May 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For pro-life, pro-family Canadians the federal election is over, the results have been dramatic and the question now is – “where do we go from here?”
On their third try, the Conservatives got their majority. Finally, pro-life critics of the party will no longer be harangued by pro-life Conservative Party loyalists insisting that Stephen Harper will allow pro-life measures once the party gets a majority. Okay, now they have that majority.
Was Harper lying all along about his total opposition to any attempts to re-introduce the abortion issue (in any form, no matter how mild or indirect) into parliament? I don’t think so. But, hey, if I have been wrong about this, that would be wonderful. At the moment, most people seem to take the Prime Minister at his word.
However, there are also the MPs. Most of them have some genuine sense of democratic responsibility to the people of Canada above their responsibility to the leader of their party. The leader did not elect them. The people did – to represent them.
MPs pledge to serve the country, not the party. Their ultimate responsibility is to God. In the end, the Party Leader counts for nothing at all in each person’s final judgment.
We have to appeal to the consciences, love of country and sense of justice of the MPs in all the parties. Each one is an individual with a personal story and a personal conscience. Most are sincere about wanting to serve Canada. At least they start out that way.
We cannot assume that any of them have a good grasp of the vast importance and the facts of the life issues. Experience has shown that many are in need of a lot of education in these matters. Not because they lack intelligence, but because they have not been exposed to the issues.
The perhaps uncomfortable reality is that is it up to YOU to contact your MP very soon and attempt to strike up a genuine, respectful relationship and begin the dialogue. That is what the social radicals have done for years. Pro-life and pro-family Canadians have not generally been as active as they should be in taking up this obligation that comes with living in a democracy.
Your role is far more than just complaining when your MP does something that you disagree with. It is much more important to give them your support when they do the right thing. MPs need your congratulations for winning, your information on issues that they do not understand and more.
Being a Member of Parliament is a far tougher job than most realize. It can be very lonely being away from home for long periods of time and it creates terrible stresses on marriage and family life. The work days are often long and very late – sometimes, ridiculously late and exhausting.
Lastly, we cannot expect our politicians to have a good comprehension of morality and the evil of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, IVF, surrogate motherhood, euthanasia, early inductions abortions, and more – if our religious leaders abdicate their responsibility of teaching and placing high emphasis on these.
We can’t expect the politicians to be theologians or religious leaders that should be forming the moral consensus on which the life and family issues must be decided. That is not their role.
If most of the politicians are not doing the right things on the moral issues, we have to look back to our religious leaders. But here too it is our role to support and encourage, and when required to insist on necessary leadership.
Experiences with politicians has shown a pattern. Some point to the disinterest and inconsistencies among the religious leaders and say, “if they don’t take those moral issues seriously, why should I?”
Many a brave politician has been stunned by the total lack of expected support or even downright betrayal by religious leaders when they stuck their necks out in proposing pro-life or pro-family measures. I know of some MPs who are very bitter over such experiences. The trend in Canada for the past four decades or so has been dismal, shocking, distressing – especially for enthusiastic newcomers to the pro-life and pro-family movements.
So, we also have to pray for and encourage our religious leaders to wake up from their decades of slumber and misguided priorities.
We have little time left before our culture finally collapses into social and economic catastrophe because of our neglect of foundational moral principles. But, the battle can be won.
The few months right after an election are the most crucial for developing trusting, mutually beneficial relationships with Members of Parliament. After that, the patterns of influence and party dominance become more established and much harder to change.
Democracy does not stop after an election. And it is certainly not a duty only for politicians. If we think and act that way, we are setting the stage for eventual dictatorship.
Now we must all follow through on our other, continuing obligations as citizens of a so far still mostly free country.