Believe it or not, the Harper government actually did something I agreed with the other day. I even let my MP know I approved. It's only fair. I let them know when I disagree, which is most of the time.
We are talking here about the decision to ban face veils from the ceremony that swears in new Canadian citizens.
The reasons for doing so may well have more to do with hysteria over terrorism than with a desire to stress the equal position of women in this society. Nevertheless, I am glad it was done.
I have blogged on this topic earlier.
http://ieneke.blogspot.com/2010/03/showing-our-face.html#links
In a little exchange I had with the writer of another blog he said this:
"(snip) there have been people “standing up” for this kind of law for a long time. You probably wouldn’t like most of them."
That is quite likely, and in my opinion irrelevant. It is said that politics makes strange bed fellows. Sometimes different groups may persue a specific common goal, work together for that reason, and agree to disagree on other topics.
I am thinking of my pagan, off-grid homesteading friend who finds herself working with born-again Christians in the home schooling movement. The point is not the merit of home schooling, which I feel ambivalent about. The point is that people who are otherwise on opposite sides of various fences can work together.
Politics are too adversarial, a tendency that is reinforced by the 'winner take all' electoral system. Why can't we grant a point to an opponent, without that being taken as a sign of defeat? Why can't we say "I don't buy your whole platform, but I agree with you on some items?"
One thing is sure, I will never be able to follow a party line.
We are talking here about the decision to ban face veils from the ceremony that swears in new Canadian citizens.
The reasons for doing so may well have more to do with hysteria over terrorism than with a desire to stress the equal position of women in this society. Nevertheless, I am glad it was done.
I have blogged on this topic earlier.
http://ieneke.blogspot.com/2010/03/showing-our-face.html#links
In a little exchange I had with the writer of another blog he said this:
"(snip) there have been people “standing up” for this kind of law for a long time. You probably wouldn’t like most of them."
That is quite likely, and in my opinion irrelevant. It is said that politics makes strange bed fellows. Sometimes different groups may persue a specific common goal, work together for that reason, and agree to disagree on other topics.
I am thinking of my pagan, off-grid homesteading friend who finds herself working with born-again Christians in the home schooling movement. The point is not the merit of home schooling, which I feel ambivalent about. The point is that people who are otherwise on opposite sides of various fences can work together.
Politics are too adversarial, a tendency that is reinforced by the 'winner take all' electoral system. Why can't we grant a point to an opponent, without that being taken as a sign of defeat? Why can't we say "I don't buy your whole platform, but I agree with you on some items?"
One thing is sure, I will never be able to follow a party line.
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