Faith based schools

Permit me to muse on one aspect of the current Ontario election campaign, the proposal of the Conservative Party to fund faith-based schools not currently funded in the province.

Ontario now has two publicly funded faith-based school systems. The first is called the public school system - a system that zealously proselytizes a leftish mush of relativistic, secular humanism, including the usual political melange of pro-global warming, pro-abortion, pro -euthanasia, pro-homosexual, pro-transgendered, pro-questioning, profoundly atheistic, dogmas.

The second faith based school system is the Catholic school system, promulgating (in theory at least) the Popish dogmas of Rome - non relativistic in nature and (gasp) overtly Catholic in content. These latter schools obtain public funding because of an historic constitutional deal in 1867 that allowed for the federation of the northern British colonies into what became the Dominion of Canada, sometimes called Canukistan by American politicians.

Progressive Ontarians want to expunge the constitutional provisions allowing for Catholic funding on the grounds that it is, .... er "..... so retro man ..... it's like more than 20 years old, eh." I hasten to add that this simplistic political analysis is not necessarily their fault. I'm told smoking dope on a regular basis can seriously impair long term memory.

The provincial leader of the Conservative Party, a fine figure of a man called John Tory (I kid you not), is proposing to fund the other faith-based school systems, if his party forms the government on October 10th. He holds to the rather quaint view that fairness and equity compels us to fund the 52,000 students in private Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu schools, at a reputed cost of $500 Million.

Mr. Tory is no doubt aware that five of ten Canadian provinces presently fully, or partially, fund faith-based private schools. He is no doubt aware that the public, secular humanist, faith-based schools in those provinces are thriving at least as well as those of Ontario.

The premier of the province, Dalton McGuinty (a Liberal), is a product of the publicly funded Catholic system, has two children currently enrolled in Catholic schools and an attractive wife who teaches in the Catholic system. Accordingly, you would think he would agree with Mr. Tory that funding other faith-based schools would be a good thing. You would be incorrect. Very incorrect.

Mr. McGuinty says that funding more than two faith-based school systems would be "terribly wrong."

He says, "Public schools teach not just the ABCs, but to understand and accept one another."

He says, "You know what I love about Ontario's public schools - they're public. Whatever the race or creed of the kids they attend the same schools. Together they learn play laugh and sing - together. I believe that taking a half billion dollars from those schools to give to private religious schools is a mistake. Our public schools are what makes Ontario, Ontario. I'm asking you to join me in standing up for our schools......."

By inference it is clear that he believes that those private religiously based schools are divisive and do not make Ontario, Ontario.

He does not say why he and his wife chose, therefore, to place their kids in fully funded Catholic schools.

I have a question. Not the question of whether this is rank hypocrisy. I leave you to draw your own conclusions on that. My question is why is it that people of the left champion diversity in all things but this? What is it about religious education that turns the celebration of diversity into a paean to monolithic indoctrination in one philosophical pedagogy?

The answer, dear reader, is painfully obvious. Let those whom have ears hear. But first clean the political bullshit from your earlobes.