Had I not been raised as a JW, I would probably be conservative (Right / Republican). However, because of my upbringing, I find myself dead center between the left and the right.
JWs' theocratic vision for the world is one without countries and borders, where everyone is equal and the diversity of cultures is experienced through music, food, and clothing. It's a beautiful dream.
Unfortunately, this vision of the world is utopian. In today’s world, culture is tightly linked to their countries of origin and their religions.
People who have left the JWs know all too well that religious people lie. They say one thing in public and practice another in private. For instance, JWs tell the world that they don’t practice shunning when, in fact, they do. Or that taking a blood transfusion is a personal choice, when, in fact, it isn’t.
The same can be said of other religions whose values conflict with the host country, such as Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others.
In Canada, religion has mostly been removed from politics. As a result, views previously seen as incompatible with religion, such as women's equality, LGBTQ rights, sex before marriage, abortion, drug use, and more, have become accepted. Over the years, most Christians have peacefully come to terms with these changes. As a result, we now have a country where human rights take priority over religious views. This is also one of the reasons why living conditions tend to be better than in many other places and why many migrants come to Canada to live and share this dream.
Sadly, this is not the case for a significant number of migrants. Based on demonstrations and political activism that we see on the news and social media; it is easy to see that many strongly identify with their countries of origin and their religions.
This directly conflicts with the vision of a peaceful multicultural country that, I believe, Trudeau naively supports. Unfortunately, he and his political party even go a step further: they assume that people who fear such individuals are inherently racist nationalists. Do they even understand that people will boldly lie to protect their beliefs?
The country believes in religious freedom, but the religions do not. Many Christians, such as JWs, will retaliate against their children when they leave the faith. The same can be said of other religions, some even more violently than others!
All I can say is that I dream of a world where these words from Pierre Falardeau, a well-known separatist nationalist in Quebec, would make sense: "If you share my values, I don't care about your race and where you're from; I'll call you my brother."