I was amazed to hear recently that two celebrities actually had the moxie to cancel their performances in two respective states because of their "principles" and "conscience." I honestly didn't know that Bruce Springteen and Bryan Adams, in fact, had what it takes to speak up for their beliefs
However, further checking out the background to the story gave me pause.
The main issue at hand is, of course, (as usual) all about sex: That transgendered bathroom issue (Springsteen in North Carolina)) and that same-sex retail issue (Adams in Mississppi) is rearing its ugly head once again. North Carolina, for example, is taking the opposite view on this matter: They are now requiring people to use "the bathroom of their biological sex."
None of this Larry-in-the-ladies'-loo stuff over there. No siree.
The other issue is in Mississippi: Retailers will be allowed to choose to not to serve people who have chosen a certain lifestyles for faith reasons—or, in the context of today's column, for their "principles" and "convictions." So if a baker chooses not to bake a cake to "celebrate" a homosexual wedding, he doesn't have to and will not be sued.
And by the same token, in case you never noticed, those bakers who reject traditional marriage don't have to bake a wedding cake for those couples they oppose.
Strange, isn't it: In the media, Springteen and Adams come across as heroes and crusaders, whereas those who likewise have "principles," but from the opposite side of the moral spectrum, will come across as unkind, insensitive, and intolerant.
Stinks like a double standard to me.
Though those issues seem so distant (geographically and metaphorically) from life here in Alberta, they're actually not. Our own government is barrelling down the same path, except they and these celebrities are on the same journey.
Unless a miracle happens, and common sense and decency prevail, Albertans will wake up very soon to the potential of men in girls' bathrooms in every public venue (more than schools, you know), and lawsuits hurled at mom-and-pop bakeries won't be far behind.
That sounds like a stretch, but that's the logical conclusion of the "Best Practices and Guidelines" edict. I've dealt enough about this evil potential in recent columns, so I'll hold off for now.
Back to our friends, Bruce and Bryan. Okay, maybe not friends, but Bryan is from North Vancouver, BC, and I'm from Richmond, BC, so that practically makes us neighbours. Well, fine, thirty miles and ten years apart, so maybe we're not that close.
And we're not that close on this issue, to boot.
Where were we? Right, the matter of "conscience." I really wonder how appropriate that word is here. Are these guys really marked by principles of equality, decency, and liberty?
If there was a compass of conviction in their soul, shouldn't it be consistent with all views of values? Isn't true tolerance open to all points of view, not just select ones?
I'm sure these guys can sing (and yes, I have tried to endure, er, enjoy them), but I wonder what they really believe. I have always found it strange that "tolerance," "equality," and now "principles," seem to go only one way.
Apparently, if I live up to my convictions to choose not to bake a cake "celebrating" same-sex marriage, I am considered a bigot. Ditto for choosing to not host a same-sex wedding on my property: That would mean I am a homophobe, right?
This calls for consistency: Bruce and Bryan are seen as tolerant because they have spoken up for what they believe. If I were a baker, for example, and spoke up for what I believe, I would get slandered, shunned, and sued.
By the way, guys, seeing as you missed a couple of gigs in the southern states, why don't you sing sometime up here in Alberta? I'm thinking you would be singing from the same songbook as our own government. The way we're heading, you'd sound just great here.
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