Posted by Garland on August 12, 2008, 1:41:54, in reply to "Re: La Belle Province"
Almonte ON R A Club Member

Perhaps I'm missing something. Yes, in every society you can find past and current injustices. Either you will find minorities that were/are repressed by the majority, or over-reactions by the general population to specific events and so on. However, the mark of a progressive society is to recognize these injustices and correct them. In the case of Canada you yourself have identified the following events: - The Government formally apologizing to Japanese interred during WWII without direct cause. - The Government making reparations to native peoples who were abused at some schools. - Changes to laws in Canada to protect the rights of Francophones. - Public disclosure of police surveilence of social activist groups in the sixties and seventies. - The granting of equal rights to women. - The granting of rights to gays and lesbians. As others have said, Canada's society is not perfect. We still have to work out how to further restore the well being of native groups who have suffered under their current relationship with the rest of Canada. I personally think that the laws passed in the name of security immediately after 9/11 were a huge step backwards. In all likelyhood our behavior towards muslims at the moment needs to improve. And yes, we all hope for a time where there will be no homeless, no drug addicts, no women or children coerced into prostution, and no crime. Some would say the pendulum has swung too far. Views that abortion is wrong because it means the destruction of a life is actively supressed on several college campuses. People and churches are repudiated for refusing to marry a homosexual couple because they feel that this is against the teachings of their religion. The idea that acts are wrong from a moral standpoint is being replaced by the idea that what one does in private is one's own business as long as it does not harm others, without clearly defining what harm is. And thanks to the way the system currently works, we seem to be totally unresponsible for our own actions to ourselves while simultaneously being completely responsible for any harm, real or potential, that occurs or could occur to others interacting with us. But the point is that we live in a society where one can point out its flaws and work to correct them without serious and immediate fear of reprisal by the authorities. It is evident that this is not case in several other countries, including China to some degree. I do not see it hypocritical to make this public on the world stage, in order to change it in other nations. We have learned from our history, and we want other nations to also learn from it. That is why we say what we say. Pointing out our previous failings when we have learnt from them only strengthens our case, not weaken it.