Globe & Mail Defines the "Culture Wars"

This is what it's all about, apparently.

"Like the U.S., we can almost divide Canada into two clear-cut political-cultural camps, whose issues include abortion, the CBC, capital punishment, big government, the Middle East, women, guns, gays, welfare, religion, the environment, race, law ’n’ order, evolution, big cities and lots of others. By and large, as everyone knows, there's a conservative take on these issues and a non-conservative, sometimes progressive, take. All we really need is a single word – abortion! Israel! – and most of us know the issue and who's on which side."

Oh ya. It's written by an old NDP hack, Gerald Caplan. Quelle surprise!!!

I'm gonna fix it for him using my own personal "culture" map.

"Like the U.S., we can almost divide Canada into two clear-cut political-cultural camps, whose issues include abortion, the CBC, capital punishment, big government, the Middle East, women, guns, gays, welfare, religion, the environment, race, law ’n’ order, evolution, big cities and lots of others. By and large, as everyone knows, there's a conservative take on these issues and a non-conservative, sometimes progressive, take. All we really need is a single word – abortion! Israel! – and most of us know the issue and who's on which side."

As you can see, I've made some small, because they aren't big burning issues with me, but I do have definite opinions on them that very likely differ from those of my fellow countrymen and women who inhabit Caplin's area on the spectrum.

I've made some very large, because they are very large, burning issues for me.

Some of them are struck out, because I couldn't care less about them, although I did hesitate a bit on the word "gay".  My position on that is explained here.

Others are just regular sized print, because they are issues, but not nearly as hot as the big ones. You'll notice the environment is there. I do my bit to keep my environs clean. I keep a handle on consumption of unnecessary things. I live simply. Walk when I can. Make almost all my food from scratch, etc.. (No, I don't make my own bread.  I've tried it and believe me, the results were not good.)  But I do buy my groceries at the grocery store and I don't care where it's grown, only that it's fresh and nutritious.

I recycle everything that can be recycled in my community and I have that in mind when buy things that are packaged. I used to have canvas bags that I consistently forgot to take with me when I went to the grocery store, but I've lost them somewhere along the way.

I don't buy into this AGW nonsense, and apparently I've been ahead of the curve, as far as that's concerned.

But Gerry, you missed one or two that are very, very important to me, in inverse proportion to what the NDP seem to think of them.  One is fraud in science (Climategate) and the need to prosecute those who have committed it and the other is the global issue of stealth jihad, which too many of our politicians like to pretend isn't even happening.

Underlying most of this is a strong and passionate belief that Canada needs to enforce our right to free speech as guaranteed not only in our Constitution's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but in the Bill of Rights. I want the various human rights gestapos in this country disbanded, or at the very least, Section 13.1 and any similar clauses in the provincial laws wiped out.  I am pleased there is a case heading toward the Supreme Court that may strike down the gag on free speech.  If it isn't struck down, we must lobby hard to get the law(s) changed through our parliament and provincial legislatures and we must speak as loudly and as frequently as possible in a manner that is politically incorrect, so that the damage done by NDP/Liberal hacks like Caplan will be repaired.  And that includes a full refund of the costs borne by victims of these wretched state sanctioned abominations which have sought to punish citizens for holding an unpopular or ill-informed opinions.

Oh. And I wouldn't mind having our armed forces better funded and equipped and I'd be willing to pay my own way in medical services such as regular visits to the family physician, if that would help with the funding.

Anyway, the whole point of this rant is to suggest that Gerry Caplan's definition will suit no-one to a T.  And at the risk of hypocrisy, I think his attempt to pigeon-hole is typical of NDPers in this country.  (Yanks, that would be equivalent to the fringe element of your Democrats.)  I am a conservative, but I don't fit Caplan's mold.

/end rant