined in our legal framework by the legistlature, or the executive, but by the decisions of the judiciary or are started there.
In Canada, five women had to petition the courts to redefine the term ‘person’ used in the BNA Act (1867). Under the Canadian Constitution women were not persons under the law. It took years of legal wrangling but eventually after a decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England – women were accorded all the rights and privileges under the law.
Brown v. Board of Education (US)
- Effectively ending segregation and boosting the civil rights movement.
Lawrence v. Texas (US)
- Decriminalization of same-gender sodomy as a violation of the 14th Amendment equal-protection provisions.
Hendricks et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al. (Quebec)
Halpern et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al. (Ontario)
Barbeau v. British Columbia
- Legalization of same-sex marriage.
It is the courts that consistently reform our society, for if it was left to politicians who must worry about re-election, only popular progress would ever be made. Consider now that the Canadian Senate is being filibustered to stop the passage of an amendment to the Hate Crime law to cover sexual orientation… on the grounds that such a change in defination may cause certain passages of the bible to be considered hate literature:
Conservative Religious Spin
Get real already… the same judicial activism that grants my friends their right to be gay, will protect your rights to be bigoted and intolerant… welcome to Canada and read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Extremists piss the hell out of me.
