proba tive org archived entry

I am continually amazed at the influence of the Christian church in the face of the propaganda of Canadian multiculturalism. If you are right now getting your hackles up in aghast, consider that we as a multicultural society do not have any government enforced restrictions on normal activities in honour of non-Christian religious holidays. At least I cannot think of any.

Why is that, do you think? A practical answer is that we'd be closed for business more often than not if we honoured all faiths in this manner. But the real answer is that we are not truly multicultural at all. Canada is a Christian establishment that condescends to acknowledge the existence and private practice of other religions. She has abandoned her egalitarian ideals, continuing to enforce legislation of public observance of the establishment's religious holidays rather than descending from the pedestal and contenting herself with private religious observances, those being perfectly adequate for those others.

This goes as far as closing government offices and schools even though they serve and are supported by tax payers of all religious persuasions. Churches, interestingly, are exempt from this support obligation.

Just to add to the insanity, the application of "thou shalt not shop" is rather whimsical. In the city in which I find myself today: one can buy a book from a small used bookstore, but not from Chapters; one can rent movies or view one in the theatre, but can't get things from the hardware store, Wal-Mart, the Beer Store or liquor stores, ...; one may purchase gasoline, but may not bank except via the instant tellers; one can eat at a restaurant, but cannot purchase food in a grocery store to prepare at home (even the 24 hour A&P is closed). Which isn't to say you can't buy any unprepared food - you can go to the local convenience store and get ripped off on junk food. Forget fresh vegetables though. I'll bet you can wash your clothes at the laundromat, too.

So, the rule seems to be that as long as the government is not involved (liquor stores are government operated in Canada) and/or your business employs a few people: you can be open. Read: you're not going to make a blasphemous amount of money nor prevent numerous employees from observing this Christian day. No matter that this causes inconvenience to those who do not share that faith. To add insult to injury, if you are a non-Christian business owner you are still required to pay all your employees, Christian or not, for not working today. As an employee, you'll have to take a day off without pay if you want to observe a non-sanctioned religious holiday.

Stuff like this makes me wonder about us. Most things being closed just gives me more time to ponder the hypocrisy. For that matter, how did the Christian faith come to equate shopping or doing business with a lack of respect for religious holidays? If faithful people have to be forced into observance, by the government no less, what does that say about their faith in the first place? And, if shopping and doing business are so terribly abhorrent to the faithful, why is this only the case on a few days of the year? (I know, I know, you're thinking I really should go back on all those nasty drugs I was taking - right?)

How does this absurdity continue in our enlightened, progressive and oh so tolerant country? Answer: It's a day off for most people and nobody in their right mind would mess with that. A day off with pay, even. Wow. We are a very simple people after all - give us something for free and we'll go along with almost anything, even flagrant dismissal of non-dominant religions. We'll even, if we are not of the sanctioned faith, accept the requirement that we behave as the believers and not work or shop. We deserve what we get if this is the extent of our convictions.

And in my opinion there's nothing multicultural about us if people of all faiths lose the right to do business and access government offices only on days that one particular faith system deems to be significant. Either religious holidays of all kinds should be given the status these Christian ones have or no religious holidays should be the subject of government enforcement or restriction (depending how you view not being able to access things you normally do).

We should have a whole lot more paid days off or a lot fewer.

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