Everyone’s freedoms demonstrably intact
A confusing and disheartening trend has emerged during the recent events that have transpired in our country. We are not immune to them here on Vancouver Island, in the Cowichan Valley, or even in the opinion pages of our local paper. We must be cognizant of this trend and resist succumbing to its influence over us.
I have heard, seen, and read countless individuals try and convince us that our freedoms and rights are being taken away. This is just blatantly untrue. It is being said by individuals who are not familiar with, nor can they apparently understand our constitution, rights and freedoms, or form of government. At least that is what I hope is the reason. If they do understand these things, then they are just attempting to purposely mislead and create discontent for very questionable reasons.
We have two MPs that deserve recognition for their ability to do their job with professionalism and grace in the face of this onslaught of attacks. Please hear me when I say attacks.
Recently two local individuals went on social media and used insult and profanity to aggressively degrade Laurel Collins, MP for Victoria, for her decision to support our PM. One of these people was a high-profile participant in our current MLA’s Green Party campaign. Is this indicative of what the Greens condone? It makes me wonder what else is considered acceptable under the Green tent. Some investigation shows one of these individuals now also publicly belittles Sonia. How quickly they turn.
There have been letters to this paper denouncing Alistair MacGregor, MP for Cowichan. Evidence that everyone’s freedoms are in place and working. These letter writers are being offered the platform to criticize a democratically elected representative. The sad commentary to this is in many accounts the writers clearly show they have little grasp on what democracy is. They are not being arrested or hunted down. They are regularly making unsupportable statements like “most” or “the majority of”. Again, blatantly untrue, yet they are not being punished or held accountable for the falsehoods in their statements. Still, they are adamant that their rights and freedoms are being robbed from them.
The hypocrisy of obvious right wingers declaring that it is those “awful” Liberals and those “weak” NDP who are to blame for everything, much of which is being perpetrated by the right, is somewhat insulting to those of us who posses a modicum of common sense and have even the most tenuous grasp on current world affairs.
I do not agree with everything our elected officials do. I do not agree with everything that is done or said by those I identify with politically and I do not disagree with everything that comes from those I do not identify with. I do, however, think that anyone who feels that it is OK to libel or degrade an MP, or anyone for that matter, on social media or in letters to a local paper, because they do not agree with how that elected official exercised their duties and responsibilities needs to do some personal reflection. I also feel they would benefit from some rudimentary civic lessons.
Dara Quast
Cobble Hill