Last Saturday, when taking pictures of the people’s memorial to Jack Layton, I stumbled upon a strange gathering on Parliament Hill. Spectators were sitting on both sides of the lawn, in front of the Peace Tower, and a small group on the steps leading to the Parliament was preaching loudly along the lines of “Canada kills unborn babies,” “we want to believe Canada will follow God,” “abortion is a gruesome act” etc.
I had a hard time understanding what the gathering was truly about and what prompted it. Apparently, the group’s name is LIFE (most people sported LIFE t-shirts with a red maple leaf) but I couldn’t find any specific information online.
The speech was nauseating and loud, and it lasted for hours. I could still hear it from the Rideau Centre where I spent the rest of the afternoon.
This is my second time this summer stumbling upon anti-abortion activists. Earlier in August, I passed dozens of them standing on both sides of the road holding large, grisly posters of aborted fetuses. The campaign spurred complaints in Ottawa, not only because most residents didn’t ask to be exposed to such graphic signs but also because they were extremely misleading and inaccurate.
I realize I’m contradicting myself. I do believe in free speech and people have the right to express their beliefs. Yet, deep down, it bothered me to see all that I stand against rallying in front of the Parliament. I guess what angers me the most is the proselytism. I can never understand why some believers think they have to convince the rest of the world that they are right. You think abortion is a crime? Well, don’t get one. You think homosexuality is a sin? Don’t be gay (and skip the Gay Pride). You want to pray? Please do so but stop shovelling your beliefs down my throat.
Well put. My sentiments exactly.
I guess were are on the same page 😉
Well you’re just the person I was looking for, do you want to come to my house to do bible studies 😉
If by “Bible” you mean “travel book”, yes, absolutely 😆
Abortion is a tricky subject, personally…It should be legal, but only after some amount of counseling. from what I have heard it leaves a deep scar on one’s psyche. There are certain situations in which abortion should be considered an indelible right. Rape being one of them.
Either way, the real point to your article which I completely ignored above is spot on. If you truly believe that something is right and that you will be judged for what you do in life will be judged in another. leave it to that power.
If facing the issue, no matter how liberal I am, I’d definitely think it through. I don’t think any woman *want* to have an abortion and it is a very hard decision to take. But overall, I believe having the option is better than the alternative.
As for the big picture, we are on the same page 😉
Free is speech is fine, and no, I don’t think you’re contradicting yourself. There’s tons of opinions, both ones that we agree with and ones that we don’t. I am a liberal and a left-wing supporter, I presume you are as well, and if people like us decide that opinions that are against us should be banned, then we’re no different from them. We’ll not gonna be any different from those aged times when dissenting beliefs were considered heresy and worthy of death.
I know that listening to their propaganda is annoying, but that’s their right too. On the other hand, we can also broadcast our own opinions if we wanted to. It’s up to each individual to choose which one he or she will partake in.
I do admit that I also get annoyed whenever someone approaches me trying to push a religious belief down my throat. But at the same time, I remind myself that I live in a country where I have the choice to refuse.
Free speech matters and ultimately, you are right, we have to accept that some options that we do not share can be voiced freely. Maybe we should start atheist gatherings.. I always seem to bump into religious groups, but I have yet to see a “anything goes” movement on the Hill!
“I can never understand why some believers think they have to convince the rest of the world that they are right.”
Ils te diront qu’ils ne comprennent pas non plus pourquoi les athés se doivent de convaincre le reste du monde qu’ils ont raison… Et pire, qu’ils font des lois ! 😉
Sur le fond, je suis évidemment d’accord avec toi, toutes ces thèses (religieuses ou pas, dans le fond) m’irritent profondément, mais après tout… j’essaye de prendre de la distance pour pouvoir les supporter :/
La plupart du temps, les croyances de gens ne me dérangent pas et je ne me souviens pas avoir été choquée en France. Mais les Nord Américains ont une façon plutôt destabilisante de parler religion je trouve… ça fait secte!
Je ne connais que le côté américain de l’affaire et le côté un peu extrême : il vit dans le sud de l’Utah, donc le pays 100% mormon… Donc niveau religion, c’est clair qu’on dénotait un peu… Mais l’avantage du “free speech”, c’est aussi qu’ils ne te font pas chier. Je n’ai jamais ressenti ce poids (on te regarde de travers, on essaye de te convertir) en disant que j’étais athée… C’est assez paradoxal mais c’est finalement un mélange d’individualisme et de free speech, s’ils pensent fort que tu vas brûler en enfer, ils ne vont pas t’embêter pour autant et te le faire remarquer…
D’un côté tu as ça, une grande liberté personnelle, et de l’autre côté tu as les grandes manifestations religieuses et ferventes comme celles que tu décris ! C’est vraiment fascinant. Enfin c’est comme ça que je le vois, je suis plus fascinée qu’agacée
Je vois ce que tu veux dire. Je pense que dans les endroits où il y a une majorité (de Mormons dans l’Utah, peut être d’athés en California – je n’en sais rien, je projette ;-)) la situation est un status quo. Je ressens quand même ce besoin de “convertir”, mais c’est peut être juste moi.
(le côté canadien, je voulais dire. Je devrais pas venir commenter ici trop tard le soir !)
I’ve seen villages being split in half because one-half chose to convert to Christianity and the other half didn’t. All of a sudden an invisible wall was erected between friends. So sad. Not to mention about the loss of culture and tradition when entire regions were converted. What was achieved? Nothing. It’s just a numbers game on who’s got more “followers”.
I love your observation, it’s exactly that: a fight to have the most followers. Sad, really.
“I can never understand why some believers think they have to convince the rest of the world that they are right. You think abortion is a crime? Well don’t get one. You think homosexuality is a sin? Don’t be gay (and skip the Gay Pride). You want to pray? Please do so but stop shoveling your beliefs down my throat.”
EXACTLY!! Me too! I’m a Christian but I really don’t like the crazy religious fundamentalists who make all believers look like pushy nutjobs who are just starving for attention!
Live and let live.
Fortunately, the majority of believers just follow what it best for them. I certainly wouldn’t judge someone based on his/her religion 😉