October 12-18, 2008 Issue |
Posted 10/7/08 at 12:56 PM
The Sarah
Palin political phenomenon is spilling over the border and into Canada. Not
because she hunts moose — a favorite pastime of many Canadians, the present
author included — but because she offers principled leadership on life and
family issues. In short, she inspires Canadians concerned with these issues to
demand better from politicians.
Americans are not the only ones
going to the polls this fall. In Canada, voters will elect a new government
come Oct. 14. Yet, Catholics on this side of the border face a difficult
choice: How to choose between five officially pro-abortion political parties?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
leader of Canada’s ostensibly Conservative party, has proven a bitter
disappointment to life and family voters. As party leader, he blocked a
grassroots initiative to outlaw partial-birth abortion. As Canadian prime
minister, Mr. Harper undermined a vote that would have reversed the previous
Parliament’s decision to legalize so-called same-sex “marriage.”
The most telling disappointment
concerns unborn victims of crime. Despite proclaiming himself a “law and order”
politician, one seeking stiffer sentencing for violent criminals, Mr. Harper
has thwarted proposed legislation from his own party that would punish those
who do violence to pregnant women and their unborn children. He has done so
twice.
Yet, Canadian family-values voters
were prepared to vote for Mr. Harper, albeit grudgingly, if only because his competition
advocates policies even more harmful to life, marriage and the family. For
instance, during the last election, one high-ranking Liberal politician
advocated compulsory state-run day care for preschoolers. Children as young as
three would be ripped from the home without any input from parents. Few
societies survive the onslaught of abortion and homosexuality. Fewer survive an
ideology that sees motherhood as a problem to be remedied, rather than as a
vocation from God.
This same party also opposed Conservative
legislation raising the age of consent from 14 to 16, despite the inclusion of
a “close in age” clause to prevent teenagers from being charged with statutory
rape. It would be unfair to homosexuals who lack the wider dating pool of
Canada’s heterosexual majority, the other parties argued. Thus, one’s electoral
choices were limited to Laodiceans on the one hand, and the proponents of Sodom
and Gomorrah on the other.
Sarah Palin has changed these low
expectations. Pointing to the Alaskan governor, Canadians are starting to
demand better from their politicians. A common refrain among family-values
voters this side of the border: “Where’s our Sarah Palin?”
This very question was the title of
a recent National Post editorial. For American
readers: The National Post is one of Canada’s largest
nation dailies. The Sept. 5 edition contained an editorial where Kelly
McParland wrote: “In a more thoughtful age, feminists would have adopted [Sarah
Palin] as a great success story. But because she fights on the wrong side of
the culture wars — which is to say, the one that values unborn children and
human freedom — today’s left calls her a ‘hillbilly’ and turns up its nose.”
However,
Canadian pro-lifers are not turning up their noses. Emboldened by Palin’s appointment
in the United States, Canadian pro-lifers are speaking out this election. One
such example is my friend Suzanne Fortin, a pro-life political activist and the
mother of a special-needs child. She has blogged extensively about how abortion
threatens children like her own, demanding that Canada’s elected
representatives show leadership in protecting our most vulnerable citizens.
Others have set up Facebook groups
and Internet discussion boards to put life and family issues back on Canada’s
political agenda. They are touting Sarah Palin as proof that these issues win
votes when politicians stand on principle. They are also sharing stories of
bearing pro-life testimony to politicians who phone their homes or show up at
the doorsteps. The message of these grassroots Canadians is clear: The
Americans have done it; why can’t we? If you want our vote, take our issues
seriously. This means protecting life, marriage and family.
In an election as close as ours,
only a few votes separate a minority government from a majority. Harper is
desperate to win this majority. His opponents are similarly desperate — they
wish to stop him and retain the balance of power. Thus, Canada’s family vote is
critical this election. As much as the parties loathe giving voice to this vote,
neither side wishes to yield these voters to the opponent. This can only
encourage family voters to speak out more forcefully.
In the end, pro-life voters in
Canada owe Sarah Palin a debt of gratitude. She has rejuvenated our enthusiasm,
emboldened our voice, and reenergized our activism. But most importantly, she
has restored our political dignity and self-esteem. We now know that we are not
just a voice crying out in the wilderness — a political wilderness to which we
have been banished. One who shares our values is mounting a credible challenge
for the second-highest office of our neighboring country.
Author
Pete Vere is a canon lawyer and journalist in Canada.
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