When our children were young, on both sides of the beginning of school, my wife and I hired a full-time young woman to care for our children during the day. She was prompt to tell us that she was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. That was okay. We weren’t concerned about her religion, what we wanted was a responsible person who was sensitive to children.
Linda proved just that. She was remarkable. She was with us for more than three years and we couldn’t have been more satisfied with her performance.
One day, about a year into our relationship, Linda asked me if it was okay for her to talk about God with our children.
“Thank you for asking,” I said. “I don’t want you running a Sunday school here but go ahead and talk about God all you want. (My wife and I had already acted on a decision to send our progeny to French Catholic school so that they’d be proficient in at least two languages.)
I told Linda, “I’m raising my children to understand that there are many points of view on life. They’ll be sure to learn mine as time goes by. And when they’re ready they’ll make up their own minds about what to believe. And even that may change more than once. So feel free to tell them about God and your religion.”
It’s on that premise that I’m editing and publishing True North Perpective. One reader wrote in response to our confidential survey that he or she was glad that True North Perspective is not politically driven. I like to think of True North Perspective as being at the centre of the political spectrum, giving respectful space from both the rational left and the rational right.
The response has been interesting. A subscriber who, died in the blue of traditional conservatism the day he was born, has a Support Our Troops sticker on the trunk of his car, and who has voted Conservative right or wrong, said, “How come you publish copy from Money and Markets? They’re so right wing (!).”
I said, “Can you challenge the accuracy of their facts?” When he said no, I said, “That’s good enough for me.” He remains an active supporter of True North Perspective.
Another reader positively responding to True North Perspective said we should change the colour of our flag (True North Perspective) to red from blue. My response to that reader, here and now, is that Red is the colour of the Liberal Party. True North Perspective is not a Liberal Party publication.
Before I’m told that blue is Tory, I contend that there is no Tory party in the best traditions of Canadian conservatism. What we have is a party that has been seized by interlopers who are, so far, beyond colour designation.
So True North Perspective will stick with blue, the colour of our borders, west, east, and north, and much of our south.
And we’ll do our best to bring you many points of view on Canada and the world with the caveat that just because we publish it doesn’t mean that we agree with it. As always it’ll be your decision to decide right from wrong. By reading True North Perspective you’ll it least be armed with enough contending arguments to come to informed, balanced conclusions.
Take it easy, but take it.
Looking forward
Carl Dow
Editor and Publisher
True North Perspective
Friday, April 11, 2008
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