Conservative march to the past . . .

I am growing weary, as I suspect many people are, of the disgusting cold-war style rhetoric that this government constantly employs. It is as though Harper and his closest cronies are stuck in the 1950s and they think the world is being run by a bunch of ‘pinko, commie, left-wing, pornographers,’ and it is their mission to redeem the world from sliding into a great socialist abyss. John Baird has a cat named Thatcher, and Rona Ambrose is in love with Ayn Rand, a right-wing nut case who said that selfishness is a virtue and attracts college sophomores with her irrational, arbitrary thoughts on the beauties of self-interest dressed up as philosophy. You see, the reason that the Harper government seems as though it is stuck in the 1950 is that . . . well . . . it is! These blinkered, philistines are profoundly upset that the world has moved on from the days when homosexuality was illegal, people had no rights of habeas corpus, workers had no right to join trade unions, and universal primary education was considered a right rather than a privilege. As Harper’s secret speech demonstrated to anyone with ears and a brain, these people are chomping at the bit to march us back into the past when healthcare and education were only for those who could afford it, when workers had no rights and were chained to their machines, and corporations had no regulations to ensure that they act in a socially responsible manner.

Who opposed the abolition of slavery: Conservatives. Who opposed equal rights for all religions: Conservatives. Who opposed the legalization of trade unions and workplace safety regulations: Conservatives. Who opposed the vote for women: Conservatives. Who opposed universal education and healthcare: Conservatives. Who opposed non-discrimination laws for people of color and homosexuals: Conservatives.

While radicals have continually struggled to bring the human race to a state of justice and equality, Conservatives have continually strived to drag us back into the primordial ooze from whence we came. And the struggle continues.