JOHN MOORE

Who ever said you weren't free to talk?

Posted By: John Moore · 5/15/2012 11:19:00 AM

An old debating trick is to say your opponent said something he didn't say and then argue that he is wrong. Jerry spent some time this morning on his show trying to argue against something I never said. In a somewhat unusual twist he played tape of me not saying it. 

The issue was religious freedom in Canada. Catholic bishops have called upon their followers to bring their religion into the political sphere. I said they're welcome to do so, just don't try to enact laws that enforce your religion. Jerry seems to think this means Christians don't have a right to be a part of the political debate. Nonsense. First of all, where have Christians ever been told they can't be a part of the debate? In the States you can't even run for office unless you talk about God. In Canada religious people speak out all the time and have a wide access to mainstream media. But here's the downside: you don't always get what you want. 

Just because religious people didn't prevail in the debate over gay marriage doesn't mean they weren't heard. It's just that the offence they take to gay marriage doesn't translate into a state interest in banning it. The government does not exist to ensure that you are not offended. Some Christians don't like Sunday shopping. Some Muslims can't be around a dog. Some people are offended by interracial marriages or women in skirts, The price of living in a pluralistic society is having to put up with that. You're free to pray and go to pro-life rallies and I can take my dog shopping on Sunday. 

The Catholic bishops and Jerry create victimhood where none exists. Christians and other people of faith have the right to say whatever they want. And if people argue with them or even call them names that's just the way things are. People are unpleasant and call each other names while debating gun control and the merits of Jersey Shore so it hardly turns religious people into an oppressed underclass. 

Canadians are completely free to talk about faith and politicians are completely free to invoke religion while debating important issues. And parliament is completely free to ignore them because their particular beliefs may have nothing in common with the public interest. As Christopher Hitchers once said "Just because you say it's sacred doesn't make it so".

Leave a comment:

showing all comments · Subscribe to comments
Comment Like
  • 22
  1. david henman posted on 05/15/2012 01:06 PM
    ‎...the fact that we are evolving into a society that no longer wants religion involved in politics, education and, especially, morality is being interpreted by people like agar, and michael coren, as a "war on christianity".
    1. James posted on 05/16/2012 08:52 AM
      @david henman Exactly David. Do we want any aspect of our school system to end up like Kansas, where everything that occurs in the education system gets vetted by Christians?
  2. SteveB_10 posted on 05/15/2012 01:07 PM
    The irony is the people most against Islam, would not hesitate to have Christian laws. Also Ironic is that people use the Bible to support positions without advocating for human sacrifice incest and slavery.
  3. Heather V posted on 05/15/2012 01:26 PM
    I wonder, is Jerry really that obtuse or, is he just trying to ruffle your feathers? Oh, and John, we know Zack is one heck of an itelligent pup but, can he really 'talk' on Sundays when shopping?
    Great Blog, as always!
  4. MichaelB_3 posted on 05/15/2012 01:31 PM
    I found his rant and comparison of religious morality to "environmentalism" ridiculous. They are apples and oranges. Environmentalism does not deal with philosophical and metaphysical questions of morality and demand the worship and obedience of a deity that may or may not exist.

    I argued with him that his logic will lead to a loose theocracy, to which I was told that I am uninformed and that this is a democracy.

    "Theocracy is a form of government in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious group or religion." -Wiki

    A democracy where the ruling government bases its morality on Christian values and imposes those values onto everyone else becomes a theocracy. It also makes it is a state religion as well.

    This is why secularism is the only form of government that functions correctly. It gives FREEDOM to people to make there own moral decisions in there PRIVATE lives rather then legislating morality based on any particular religious dogma. The words "if you don't like it, don't do it" are the epitome of freedom.

    Hell, technically Great Britain is still a theocracy, even though there government has long since abandoned that lunacy for secularism.
  5. ArtC posted on 05/15/2012 01:53 PM
    Jerry was just being his rude obnoxious self. Glad you put him in his place John.
    what did Jerry bringing up bag tax have anything to do with the conversation?
  6. Carol Ann posted on 05/15/2012 05:15 PM
    thanks John, for responding,to that previous situation, I was in traffic when I was subjected again to that conversation, that did not go smooth with Jerry Agar..I feel when one show is done, topics discussed should not have to be brought back, to be re-energized on the side of the previous host...hope I am being clear...that topic was done!! next, I do not listen to Jerry from a long time ago, when he was trying (as far as I am concerned) to enlighten Canada on the "Teaparty." along with that ideology sure enough his/their religion essensially is front and foremost..
  7. SteveB_10 posted on 05/15/2012 06:39 PM
    Jerry is the happy reasonable face of the retrograde. We all have people we like who think way different than we do. Thats all well and good and the reason one of the rules of polite interaction is to never discuss religion or politics. However for talk radio those are the two biggest moneymakers. So Jerry in this regard is "fair game". Jerry was trained in the motormouth US hothouse. He can argue any issue flat or round depending upon his view, and do it so well, we drop our jaws and say" maybe I was wrong". No you were not wrong, believing in facts instead of rhetoric, in science instead of faith, and logic instead of cleverly crafted logic suspension of disbelief zones. I would not have Jerry on the radio doing three hours of disinformation if I could prevent it. In the US motor mouths like Sean Hannity, etc have done real harm. Jerry is an import of these focus grouped pysh ops hot buttons. In Canada there are few voices of dissent, on talk radio, I believe those who look at life normally on Newstalk have to sefl censor themselves into pretzels. John Tory is a reasonable guy, but he speaks a sneaky party line all the time. But let the market decide, and that market is going to elect an NDP majority next time. That market will not look kindly on a company firmly fixed on the wrong side of history.
    1. ec posted on 05/17/2012 06:32 PM
      @SteveB_10 OK comrade, the only way this country would elect a bunch of radical, vindictive marxists like the NDP is if the electorate was all stoned; and your wrong side of history comment is the epitome of socialist stupidity
  8. RichardP_6568 posted on 05/16/2012 02:30 AM
    When will the podcast be available to hear this?
  9. Don Maloney posted on 05/16/2012 08:00 AM
    The problem is many Conservatives(big C) are putting the request for power above moral issues. Stephen Harper is saying he is not interested in bring in an anti-abortion law. John Tory says he is right because it is an un-winnable situation. It is more Important to be moral than to be in power.

    John the only victims that the Catholic Bishops are concerned are the murdered un born babies. And when you quote Christopher Hitchen as an authority you speak of your own moral compass.

    N
    1. MichaelB_3 posted on 05/16/2012 10:40 AM
      @Don Maloney The issue is that there is no philosophical or scientific consensus as to when "life" begins. Its a huge moral grey zone that government can not just legislate. It is up to individual citizens to make up there own mind as to when life begins using whatever moral compass they posses.

      You can NOT legislate "Christian" or any "Religious" morality on the population.

      And if you feel abortion is wrong then do not get an abortion.
    show more replies
  10. DanM_2681 posted on 05/16/2012 08:53 AM
    There is a popular misconception of whose in favor of what. It is a widely held view of many of the "socially enlightened" that only people of faith oppose gay marriage, abortion etc... The fact is many oppose these issue on a variety of other social and legal issues.
  11. MichaelP posted on 05/17/2012 09:28 PM
    John is your classic left wing shit disturber. He'll start the fight by saying something that's just short of hating on religion and then when religious people get upset he'll back up and say "look i didn't say anything". You see it once a week on the free for all and Jerry falls for it every single time.

    Religious people should have a voice and they do have a voice. As well they should as we are the majority of society and all. The atheist movement (I can only assume John is part of this despite claims of going to church with his parents on occasion) is really just another religious movement. They hold the love of hating religion much more sacred than most religious people do their faith.
  12. Matt posted on 05/18/2012 08:48 PM
    The [GAYS] create victimhood where none exists. [GAYS] and other people have the right to say whatever they want. And if people argue with them or even call them names that's just the way things are. People are unpleasant and call each other names while debating gun control and the merits of Jersey Shore so it hardly turns [GAYS] into an oppressed underclass.

    Canadians are completely free to talk about [MORALS] and politicians are completely free to invoke [GAYS] while debating important issues. And parliament is completely free to ignore them because their particular beliefs may have nothing in common with the public interest. As Christopher Hitchers once said "Just because you say it's [MORAL] doesn't make it so".

    Ah, that was satisfying.
    1. david henman posted on 05/25/2012 12:50 PM
      @Matt ...again, matt, your ignorance is truly astounding: "The [GAYS] create victimhood where none exists."
      the "victimhood" to which you refer is the result of thousands of years of ridicule, hatred, presecution, discrimination, exclusion, torture and outright slaughter.
showing all comments

Recent Posts