WAGNER: Christian conservatives are the real patriots

An excerpt from Michael Wagner's book, 'Standing on Guard for Thee.'Media attention on conservative Christian political activism is common in the United States. In recent years, such coverage has often focused on so-called Christian nationalist support for Donald Trump. In this context, Christian participation in politics is often framed as somehow being a “threat” to normal democracy.There has been less media attention on conservative Christian activism in Canada. This is understandable since the size of the conservative Christian political movement is much smaller here. Nevertheless, this movement occasionally receives some attention when issues of abortion or LGBTQ rights are in the news.It’s not unusual for leftists to suggest that conservative Christian political activism in Canada is a result of the influence of its American counterpart.Such an accusation, however, is largely unfair.The conservative Christian political movement in Canada — what is commonly called the “Christian Right” — has been, for the most part, a home-grown movement. The three people who have been most important to the movement historically, Rev. Ken Campbell, Ted Byfield, and Gwen Landolt, are all from Ontario (although Byfield made his name out West.) Therefore, to see the Christian Right in Canada as an American import is to entirely miss the mark. .Of course, at times there have been American influences, through magazines, books, and visiting speakers, but exactly the same can be said about American influences on the social Left such as the abortion rights and LGBTQ rights movements.In fact, if American influence is truly a concern, it is the social Left which finds much of its inspiration from the United States. Ironically, this can be seen most clearly in the origin and history of that supposed bastion of “Canadian values,” the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.For most of its history, 1867-1982, Canada had a constitution where civil rights and liberties were protected by “unwritten” constitutional conventions inherited from Britain. Although this form of rights protection was quite successful, some Canadians, especially intellectuals, found the American ideal of a constitutionally-entrenched “bill of rights” more attractive.Many people on the Left were quite taken with the liberal policy activism of the United States Supreme Court which began by the late 1950s under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren.Judicial activism of this sort was only possible through interpretations of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and since Canada’s 1960 Bill of Rights was just a piece of regular legislation rather than part of the Constitution, such activism was largely out of reach for Canadian judges.In order for Canada to have left-wing policies imposed by the courts, the country would need a constitutionally-entrenched rights document. It was with this hope in mind that many Canadian leftists — led by Pierre Trudeau — supported the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.In adopting the Charter, Canada was shifting away from its primarily British-inspired type of Constitution, to a more American-inspired type of constitution.Seymour Martin Lipset, an internationally-renowned sociologist, wrote: “Perhaps the most important step that Canada has taken to Americanize itself — far greater in its implications than the signing of the free trade treaty — has been the incorporation into its constitution of a bill of rights, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”Similarly, University of Western Ontario law professor Robert Martin stated that, “The Charter is, culturally, historically, and ideologically, an American document.”Therefore, if people are concerned about American values being infused into Canadian policy-making, they need look no further than Pierre Trudeau’s 1982 Constitution. That was when so-called “Canadian values” were finally brought into Canada’s Constitution, direct from Washington, D.C., courtesy of the Canadian admirers of the U.S. Supreme Court.In a very real sense, then, Canadian Christian Right activists have been fighting against the American-inspired values of Hollywood and the Sexual Revolution which have been enshrined in the Charter of Rights. These people are the true Canadian patriots.Ultimately, the values involved on both sides of the culture war transcend national boundaries. The conflict between social conservatives and social progressives is found in all of the Western nations. It’s not the “Canadian values” of the Left versus the “American values” of the Right, but traditional Western morality versus the perspective of the Sexual Revolution. It’s a civilizational civil war.This is a fight, really, over different ways of life for human beings. Which way of life is best? Is traditional morality oppressive and restrictive, holding people back from real enjoyment of their lives and true happiness? Many think so today.But as the walls of traditional morality have been broken down in favour of sexual freedom, it’s becoming easier to see the price that is being paid. For example, family breakdown has consequences such as lower educational achievement and worse behavioral outcomes for children.The traditional family is the better way of life, and as such it is likely that people will return to this way of life at some point in the future. For this reason, conservative Christians can be optimistic for the future.Michael Wagner's 'Standing on Guard for Thee' is available from Amazon.

WAGNER: Christian conservatives are the real patriots

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