Is shutting the fuck up a good idea or a bad idea? Let's analyze this.
We as Canadians have two choices: shut the fuck up, or continuing to inform our government of our wishes.
The government has three choices: comply with the wishes of Canadians, ignore us and do whatever they want anyway, and retaliate by punishing not only Canadians but also the people in developing countries whom we want to help.
So let's look at every permutation:
1. We STFU and the government decides to comply. At first glance this makes no sense - how can they comply if we're not saying anything? But they might take our silence for consent - it's happened before (c.f. making O Canada inclusive, updating sex ed. in Ontario). Or what if this is some sort of mind game where they'll only give us what we want if we stop asking for it? That seems to be what Senator Ruth is suggesting. Do Canadians really want their government to work that way? How could we possibly make our country work if we have to not inform our government of our wishes to make them happen, or stop informing them of our wishes at some secret unspoken signal? Completely unreasonable.
2. We keep talking and the government decides to comply. Optimal outcome. Government representing the wishes of the people. Exactly how democracy is supposed to work.
Therefore, if the government's plan is to comply, the best option is to keep talking.
3. We STFU and the government decides to ignore us. Again, they would likely publicly present our silence as consent.
4. We keep talking and the government decides to ignore us. We're still being ignored, but at least the results cannot be attributed to us, and it is made obvious that the government is ignoring the will of the people.
Therefore, if the government's plan is to ignore us, the best option is to keep talking.
5. We STFU and the government decides to retaliate. That would be like Darth Vader destroying Alderaan.
6. We keep talking and the government decides to retaliate. It would become glaringly obvious that the government punishes people for informing the government of their will, and, while there may be short-term pain, any government that would do this would be unelectable in the future and it would stand as a lesson to any other future Darth Vaders who might want to swoop in.
Therefore, if the government's plan is to retaliate, the best option is to keep talking.
4 comments:
If funding 3rd world abortions is so critical - why wasn't it done while the 'progressive' Liberals had 13 years of solid majority government rule?
I don't know. If I were a strategist in a party that wanted to prevent the Liberals for being in power, I'd see that as a very good reason to make it happen now.
Great post!
It's not that "fudning 3rd world abortions is so critical", per se. It's that any program that purports to support women's health must include access to safe, legal abortion.
Why do people think "but the Liberals did it" or "but the Liberals didn't do it" is a valid answer to criticisms of a government that is now in its 5th year?
There's more information here about why 3rd world abortions are suddenly so critical.
Short version: Canada is hosting the G8 this year, and part of its job as host is to come up with a nice shiny new initiative for everyone. The government chose maternal and child health, and set out specific quantitative goals for improving existing outcomes. (Which addresses CQ's question - this is over and above whatever is being done now, including anything that might have been implemented under the Liberal governments). To achieve these goals, significantly improved access to and safety of abortion services is required (which is described at greater length in the article I linked to).
So that's why this is on the table all the sudden: because the current government came up with the idea in the first place and then decided to loudly rule out one of the most important tools needed to achieve it.
Which does make one wonder: if they're so squeamish about abortion, why not choose another initiative that's completely unrelated to abortion? Clean drinking water or something?
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