What is the "Far Right" and why Must we use this Term with Care?
A reply to Jason Kenney
As a younger man, one of the federal politicians that I held in high esteem was the Honorable Jason Kenney. He was a professing Christian, everyone knew him as a pro-lifer and he did a lot of work for the persecuted church in Pakistan. I remember meeting him at a meeting of Pakistani Christians in Toronto for the persecuted church in Pakistan. Plus, he wrote this stellar article on conscience for the Thomas More Lawyers’ Guild of Toronto in October of 2014.
I was excited when Jason Kenney went to Alberta and won the Alberta United Conservative Party leadership election on October 28, 2017.
Then the COVID lockdowns hit in March of 2020.
Over the course of COVID lockdowns, Jason Kenney continued to flip-flop (for example - see here), confusing us all about what he stood for. It led many people to wonder if he and his Conservative colleague in ON (Doug Ford) were being blackmailed by someone. Over the course of COVID lockdowns, 3 pastors - 2 Reformed Baptist and 1 Pentecostal - were arrested for opening their churches and continuing with the gathered assembly of the church as well as the ministry of the Word and sacrament within it. This was all under Jason Kenney’s leadership, the man who once told a lawyer’s guild in Toronto: “The truth that guides the pursuit of justice— of peace, order and good government—needs the witness of conscience.”
Mr Kenney went online recently to warn about “the far right.” You can find his tweet here. Here is a screenshot.
My intent here is not to defend Christine Anderson or the Alberta Separatists in this post. There may indeed be bad actors, here and there. I don’t have the time or energy to do a profile or history search on every actor out there. Suffice it to say. I believe that bad actors are bad.
I am also not here to defend Alberta Separatism. I want to hear Kenney make the case for the justice of keeping Alberta in Canada. I’ll give him a listening ear. So far, he is not very convincing when he name-calls and shows scorn to those whom he disagrees with. A good leader should have more poise.
Let’s analyze the rhetoric though. What is the far right? It is possible that Kenney has another definition. I’ll let him define his terms. I’ll define mine.
I would take for example, the Nazi German philosopher Carl Schmitt as an example of “far right” thought. I have written on his work here and here, in fierce opposition to his fundamental ideals. The countless pastors who were arrested through the 1930s and into the 1940s attest to the nature of the authoritarian regime that was built in relation to his philosophical framework. You can find this also in my review of Christian Counter-Attack here.
On the opposite, you have the far left, as represented in the work of communist states like China who have arrested pastors like Wang Yi. You can find that here.
So why did Kenney’s government head in an authoritarian direction when Alberta started to arrest pastors during the COVID lockdowns? This is concerning and so you can find my responses to Kenney here and here on X. I’ve also written an entire book of blogs on the subject, including some thoughts on the arrest of pastors in Alberta here.
At least, from what I have discerned and seen (someone can show me evidence to the contrary), Jason Kenney has not repented for his flip-flops, and for the arrest of the pastors. Sure, he might pass off responsibility. Maybe he will blame the bureaucrats. We have all seen a lot of that. But at the end of the day, he was at the helm.
Why can’t he say that was wrong? Why can’t he help Canada find solutions to ensure that this never happens again? Why can’t he promote basic categories for liberty and justice and well defined spheres of self governance?
It’s easy to throw around terms like “far right” and “far left” and malign the characters of wide swathes of citizens whom he doesn’t even know or and seemingly doesn’t care to know.
Canadians are taxed so heavily that there are young couples and businesses considering a move to the States. Does that concern him? Maybe Jason Kenney should sit down with some of the young couples of this province to talk about the carbon tax, a heavy income tax, high property tax, the capital gains tax, and every other tax that is crushing this generation into servitude.
Also. What is truth? What is good rule? Where is there liberty? What is liberty? Do we want to work towards a more free society or a less free society?
The same questions I direct at Danielle Smith as Pastor Derek Reimer keeps on getting thrown in prison for protesting evil in Calgary. Again, I cannot attest to his character since I do not know him. But none of us want to see a pastor in prison for protesting what is evil.
That brings up another question. Why is evil flourishing in our society? It is the duty of the civil authority to punish evil (Rom. 13:1-7). This is a God-given task that they shirk and rebel against. Instead, they throw pastors into prison and fine pastors and throttle Christian worship.
I’m not clear that Jason Kenney is working for a more free society. What is he working for? What is he working towards? Does he have a sound philosophy of authority and liberty?
I don’t know. In fact, the evidence is to the contrary. In my knowledge, Alberta (along with Manitoba and New Brunswick) was one of the few places in the world that arrested pastors for continuing the ministry of the Word and sacrament during the lockdowns.
Can we have a firewall so that the church can operate without the threat of her pastors going to prison. Can we ensure that the ministry of the word and sacrament is protected from state overreach?
Good essay. Kenney needs to continue to be called out, for both his past actions, and his present speech.
Just by way of background, Kenney, Trudeau, Fauci and Gavin Newsom (gov of California) all have something in common- a Jesuit education.