Never thought I would ever write this, but here goes: Congratulations to Liberal MP Bob Rae.
Rae introduced a motion in the House of Commons yesterday to declare August 23rd "Black Ribbon Day" as a way to commemorate victims of totalitarian Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes.
As Rae himself put it, "We must unequivocally condemn the crimes against humanity committed by totalitarian Nazi and Communist regimes and offer the victims of these crimes and their family members' sympathy, understanding and recognition for their suffering."
The motion, I am happy to report, passed unanimously.
August 23rd, by the way, was chosen as "Black Ribbon Day" because that's the day in 1939 when Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia signed their infamous non-aggression pact.
Of course, people have been marking Black Ribbon Day for years.
In fact, back in the mid-1980s when I was working at the National Citizens Coalition we helped to set up and organize "Black Ribbon Day" rallies.
Those were the days when the Soviets were still oppressing much of Eastern Europe and our goal was to remind Canadians that Soviet totalitarianism was just as evil as Nazi totalitarianism.
Anyway, I am glad to see Rae take this principled stand for freedom. The Soviet Union may be gone, but its evil legacy will live on forever.
Rae is not taking a stand for freedom, he is simply condemning crimes against humanity. In fact, I would question whether Liberals actually understand the concept of freedom. Not only are they the party of positive rights, which imposes restrictions on individuals, they don't even believe in private property rights. You are soiling the word "freedom" when used in the context of "Liberal".
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