Pay as you go. No down payment. No payment for the first six months! We’ve all seen these promotional phrases designed to get us to purchase something that we otherwise might think we cannot actually afford. There’s another statement—almost a modernized proverb—that we hear from time to time: If it sounds too good to be true . . . it probably is!

That’s the lure of socialism. Those promoting a socialist makeover of our society and government structures promise us something that really is too good to be true. They want us to believe that government programs (paid for by taxpayers, regulated by bureaucrats and enforced by state agencies) can provide for us better than we can provide for ourselves . . . and all for free!

There are constant calls from NDP candidates and MPs for free post-secondary tuition, free childcare, free dental care, free drugs (both pharmaceutical and recreational), free housing, free wifi . . . even free money (Universal Basic Income). The only thing they don’t want free is ‘dom’ . . . (as in freedom).

They don’t want a free press. They don’t want free speech. They don’t want parents free to raise their children as they see fit. They don’t want a free conscience. They don’t want free thinkers at universities. They claim (and they are but idle words) that they are promoting justice and equality. The end result of their policies—if carried to their logical conclusions—will be shared injustice and equal poverty.

The first question a thinking, taxpaying voter should ask is, “Where’s the money going to come from?” Of course, if you are not thinking or not paying taxes, this question may not trouble you. In fact, that’s what promoters of these utopian ideals are counting on. If you are primarily a recipient of benefits and less of a contributor, you are a potential voter for the politicians who promise more of the same. This would be true, not only of direct welfare recipients, students who would never have to pay for tuition, parents who would benefit from state-funded childcare, etc. It could also influence the votes of those many government employees who have come to depend on the income and benefits they receive in the positions they occupy within the growing bureaucracy. For instance, administrators and accountants for programs that fund and monitor handouts to universities, media corporations, injections sites, gender diversity and inclusion programs and public relations gurus hired to mollify the public and justify failed government programs. How about the lawyers hired to overwhelm potential Charter complainants? A lot of that going on lately.

In the socialist future envisioned by pseudo-intellectuals in the late 1800s (including Karl Marx), the human population would be collectively sharing all the good things in life, while working diligently and selflessly to create enough for everybody. Of course, human nature doesn’t work that way. It never has.

Sharing with the less fortunate and giving to charity are biblical commands, and, “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.” But there is a huge distinction between your giving out of a generous and grateful heart and having your hard-earned wages taken by faceless bureaucrats who then give it to causes you despise.

It has long been known that socialism and communism are joined at the hip. Vladimir Lenin, firebrand of the 1917 Russian Revolution that has brought so much death and destruction to the world, once said, “The goal of socialism is communism.” That may not mean much to today’s teens and post-secondary students indoctrinated with socialist ideals from their daycare days on up, but for those who remember the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, such a movement must be seen for what it is and resisted at all costs. Obviously, a public that has largely been ‘bought’ or intimidated may see such resistance as old-fashioned or self-serving since it threatens the programs that they believe serve their interests. Therein lies the political dilemma.

Politicians who promise you everything you want or need—for little or no cost—are actually trying to buy your vote with your own money and that of your fellow taxpayers. Governments have no money. In fact, this Liberal/NDP government has less than no money. It has a debt of nearly $1.2 Trillion. To pay for programs it must either raise taxes or continue to steal from future taxpayers by borrowing more and more money and paying more and more interest on the debt. (We currently pay nearly $70 million in interest every single day).

There is no free lunch. When you ask the state to educate your children, you lose control of the process. When you ask the state for a subsidy so you can afford to raise a family, the state will dictate how you can train your children. Socialism is not a friend of the family; proponents of socialism have long lobbied for an end to the traditional family . . . and so far, they’ve been remarkably successful in advancing that goal. It’s because Canadian citizens, and Christians in particular, have taken the bait and given up ground a little at a time. That’s the instalment plan. If Liberal/NDP socialists had said, in 1980, that they wanted drag queens in the classroom, abortion at any stage, and for any reason, 10,000 seniors and mentally ill Canadians to be killed by doctors every year, and churches to be opened or closed by the decree of government bureaucrats, they would have been banished to outer darkness. But they didn’t. Instead, they quietly took over education, media and the burgeoning bureaucracy and captured the thinking of the rising generation. Now they can talk openly of those things and few even blink an eye.

It’s time for Christians to reclaim the institutions that shape public perception of reality. It begins by voting for and promoting godly candidates in federal, provincial and municipal elections. It means supporting those candidates with your money and volunteer effort. And if you don’t see a candidate you can wholeheartedly support, it may mean stepping up to the plate and putting your name on the ballot.

The Christian Heritage Party of Canada is looking for men and women who see the dangerous path Canada is on and are prepared to do something about it. If you are willing to consider serving as a candidate or a volunteer, let us know. We’ll help you put your passion to work, bringing truth and integrity back into Canadian politics.