In The Words of John Diefenbaker...
"I am a Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
From the Canadian Bill of Rights,
July 1, 1960.
Ain't it funny what people think they can alter to suit their own agendas? The above wording is the original, untouched, unedited version of what Dief said some forty-eight (omigod! *gasp*) years ago.
Now, you may or may not know that Dief was a Tory. That was back in the days when "Tory" meant something. We don't really have any more Tories. We have Reformatories, instead. And they're busy trying to rewrite history (which, naturally enough, would serve to alter the future) to suit their own agenda.
So...in anticipation of a big Reformatory win (oopsie!) in this year's popularity contest, one of these Reformatories posts:
"I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind."
See the difference? Emphasis on "a free Canadian" and insertion of the word, "God" does much to change the flavor. There is not only the hint of a suggestion that some Canadians are not (or maybe should not) be free, but also the less-than-subtle naming of a particular diety, the naming of which is a threat to those who do not "worship" that particular diety.
Then along comes another Reformatory, who gets a litle more specific with the agenda. She follows right along without questioning the altered wording, but emphasizing certain phrases and adding a more specific threat at the end of her interpretation:
"I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind.
"Note to beligerent Muslims and other professional victim groups..."
Huh. One would almost think she's afraid of Muslims, wouldn't one? I certainly think so! I wonder if Dief was thinking of how fearsome Muslims are (or any other religious or cultural group, for that matter) when he deliberately did not name any specific diety? Maybe he actually meant what it looks like he said:
"This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
All mankind. ALL mankind. Yes, Piglet, even the Muslims.
And then along comes yet another Reformatory, who sticks her chin up in the air and adds this little diatribe:
"I will not submit to any power that opposes my conscience when it comes to saying and doing what I think is right and necessary. Any power that tries to stop me is a tyranny, and I will not suffer to be oppressed."
She doesn't see any problem in thinking that those who think different from her should be oppressed by her and others like her, though. She follows that line of faux logic by calling for the elimination of the Human Rights Commission. By all means, let's have no more human rights, or safeguards thereof. After all, the Human Rights Commission does not recognize a fetus as a citizen. It can't. By law, a fetus cannot be a citizen because a fetus is not a person.
What she deliberately ignores (and actually refutes in that above phrase) is that no one is opposing her right to her own conscience. No one is trying to oppress her. Indeed, the shoe is on the other little trotter when it comes to oppression. She wishes to force everyone else to abide by her "conscience."
So let me do a little judicious editting of my own:
"I am a Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way whatever diety I choose -- or not -- as I see fit,
free to stand for what I think right for myself,
free to oppose what I believe wrong for myself,
free to oppose the imposition of another's values over my own,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
ALL mankind.
Biodh Se!
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
From the Canadian Bill of Rights,
July 1, 1960.
Ain't it funny what people think they can alter to suit their own agendas? The above wording is the original, untouched, unedited version of what Dief said some forty-eight (omigod! *gasp*) years ago.
Now, you may or may not know that Dief was a Tory. That was back in the days when "Tory" meant something. We don't really have any more Tories. We have Reformatories, instead. And they're busy trying to rewrite history (which, naturally enough, would serve to alter the future) to suit their own agenda.
So...in anticipation of a big Reformatory win (oopsie!) in this year's popularity contest, one of these Reformatories posts:
"I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind."
See the difference? Emphasis on "a free Canadian" and insertion of the word, "God" does much to change the flavor. There is not only the hint of a suggestion that some Canadians are not (or maybe should not) be free, but also the less-than-subtle naming of a particular diety, the naming of which is a threat to those who do not "worship" that particular diety.
Then along comes another Reformatory, who gets a litle more specific with the agenda. She follows right along without questioning the altered wording, but emphasizing certain phrases and adding a more specific threat at the end of her interpretation:
"I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind.
"Note to beligerent Muslims and other professional victim groups..."
Huh. One would almost think she's afraid of Muslims, wouldn't one? I certainly think so! I wonder if Dief was thinking of how fearsome Muslims are (or any other religious or cultural group, for that matter) when he deliberately did not name any specific diety? Maybe he actually meant what it looks like he said:
"This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
All mankind. ALL mankind. Yes, Piglet, even the Muslims.
And then along comes yet another Reformatory, who sticks her chin up in the air and adds this little diatribe:
"I will not submit to any power that opposes my conscience when it comes to saying and doing what I think is right and necessary. Any power that tries to stop me is a tyranny, and I will not suffer to be oppressed."
She doesn't see any problem in thinking that those who think different from her should be oppressed by her and others like her, though. She follows that line of faux logic by calling for the elimination of the Human Rights Commission. By all means, let's have no more human rights, or safeguards thereof. After all, the Human Rights Commission does not recognize a fetus as a citizen. It can't. By law, a fetus cannot be a citizen because a fetus is not a person.
What she deliberately ignores (and actually refutes in that above phrase) is that no one is opposing her right to her own conscience. No one is trying to oppress her. Indeed, the shoe is on the other little trotter when it comes to oppression. She wishes to force everyone else to abide by her "conscience."
So let me do a little judicious editting of my own:
"I am a Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way whatever diety I choose -- or not -- as I see fit,
free to stand for what I think right for myself,
free to oppose what I believe wrong for myself,
free to oppose the imposition of another's values over my own,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
ALL mankind.
Biodh Se!
posted by Chimera at 4:37 PM
4 Comments:
"I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledege to uphold for myself and for all mankind."
...
This Diefenbaker quote is taken not from the Bill of Rights but from the 1960 debates on the Bill of Rights.
The Dictionary of Canadian Quotations and Phrases has it.
The Dictionary of Canadian Quotations has it wrong.
Your version is definitely better then the other two.
Actually, it's the very height of impudence to try and "improve" upon the Chief's wording. But, since others had found the chutzpah to think they knew better than him, I was simply correcting their copy...
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