Family Values

I've been watching the infomercial known as the Republican National Convention on CNN and CBC Newsworld. God, I've never seen so much patting on yourself on the back in my life. Yeah, I guess you can tell that I'm not much of a fan of the Republicans, from the tone of the first few words.

I guess you could call me a "moderate." I'm conservative on some issues, and liberal in others. But that's beside the point. What I'm here to talk about is something that the Republicans (indeed, the entire "right") has been babbling about for the past two years or so - Family Values. About how we've lost our Family Values. About how we need to find our Family Values.

I don't know about the Republicans (I'm picking on them because they're recent; the Mike Harris Conservative government is guilty of many of the same crimes), but I think my Family Values are perfectly fine, thank you. And I'm sure that many other families other there can testify that, with all their problems and trials, that their families are doing fine as well.

But what about other, troubled, families? They exist, and they require help. Of course, what is your definition of troubled? Is a single parent family "troubled?" Is a same-sex couple faimly "troubled?" Let's cut right to the chase - what's your definition of Family Values? Definte terms please; nothing vague, nothing circumspect. We're dealing with the government of a country here.

More importantly, how do the Republicans plan to gives us back the Family Values we've lost? Make it a law that we have to have Family Values? What happens if we disagree with their definition of Family Values? Does that mean that, if I'm in a loving, happy same-sex or single parent family, I don't have Family Values?

How about my definitions of Family Values? They don't really figure into this, but I will say that they're considerably broader then any definition the Republican party stands for. I believe that any sort of healthy, loving relationship between people can constitute a family. (I can just hear the Religious Right cocking its guns for this one. But I'll hammer you in an Observations column that I'm wiriting.)

It's not limited to the States. Harris' talks of a "Common Sense" revolution. How do you legislate "Common Sense?" And if there was any "Common Sense" among the government, you would think they would study their history and realize that North American Society is in big trouble.

Actually, I think that everybody realizes that Society is in trouble. It's just that nobody wants to make the sacrifices necessary to bring everything back on track. We can't spend money on the poor, the homeless, the uneducated. We can't interfere overseas to stop endless bloody conflicts and human suffering. We don't want to pay any more, we all want to become filthy rich and who gives a damn about the guy below us on the ladder?

It goes against our nice, safe, vague, and useless Family Values.