FACE TO FACE: 'Tom-ay-to' or 'tom-ah-to'? 'Barbaric' or 'absolutely unacceptable'?
The federal government's new citizenship guide warns newcomers to this country that customs such as "honour killings" and female genital mutilation are considered "barbaric" in Canada even though they may be culturally acceptable in some other parts of the world.
The assertion is so undoubtedly factual that I am sure my colleague on the opposite side of the page will not disagree with its accuracy. But where he and I do differ is in our opinion on the appropriateness of using such a blunt instrument as the word "barbaric" to describe brutal and murderous practices.
I stand on the side of honesty, precision of language and clarity in moral judgment in applauding the government and its minister, Jason Kenny, for their use of the word. My colleague, on the other hand, stands for obfuscation, political correctness and moral murkiness when he wishes the Conservatives had embraced less-harsh language.
In doing so, he agrees with Liberal MP Justin Trudeau who said that, while he personally considered killing and mutilation to be barbaric, he wished the government had used the term "absolutely unacceptable" in its place because, essentially, it is more welcoming to newcomers. He explained that the softer term represented a sort of "responsible neutrality" - as if we should be neutral about a father's murder of a rebellious daughter.
Trudeau later hemmed and hawed his way to a retraction but, frankly, given the lack of spine he demonstrated throughout the controversy, I have a difficult time understanding how he is able to stand erect. Perhaps my colleague will explain.
Of the many problems associated with Trudeau's initial position is the fact the term "absolutely unacceptable" is verbal baby food. It's what the elementary school teacher says to the boy who burps in the middle of a lesson or what the nanny says to the girl who won't clean up her toys. It's not what we say to murderers and mutilators.
And then there's "responsible neutrality," a phrase that signals Trudeau's embrace of the sinister and debilitating concept of "moral relativism" - the faulty worldview in which there is no absolute right and wrong, no good and evil.
I fear that Trudeau and my colleague have just proved the proverb, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
An award-winning journalist, a writer with Edmonton's Report Magazine and Toronto's Catholic Insight magazine, and co-host of RoadkillRadio.com, Face to Face columnist Terry O'Neill is a long-time Coquitlam resident who sits on the board of the Coquitlam Foundation and chairs the finance commitee of St. Joseph's Catholic parish.
