7) Define “the liberal elite, the liberal agenda, and/or the left-wing liberal media,” making a case for why your definition is whatever it is.

I generally think of the “liberal elite” within this country as being composed of a certain clique of upper-class pseudo- intellectuals in eastern Canada who feel that they alone understand everything there is to know about politics. As the name suggests, they generally vote solidly for the Liberals, or in rare cases the NDP. I think many elite institutions within Canada, such as universities and the media, generally operate under the assumption that being left-wing is a sign of sophistication and intelligence, which in turn leads to a self-perpetuating liberal bias. Basically, they want to promote that their way of thinking is the “right” way, and all other partisan perspectives are ignorant or bigoted. It’s very harmful for free speech when a nation’s elites share this sort of mindset.

8) Does Gordon Campbell deserve to be re-elect- ed? If no, who does?

I am not a huge fan of Gordon Campbell personally, but I see no reason why his government does not deserve to be re- elected. British Columbia needed some harsh reforms after a decade of socialist mis-rule, and although Campbell’s admin- istration has often proved to be inept and bumbling in its policy implementation, overall I think history will judge that he

Editorial Cartoon

Sorry George, but I guess it just came down to making a moral choice.

did what needed to be done. 9) What makes Canada unique in your eyes? We’re unique from the United States because we have Quebec, and a thor- oughly un-democratic

government, which in turn allows

system of

Quebec to push this country farther to the left than the majority of Canadians want. We’re unique in the world in that we're probably the only country left on the planet that actually believes in our own self-aggrandizing rhetoric about

Opposing Same-Sex Marriage is not Anti-Gay

Michael Veenema, Interrobang (Fanshawe College)

March 9/2005

LONDON, Ont. (CUP)—It is very com- mon, even expected, that anyone making a public comment about homosexual marriage is going to speak in favour. If that is what you are expecting in this arti- cle, I am sorry to say that you will be disappointed.

One of the myths many people have bought into is that those who don’t favour same-sex marriages and other public affir- mations of homosexuality are simply against gays and lesbians. People who believe this are irrational. There is no dis- cussing things with them. They hold, against reason, to an anti-gay agenda.

Thus, many Protestant Christians, Roman Catholics, and other “social con- branded as “fundamentalist,” or worse, “homopho-

servatives” are bic,’ a term some people use to paint anyone who expresses reservations about same-sex marriages, gay-pride events, and

being a “moral superpower.”

10) Does Douglas College need a mascot? If so, why and what should it be?

Uhh....how the Douglas College... Dumplings? I got nothin’,

about

so forth. Calling people names is never a good idea. I don’t think that deploying these stereotypical and virtually useless labels is helpful. They are used, I believe, consciously or not, as instruments of power, of intimidation. Disagree with me, and I will call you a name in the city or national newspaper.

There are many issues surrounding the area of how people respond to the gay- marriage question. I want to highlight just one for now. That is that the vast majori- ty of those who don’t support same-sex marriage ate not so much against some- thing as they are for something. And what they are for is a view of marriage and family that should receive serious consid- eration—much more serious than, say, that given by many celebrities and journal- ists who act as if there could be nothing more obvious than the rightness of gay coupling, marriage, and parenting.

Continued on page 10

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