Culturally assertive

It seems that the people of the town of Herouxville, Quebec have been reading Mark Steyn's new book. Not only are they showing confidence in their culture, they are being downright culturally assertive.

A code of standards sent to the federal and provincial governments last week by Herouxville's municipal council has put the town of 1,300 inhabitants, about 150 kilometres northeast of Montreal, at the centre of Quebec's increasingly divisive debate over integrating minorities.

Among the information the municipality asks federal and provincial officials to distribute to potential immigrants:

• It is forbidden to stone women, burn them alive, throw acid on them or circumcise girls.
• Consumption of alcohol is common in Herouxville, as is dancing. "At the end of every year, we decorate a tree with balls and tinsel and some lights. This is normally called 'Christmas decorations' or also 'Christmas tree.' "
• Boys and girls swim together in public pools.
• Veils are not welcome. "The only time you may mask or cover your face is during Halloween."

In another time, this would not need to have been said. My how things have changed.

Knock knock

Nobody's home. Or so it would seem.

RightGirl has been knocking. I should probably answer, but I've been a little distracted as of late. No need to get into it here. But point taken. I need to get blogging again.

So let's ease into it by starting with this:

This one's easy, since it's all about you and since it requires you to write the very first answer that comes to mind. Simply copy and paste the following three questions then answer them on your blog or, if you don't have a blog of your own, answer them in the comments here. Bloggers should then tag three other people to answer the questions as well, and be sure they know who to blame (Me!).

1. My: You've heard the saying "I'd give my right arm for". So, what would you give your right arm for?

2. Me: What's one word that describes how you want people to see you?

3. Meme: If you could be any blogger, which blogger would you be? and why?

1. After reading Mark Steyn's America Alone over the holidays, I'd give my right arm to return to my ignorant pre-911 state, completely unaware of the Islamist threat to our way of life. Although Steyn makes an unbelievablely good case as to why we should be concerned, I am still resisting it. It makes me too uncomfortable. Make it go away and tell me it's all a dream.

2. Who cares what others think? That's what I tell my 13-year old daughter. All I can hope is that people see me for what I am, not what I am pretending to be. In any event, I'm not a particularly good actor, so what you see is what you get.

3. Of all the great bloggers on my blogroll, I admire Andrew Coyne the most. After reading his columns and posts, it almost seems redundant for me to blog.

Still, Coyne does miss his target from time to time in order to give me a shot at it. His latest column is a case in point. It is one thing to be principled, but sanctimony can wear thin. Power without principle is dangerous, but principle without power is next to useless. Ultimately, democracy is built on compromise. Without a majority mandate, Harper is simply doing what he has to do. While it may not be conservative nirvana, we are still all better for it.

Now its my turn to tag someone. How about I wake up a few other dormant bloggers? Chandrasutra, Jason Bo Green and Toronto Tory, wakey wakey, it's your turn.