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Politically overcorrect

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh is making the news this week with his recent blog titled, The silencing of the white men of the West.

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh is making the news this week with his recent blog titled, The silencing of the white men of the West.

In it, the former federal cabinet minister sounds the alarm that political correctness has taken over Canadian politics, pressuring our country’s white male politicians into silence on critical issues such as race, religion, culture and national identity.

Dosanjh believes white male politicians are censoring themselves for fear of political and social bashlash and that the situation endangers our country’s pursuit of true equality. We believe he may be on to something.

“What started as a legitimate change to bring about equality and transformation of how we viewed, treated and spoke about each other has now ossified into a rarely breached wall of silence; a silence reinforced by the onset of the West’s indifference to its own — good, bad or ugly but — distinct societies, their values  and norms; call it white man’s burden or guilt ... this fear has habituated many Western leaders in their frailty to speak the unvarnished truth about the need for the refugees and immigrants welcomed into these societies to fully integrate in them. It is not about changing one’s religion or bleaching one’s skin to make it paler. It is about learning the moral, ethical, social and political anchors that, in this case, Canada is rooted in.”

In a later interview, Dosanjh clarified his position by pointing out how German Chancellor Angela Merkel balanced an open refugee policy with overt calls that any newcomers “must respect our laws and traditions and must learn German.”

“I don’t hear too many politicians saying ‘When you come to this country, learn English, or French, or both’ … we have silenced people into not being able to express pride in the country,” he said.

Some of our letter writers have been sounding the alarm on this very issue. Perhaps it’s time for a healthy debate on issues without raising the race card.

Williams Lake Tribune