Politics, Piggery and Doing One’s Duty
As the midterms make clear, the U.S. continues its continental divide, between the (ironically) red Republicans and the blue Democrats, with the former under Trump keeping hold of the Senate (and hence able to appoint judges and such), while the latter now with a majority in Congress. Mark Steyn makes a good point that the nation is so polarized, that these elections are in fact decided by a few thousands of people whose votes cannot be predicted a priori; for most of the nation is solidly either red or blue. One author makes the (true) observation that this divide is largely along religious grounds, as the difference between the two political parties widens: The Democrats almost entirely and vehemently pro-abortion, the party of Moloch, if you will; while the Republicans waffle, mostly, are to some degree pro-life, or at least with some hesitation about full-scale abortion.
I’m with de Tocqueville, the late Joseph Sobran and the Catholic Church, that, all things considered, the less government, and the more left to personal initiative, the better. The life-or-death battle over what it means to be ‘human’ should be fought at the level of culture: the family, the Church, all the subsidiary societies, where things really matter.
On that note, at least the Pigs who ended up running things in Animal Farm only went so far in their bending of the truth, scrawling on the barn wall that ‘some animals are more equal than others’, which allowed them to quite literally hog most of the creature comforts produced by those ‘beneath’ them. All quite an apt prognostication of our current socialist milieu, where the privileged get more privileged, and the less, even less so. But the inverse is often true when looked at from a spiritual perspective.
But on the notion of twisting the truth, Rachel Notley and her NDP socialistic bureaucratic henchmen in the once-free province of Alberta have gone much farther than the prevaricating Pigs, with their own list of now-proscribed and verboten statements, beliefs even, that are now to be excised from the books, lips, and ultimately the minds and hearts, of every teacher and child in every school of the province, public, private or otherwise. Here is a sample of the now-condemned ‘evil’ propositions:
- “We believe men and women were created in the image of God … and therefore have transcendent, intrinsic worth.”
- “Parents are the primary educators…”
- “The unchangeable and infallible truth of the Word of God…”
- “God created mankind as male and female, equal in dignity and worth…”
- “God’s institution of marriage, a covenant between one man and one woman…”
- “Obedience to God’s law supersedes subjection to human authority”
- “The above doctrines will be taught as truth in our school…”
Truth? Quid est? As the new secular high priesthood has proclaimed, all of these once obvious declarations are anathema sit, up there, or down there, with those of rubes who still have some hesitation over anthropogenic ‘climate change’ (which may well be on the list, which includes many more proscribed propositions).
As I wrote previously, following the late, great Thomas, Josef Pieper: The abuse of language is itself the abuse of power, and by controlling what words we may use and hold, they – and we more or less know we ‘they’ are – will control our minds and ultimately our actions, at least in our children, unless we act, and act now.
This sort of top-down reality-distortion is more along the lines of Orwell’s 1984 and its ironically named ‘Ministry of Truth’. Ironic, since truth was the last thing the ‘ministry ‘ had in mind to administer, and may now be the last thing your children will learn at school.
Such is the fate of handing over the grand and noble endeavour of education, hook, line and sinker, to the State, a dereliction of parental duty against which the Church has warned us in numerous documents of the Magisterium. Au contraire to these hubristic teachers and bureaucrats, parents are indeed the ‘first and primary educators of their children’, and although they may delegate some of this responsibility, it is upon them that the duty of forming their children ultimately falls.
But all too many did not read, nor listen, nor care. The money and the off-loading of the long and exacting work of teaching one’s own were just too tempting.
Is the game up? No, for hope springs eternal. But turning the tables means taking responsibility and initiative. I wonder what would happen if every sane-minded parent took their children out of the system for a day, a week, forever? Dare we teach our own children; even starting a private school under the radar of the State’s sauronesque eye, one that does not bow the knee to the powers that be? As de Tocqueville also wrote, one of the fundamental tasks of a citizenry is to resist the encroachments of state power, which creeps (and I use that verb advisedly) into all corners of our life. Resist while you still may. Not easy, and definitely the ‘narrow path’. But well, well worth the effort, for freedom, for truth.
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→