[Update: This blog entry has sparked a fierce debate over at FreeRepublic. I want to thank the American Freepers who understand that no disrespect is intended towards the victims of 9-11, and who have taken up the keyboard in defense of myself and other Canadian conservatives, and more importantly the traditional understanding of marriage, while Canadian conservatives are trying to come to grips with the death of democracy at the hands of judicial fiat. May God bless America as He weeps over what is taking place in Canada.]
I was two-hundred miles from New York City when the terrorists struck the World Trade Center. I never thought I would live through another event that so affected the psyche of a nation. And yet, for our American readership, this is exactly what has happened this week as Canada legalized homosexual marriages.
I spent a good part of the evening talking to various friends from back home – friends from among the Church hierarchy as well as those within the Catholic apologetics and pro-life community. The legalization of so-called homosexual marriages is the only topic on our mind right now. For those who keep tabs on such things, you have probably noticed the personality change among all the Canadians who hang around Envoy Encore. As the shock sets in, we've transformed from our usual laid-back and fun-loving selves into a group of angry and bitter people.
Thus calling this Canada’s Moral September 11th is not melodramatic on my part. I cannot begin to explain the effect this is having on our national psyche. Unlike America which is still fighting the culture war, Canada has now crossed the Tiber back into pagan lands.
I would never deny the pain experienced by Americans in the wake of 9-11. I felt it too as a guest of this nation. Yet America emerged from this tragedy with her soul intact. President Bush spoke for all of us when he said: "We have seen the state of our Union in the [...] the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers -- in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own." The President’s reaction to judicial activism that would subvert the Natural Law and deprive Americans of their natural inclination to worship the Creator was no less inspiring. "America is a nation that values our relationship with the Almighty," the President stated. "We need commonsense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God."
Contrast this with the following asinine comments uttered by Canada’s Prime Minister in the wake of an Ontario Court ruling striking down the common law definition of marriage as an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman. "We will not be appealing the recent decision on the definition on marriage," Chretien told reporters, "rather we will be proposing legislation [...and...] we will ensure that our legislation includes and legally recognize the union of same-sex couples. As soon as the legislation is drafted it will be referred to the Supreme Court."
And this is where the parallel between September 11th and the situation in Canada ends. Those who took advantage of gentle ways were not our sworn enemies on the outside; rather, we found ourselves betrayed from within. And whereas Americans drew strength from their elected officials when the nation was confronted by islamo-fascism or judicial activism, our elected politicians in Canada capitulated to high-priests of the judiciary and bowed before the altar of Sodom and Gomorrah.
In reflecting upon this contrast, the breadth of the Canadian government’s arrogance astounds me. Not only have our judicial overlords imposed this moral aberration upon our own citizens, but without consulting any other nation they have also allowed for homosexual marriages to take place between citizens of other countries as well. Already, we're hearing reputable news reports of American homosexuals crossing the border to marry. Not content with our moral debauchery we've decided to export this problem to the United States as well.
Does it matter to our judicial overlords that marriage predates both Church and State? Or that the vast majority of Canadians oppose extending the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples? The answer lay in our beloved Maple Leaf, which now symbolizes Canada's role as the red light district of the global village.
What saddens me more is that not too long ago I voiced my opposition to the UK-US unilateralism in Iraq. Yet at least these governments prosecuted their war in good faith. In attempting to redefine marriage as an exclusive relationship between two persons, however, the shame I feel from the unilateral arrogance of our Canadian judiciocracy is second only to that caused by the cowardice of our elected officials.
And this is what Canadians of faith truly find painful and damaging to our national psyche. Out of the evil perpetuated by the terrorists, America recaptured its soul. What made the loss of life surrounding September 11th immensely more bearable, as President Bush points out, was that come September 12th, we saw the true character of the American people. Try as they might, and despite the heavy loss of life, the terrorists failed to deprive America of her religious freedom, her democratic political institutions, and the expression of her faith in God.
Here in Canada, the terrorists made no such attempt. There was no need. Our governement is the one forfeiting these pillars of a free and democratic sociaty to a judicial oligarchy with no democratic oversight. My advice to the American people? This has taken place not in the distant future, but just across your northern border by a group of people who for the most part look and sound like Americans. So begin lobbying your elected officials now for a constitutional ammendment to protect the common definition of marriage.
