Skip to content

Provincial government’s Bill 44 not sitting well with Winfield letter writer

Dear Editor:

Last week the Alberta government, or rather that which passes for a government these days, ratified Bill 44. While there was hardly a whimper from the public at large, those in the know, notably the ATA among others, attempted valiantly to rail against this draconian piece of partisan legislation. As poor decisions go this one is milk toast compared to some of the blunders we've endured; however, we would be well served to ponder the meaning of free thought and how legislation such as this impacts our ability to formulate thoughts freely.

We, the human animal, are predisposed to conjecture; whenever we are exposed to a set of data we cannot resist the temptation to derive some meaning from it. To derive meaning we rely on our past experiences and teachings to guide us. It, therefore, follows that the narrower the scope of one's experiences the more limited will be one's interpretation of situations that fall outside the norm. Our capacity to accept that which is different is limited when we lack the tools to examine the extraordinary without prejudice.

Fortunately, the human story has many examples of individuals who have used their imagination and dared to look at the world with an enlightened mind. As evidence for this I offer the following list of overachievers: Galileo, Newton, Copernicus, Darwin, Einstein, Currie (both him and her) and a great number of others who have added significantly to the strength and colour of the threads that weave our history. Notably, the familiar theme that is featured in all their biographies is their propensity to sashay against accepted ideology (great thinkers seldom head-up rioting mobs to affect change). This proclivity toward swimming against the current, I submit, is free thought at its finest. Rather than searching for untenable justification for time-honoured dogma, these individuals sought out new truths; look where that got them.

We now return to the present state of affairs in our province. Bill 44 ostensibly gives parents a voice in their children's education by granting them, the parents the right to limit their children's access to certain parts of the educational curriculum. The argument is that specified bits of information run counter to the beliefs of some people and therefore access to this information must be controlled. Presumably, the children who are shielded in this way will be given another explanation for the way the universe is unfolding. In other words, they will be offered the untenable justification for time honoured dogma and ergo free thought will be handicapped. The children subjected to this form of censorship may accumulate only a limited store of social and mental insightfulness with which to face new and exciting opportunities.

Still not convinced of the power of free thought? Track down and read the excellent book Evolution's Captain by Peter Nichols. This very well written and truthful account illustrates the destructive force that is the blind obedience of propaganda versus the liberating effect of rational thought.

Dan Doram

Winfield, Alta.