The current political climate

As some of you have messaged us asking for some clarification as we debated with the nom de plume Matt. We decided instead of answering individually, it would be easier to deal with all of them as the questions were similar.

The following was written by one of our community members. Upon several discussions, we realized that this person could explain it better than we could. Upon asking, this was given to us to be shared anonymous. This individual is unaware who we are.

“The debate is an continues to be a fundamental one between liberal and conservative ideologies. This is the problem around Covid 19, it is no longer a scientific matter but a political one that will have dire affects on society if not stopped.

Personally, I cannot trust our Liberal agenda as it has time and time again failed the world. But somehow conservatism has become a bad word in our modern society and even become tied with negative groups who were and are actually part of the Left. Liberal agenda driven textbooks have gone as far as stating it but if one goes to original texts, it is very clear. It seems that our modern world has forgotten about original research as a google search is so much easier. This idea of “trust“ instead of knowledge has led to this current popular idea that only specialists can research and Renaissance Men and women have ceased to exist. Popular memes tell us that the average individual does not have the intellectual capacity to understand original research and inturn make informed decisions based on it.

If anyone is interested in learning more about these things, I would first advice start with reading “1985” and watching Tim Allen’s sitcom “Last Man Standing” to get a better understand of concepts and if people ask, I’ll send VancityGreeks a bigger list to share.

Before we explain the conservative’s position, let’s unpack the Liberal’s position and agenda. The Left’s package sounds very good on paper. Communism, extreme left, is an excellent example of that as it looks wonderful on paper but it can not exist as a utopia in real life. Unfortunately, we do not have the time to dive into that all of that but we are all aware of the failures of USSR, Cuba, and China. The Left rebuttal is always that these are not true examples of communism but I would answer that is exactly why as communism can not exist outside paper and pen and every attempt has failed.

The left though maintains that the government is trying to protect the pubic; is that not a good thing, they ask us? In theory, it does sound wonderful. Did we not hear US Vice-President, Kamala Harris say that very thing, that the government is here to help, to save American. Yes, we are not Americans but Trudeau has many times has made similar sentiments. The philosophy; our government will take care of the people. We are told that as citizens, we just need their trust, do what they ask and go on with our lives. If anyone, goes against this philosophy or belief system then they are hurtful, uneducated, or even stupid as or even dangerous to go against the status quo. Personal freedom needs to be limited as people can not make the right choices as they are selfish and lack the intelligence to do so.

Feelings appear to be more important than facts and if one questions anything, it is quickly deemed as hurtful. There seems to a lack of separation between actions and the individual. I are sure, many of you have been told by teachers or parents one point or another that although they did not like your behaviour, they still liked you, the person. But somehow along the way, not liking someone’s behaviour has become “cruel and mean” to the person in question. Is that not a lack of personal responsibility? Or we not to take criticism, reflect, and change to become better human beings? How else can we grow as humans? Jordan Peterson put it best: “…in order to be able to think, you have to risk being offended“ (Https://www.instagram.com/p/CWD9ZOuFXsJ/?utm_medium=copy_link )

All of this leads us to what the Conservative stance.

But what is conservatism? Conservatives believe in limited government control with an understanding that the government works for us, not the other way around. We firmly believe in strong personal freedom with personal responsibility which also means we have to trust each other to make the right decisions even if we do not always agree or understand (mind you open dialogue is encouraged as strong public discourse is important for the betterment of society). And most importantly even if we disagree, we still care for other person. We are able separate actions from feelings. This is even more important for us as Orthodox Christians and this is where a spiritual father comes to play as we crave self improvement, but again another discussion.

A modern conundrum, yes we are aware. But like many modern commentators, many of us conservatives would consider ourselves Renaissance men and women. We are able to take take information, compare, contrast and make conclusions based on what we have studied. But our critics would probably then quote Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying: “A jack of all trades is a master of none” but we would remind them that it is the most mis-quoted saying as it actually is “….. jack of all trades was another way to say a man with many skills. The complete saying is … a jack of all trades is a master of none but often times better than a master of one …..” (https://shortquotes.cc/jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-full-quote/)

But let’s go back to personal freedom as it is vital in the current political climate. Why do we believe in personal freedom with personal responsibility and a deep scrutiny of politicians and their actions? It goes back to our fundamental stance that the government works for us not the other way around. Yes, we do not work for the government but rather we voted them in and they work for us, the people. President Reagan (yes an American but remember the founders of American, though flawed, firmly believe in a democratic society) put it best, so please watch the above video. But then the left will say (here in Canada especially as our Charter states with reasonable limits) but if our lives are in danger then the government has a right to temporary remove our freedoms.

I would ask this:

1. Is there reasonable cause? Scientists are being silenced (but they don’t have the approval of the government so we can not believe them, the left tell us, but we ask why? Why would someone give up everything to be “cancelled” to speak out? Again though another subject of debate.) But I would state that there is currently several lawsuits again our government who has yet to present cause which they have not so far, again no time to go into details but I encourage research the cases. And I would also ask, did not the majority of citizens practice social distancing, wore/wear masks, and received their vaccinations? Why then coercion with the rest of the population? Which by the way the government almost strangely keeps reminding us that it is a very small section of society. Let’s ask some questions though: Maybe it is against doctors’ orders? Individuals in our very own community have shared that their doctors advised against this current vaccine but could not receive a medical exception, as doctors stated it was too political? Against religious freedoms? Against moral and ethical reasons? Why is the media bent on destroying our communities, by turning groups against each other? Safety seems to be the common answer, but it is not good enough for me as I know how through science (yes science) to keep my family and I safe, all of which goes back to personal responsibility. I relish that responsibility as I always have; as an Orthodox Christian, and as a Greek Canadian.

2. Like I mentioned, personal freedom also has personal responsibility but it also means that we must trust each other. The left maintain though that if we disagree then we must be stupid. Is that not rather limiting to say though that if someone disagrees with you, she or him must be stupid. Humans are intelligent complex beings and do we not deserve better? I know so many times when I had given up on society, people always surprise me with their kindness, their love, and above all their intellect.

3. There also seems to be an attitude from the left that people do not know what is good for them so the government has to do it for them.What if the government is wrong? They have been wrong many times; Sterilization & genocide comes to mind in Canada alone (Sadly no time to discuss but I’m sure we are at least aware of the genocide). How can we trust them now? Science? But is science not the questioning of knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation. It is also very clear that scientists do not agree so should not reflect in society as well. Should we not respect each other’s decisions? Does the science not change daily as more research happens? So why does it not reflect in mandates? Did not Albert Einstein say: “Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."

4. Although it has been dealt with Vancitygreeks, I would ask again when in the history of the world, coercion by governments a good thing? But it isn’t coercion, the left tells us. I for one cannot see how it is not. When countless individuals state: “I only got vaccinated to feed my family.” Or “I wanted my life back” Is that not the very definition of coercion? Why are so many Canadians afraid to admit it?

So to conclude, should we not focus on education, freedom of conversations, exchange of ideals, questioning everything (which is the scientific method) for the betterment of our communities and in turn our country, and finally the world. I trust that my community members will, like they always have, make the best medical decisions upon research and the advice of their doctors and as the privacy act guarantees, it is none of my business.”