It’s hard to remain open-minded, but it’s necessary

Difficult to remain open-minded?  You’ve got that right, Bev.  Let me remind you about something you wrote on another thread,  “I haven?t looked at the research sites, but I would bet that they?re biased.”

Ms. Dare, seems you have a double standard here.  You and others continually castigated Doug for the sources he used - but yours are above reproach?  All I said was that I dislike counter-clockwise spin as much as clockwise.

Kind of funny how you want people to be open-minded about a group that is closed-minded,  The Heritage Foundation doesn’t try to hide their libertarian political ideals, rather it boasts about them.  The fact that you are taking such exception to any questioning of their motivation/objectivity is proof that what works in America doesn’t translate well into the Canadian experience - which was my second point.

Yes, I said that…
And, what’s wrong with the libertarian political ideals?  Personally I don’t agree 100% with any political party, nor religion… 
Also, you have proof of what???

Was the second reader mentioned from Sunday’s posting supposed to be me?  I didn’t say any of that.  I actually thought the analogy the Heritage Fdn. was making was good.  Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my writing.

No, Mad Teacher, it was someone who contacted me by e-mail - so his or her comment doesn’t appear.

Since the Trudeau years, Canada has become left-wing by default —sometimes virulently so — and so very many Canadians have come to think of left-wing ideology as “the truth”, and any perspective that opposed this as being biased.  How very unfortunate.

I couldn’t agree more that you have to consider the merit of the idea itself, as opposed to where it has come from (and more so if you don’t like the source “on principle”).  This is similar to judging any person as an individual, as opposed to by their race.  Now, I will admit that there is truth on both sides of the left/right dividing line, as well as inanities on both sides.

I think the problem at present is that Canadians have been so thoroughly indoctrinated with left-wing ideas for almost 50 years that for any non-left-wing notions to get a foothold, they have to first break the hefty brick wall of left-wing ideology; it can entail a barrage of criticism in order to do this.  Not too subltle.  That’s what happens, though, when a minority has to take on a majority.  Isn’t that what happened in the 60s when left-wing ideology first began replacing other values?  I can remember a wonderful free Canada in my childhood that was not left-wing at all. In fact, it was certainly more free than it is today.  So don’t moan when the shoe comes to be on the other foot, and people begin to criticize the left. 

Here is a thought.  According to some excellent critical thinkers whose work I have read, there is not simply right wing anymore, opposing left.  In Canada, right-wingers are made out to be greedy profiteers, uncaring folk of alll sorts, and the really dumb redneck types. Quite the stereotype,  quite the prejudice.  Gee, that does not bear any resemblace at all to the non-left-wingers I know.  They are quite the opposite in fact. I think they might consider themselves Classical Liberals, in the true sense of that term.  See politically-incorrect British thinker/writer Melanie Phillips, or American political philosopher/writer Thomas Sowell, or the work being carried out in educational reform by the Civitas U.K. organization.  All of them are quite vehemnetly opposed to many left-wing ideas, without being in turn what so many consider right-wing.

We all do really have to stop and think more carefully. Are we judging ideas themselves, or simply where they came from?