Friday 29 June 2007

Why Canadians know more than Americans

I believe that it is absolutely true that Canadians as a whole are much more knowledgeable about what is happening around the world than Americans do and that Canadians are more adaptable than Americans.

One of the reasons is because Canada is bilingual, not just in the language of English and French, but because of the differences in Canadian and American spelling. Occasionally an ignorant American will say that I spell a word wrong when, in reality, it's the Canadian spelling.

Another reason why Canadians know more is because we have to keep track of 2 different political systems. Not only do we have to know about what the Republicans and Democrats are doing in the US, but we also have to know about what the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois are doing in Canada. We have to know what Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doing as well as President George W. Bush.

Canadians also get Canadian media and American media, but Americans only get American media. In the age of the internet, Canadian media is accessible to Americans, but few Americans use it. They probably think that Canada is not important, but they are wrong. Canada is the US's largest trading partner. That's a good enough reason to know what is going on in Canada because whatever Canada is experiencing has a good likelihood of it happening in the US.

Americans are not concerned about certain issues unless it is happening in their own country. For example, Planned Parenthood and EGALE are two of the organizations that are fighting to keep Canada's current age of consent for sex at 14. This is also happening in other countries around the world. But since it is not yet happening in the US in a significant way, the Americans are not concerned about it. However, most politically correct American parents who defend organizations like Planned Parenthood and EGALE would be really angry if these same organizations were doing in their country what they are currently doing in Canada.

So there you have it. Canadians as a whole know more about what is happening in the world than Americans.

Saturday 23 June 2007

Political Correctness

On another message board, we are talking about political correctness. I mentioned that referring to groups of people in the way that they would like is good since it's good manners that being practised, but I should add "within reason" because of the different labels and changes that can sometimes take place. For example, dark skinned of African descent like to be called "Black" or "African-American", but they generally don't like being called "coloured" and definitely not "Negro". People who have a physical or mental disability like to be called "physically challenged" or "mentally challenged" and NOT "crippled" or "retard". But when it comes to discussing issues, political correctness should have no place.

For example, there is one particular administrator who is into fitness. If someone were to ask him about junk food, he would say not to eat it, or at least in moderation, because it is not good for you, even though eating them may feel good. If someone were to ask this same individual about drugs, he would say to keep away from them, even though the drugs may make the person taking them feel good for a while. However, when this same individual is asked if kids experiencing same-sex feelings should act on them, he will say something like, " You encourage the child to be whoever he or she wants to be, regardless of sexual orientation" and will completely ignore the scientific evidence that it's not good for them (source). No truly responsible parent or anybody else who works with kids would encourage them to engage in behaviour that is inherently unsafe. That's political correctness for you. This is one example as to why political correctness is not good when talking about issues.

Abortion is another issue. Canada's birth/death replacement rate is dangerously low. The main reason is because of abortions, but politicans want to believe that it's something else and are not able to solve the problem. In some ways, I don't blame them because many people don't want to believe it either and probably don't care.

Another issue is "Happy Holidays" vs "Merry Christmas". Political correctness should not be used to look out for the wishes of minorities at the expense of the majority, in this case, religions. Most people know that the majority of people are celebrating Christmas at the winter holiday season. Yet some businesses and governments want to please minority faiths and disregard Christians.

The biggest problem with political correctness when referring to issues is that does away with freedom of speech. The concept of freedom of speech is, "I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". Political correctness does away with that. So for those who are reading this blog, if you don't like what I am saying, and wish to silence what I am saying, then you do not truly believe in freedom of speech. There are some reasonable limits such as not yelling "fire" when no fire exists, spreading lies, and that sort of thing. But when it comes to expressing beliefs, opinions, and especially verifiable information, there should be no political correctness to get in the way.

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Why I believe that alcohol should be illegal (and why Christians should avoid it)

In the past, I supported alcohol in moderation, but now, I support total abstinence of alcohol. One of the reasons is because of my conversion to the Seventh Day Adventist Church which requires all members to abstain from alcohol. But the most important reason is because of all the problems that it causes. The hazards seem to outweigh any benefits.

Many people have been injured or killed through drunk driving. Families have been split as a result, jobs have been lost, and many other problems alcohol causes. Many people don't even realize that you don't have to be drunk for alcohol to impair one's ability to drive. You don't even have to be drunk or have several drinks to be charged with drinking and driving violation. Also, there are laws that penalize a person or business for serving alcohol if drinker gets into an accident. It just doesn't seem worth it.

Many people say that moderation is the key. However, none of these people can agree on what moderation is. There are health benefits of moderate drinking, but it's only limited to one or two drinks a day. How many drinkers limit their drinking of alcoholic beverages to one or two drinks at a party? Not many I'm afraid. There are also studies that suggest that one can get similar health benefits from grape juice. This type of moderation may be fine for medications, but not for social drinking.

I know that not everybody will agree with this, but I would like to see a resurrection of the prohibition movement, or at least more Christians voluntarily abstain from alcohol. You don't need to drink alcohol to have a good time. Even if you yourself don't have a drinking problem, one of your invited guests may have one and serving alcohol only adds to that person's temptation.

I am not writing this to judge anyone in particular. I don't see anyone who disagrees with me as some kind of evil person. I'm also aware that there were problems with prohibition in the past, but I do think there should at least be a movement to encourage people to abstain. Personally, I would rather have prohibition back, even with the challenges of enforcing it, than to stay with the status quo of alcohol abuse going into the millions of dollars and ruined lives. With the high social costs of alcohol, I'm surprised that more Christians do not voluntarily abstain from it.

I am very thankful that I am part of a church that teaches and practises total abstinence because it enables me to hang around with friends that believe and practise the same thing and keeps off any pressure to serve or drink alcohol.

Sunday 3 June 2007

Hope for homosexuals

If you've read the article in the previous post, then you know about the health consequences of homosexuality. I'm not someone that hates homosexuals. I'm someone that cares enough about homosexuals to tell them the truth. In other words, this isn't merely Jemdude's view or the Church's view. Engaging in homosexual acts may make you feel good (in ways I'll never understand), but it is not good for you.

You probably want help getting out of the homosexual lifestyle.

If you are in this situation, then I would like to refer you to Stephen Bennet Ministries. He's a former homosexual whose been there. He no longer struggles with it, and now has a wife and kids.

I'm not going to say that getting out of homosexuality will be easy, but this ministry will help you get through this.

You can download his 30 minute testimony at the following link:
30 minute testimony

Written testimony

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