John Ibbitson wrote what I think is going to be one of my
favourite op-eds ever (partly because he gets the smugness
just right) in yesterday's Globe and Mail about Parliament passing C-38, the gay marriage recognition bill.
The best part is what he writes about "healthy conservatism":
Healthy conservatism promotes the continuity of civilization, the importance of community, the dangers of thoughtless change. It does not, or should not, assert the right of white, Christian heterosexual males of a certain age to limit the rights of everyone else. The past 100 years of social history has been dedicated, on good days, to constraining the dominance of this minority. Yesterday was a good day.
What a nice fantasy. If conservatism was like that, I'd call myself a conservative. Unfortunately, it's not anything like that, in Canada either, where our right wing is just as embarrassing (if not as dangerously powerful):
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says if his party forms the next government, the law will be revisited.
Harper made the promise one day after suggesting the adoption of the law lacked legitimacy because it relied on the support of the separatist Bloc Québécois. Harper said he believes Bloc MPs are the legitimate representatives of Quebec voters. But he argues most Canadians aren't buying it as a final decision since most federalist MPs are opposed to same-sex marriage.
Harper says a Conservative government would hold a free vote for all MPs on the matter, rather than forcing cabinet ministers to vote with the government.
This is (a) horseshit; the Tories conspired for months with the Bloc to try and bring down the government. The Bloc only recently switched sides because of C-38 and because they think their electoral prospects would be brighter in the fall; and (b) disgusting. Implying Quebecers aren't real Canadians in the service of implying homosexuals don't deserve full and equal rights before the law. Harper is a dangerous, reckless demagogue. It's amazing the Canadian media keeps treating him with such kid gloves (well, not so amazing I guess).
Oh, yeah, and the great smugness part of Ibbitson's piece:
With this vote, one of the most eventful and stressful House sessions in Canadian history reaches its end.
...So, enjoy the summer while it lasts. And congratulate yourself. You are part of the most diverse, tolerant and open-minded place on Earth.
And yesterday proved the thesis once again.
Sometimes, we Canadians gotta be smug.