Oxbow, Saskatchewan
The Postmaster again embarks upon a journey across this great nation to uncover the innermost thoughts of one particular town. Join me today in what The Postmaster believes to be the quaint village of Oxbow, Saskatchewan. They have been labouring, much like the proverbial oxen, with literary efforts regarding the subject of matrimony in our dear country. The Postmaster offers the following fine selection of humankinds deepest thoughts:
"The great moral principle of the union of one man and one woman is God's provision for us since the Creation. This bill has the potential for disastrous effects of the family and society as a whole. It becomes not a question of whose rights we support, but of what IS right. Only by doing what IS right can we protect our families and society."
What IS right is making a statement backed up by solid evidence, or premises, which add weight and soundness to an argument. The Postmaster fears that perhaps, in haste, the writer has forgotten such things.
"Having been brought up in a God-fearing home, where the truth of the bibile was upheld, I feel I must voice my concern and disapproval of such a bill becoming the law of the land. I think most would be aware that marriage in Canada has always been recognized as the union of one mand and one woman, to the exclusion of all others. I, for one, would fear to go against God's word. Wouldn't you?
It is evident that moral decline is becoming more and more prevalent in our world today."
The Postmaster agrees that marriage in Canada has traditionally been between a man and a woman; however, to use the term "always" shows an ignorance of the current reality wherein several jurisdictions have performed marriages which do not fit within the definition which the author describes. Therefore, one may say "Until recently, marriage in Canada had always been recognized as the union of one mand and one woman", much as one may say "Until recently, there was no such thing as rape within marriage as the wife was considered to have consented indefinitely to sexual intercourse with her husband by the simple act of marrying him and therefore had neither the right to refuse him nor the legal grounds to prosecute him for forced sexual relations as these were not considered to exist within lawfully wed couples". The Postmaster offers this merely as an illustrative example, of course. Furthermore, since we are already on the topic, The Postmaster humbly requests an illustrative example to back up the writer's last claim, as it is serious enough in nature, yet rendered trivial due to lack of even the tiniest scrap of evidence, which the writer can surely provide and likely did not only due to constraints on his or her doubtlessly full schedule.
"THIS WICKED BILL BEING FORCED ON OUR NATION IS AN AFFRONT TO GOD'S PRINCIPLES - 1 MAN AND 1 WOMAN - AND CANNOT BE TAKEN INTO OUR OWN HANDS. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO REFLECT THIS ISSUE."
All The Postmaster can say in return is "Please take time to proofread your work, and, time permitting, a draft version may prove invaluable to the writing of a cohesive and well-structured letter". Still, your request is certainly noted, though were it composed in a gramatically correct fashion it would be far more easily granted, since the lack of sound sentence structure makes it difficult for the reader to ascertain exactly what is being requested. Pardon me, what IS being requested, for, apparently, the fine people of Oxbow prefer the word capitalized, and this particular writer prefers to capitalize all letters, perhaps because the writer is aware that the argument does not speak so loudly on its own. Regardless, The Postmaster has placed a copy of this letter in front of a mirror so as to better reflect it, although The Postmaster is curious as to what this will accomplish.
In conlusion, The Postmaster would like to thanks the aspiring wordsmiths of Oxbow, Saskatchewan, for their contributions to the Marriage Mailbag and - though they are taking but the the steps of infants in this direction - wish them further success in the field of expanding their capacity for arguing convincingly.
"The great moral principle of the union of one man and one woman is God's provision for us since the Creation. This bill has the potential for disastrous effects of the family and society as a whole. It becomes not a question of whose rights we support, but of what IS right. Only by doing what IS right can we protect our families and society."
What IS right is making a statement backed up by solid evidence, or premises, which add weight and soundness to an argument. The Postmaster fears that perhaps, in haste, the writer has forgotten such things.
"Having been brought up in a God-fearing home, where the truth of the bibile was upheld, I feel I must voice my concern and disapproval of such a bill becoming the law of the land. I think most would be aware that marriage in Canada has always been recognized as the union of one mand and one woman, to the exclusion of all others. I, for one, would fear to go against God's word. Wouldn't you?
It is evident that moral decline is becoming more and more prevalent in our world today."
The Postmaster agrees that marriage in Canada has traditionally been between a man and a woman; however, to use the term "always" shows an ignorance of the current reality wherein several jurisdictions have performed marriages which do not fit within the definition which the author describes. Therefore, one may say "Until recently, marriage in Canada had always been recognized as the union of one mand and one woman", much as one may say "Until recently, there was no such thing as rape within marriage as the wife was considered to have consented indefinitely to sexual intercourse with her husband by the simple act of marrying him and therefore had neither the right to refuse him nor the legal grounds to prosecute him for forced sexual relations as these were not considered to exist within lawfully wed couples". The Postmaster offers this merely as an illustrative example, of course. Furthermore, since we are already on the topic, The Postmaster humbly requests an illustrative example to back up the writer's last claim, as it is serious enough in nature, yet rendered trivial due to lack of even the tiniest scrap of evidence, which the writer can surely provide and likely did not only due to constraints on his or her doubtlessly full schedule.
"THIS WICKED BILL BEING FORCED ON OUR NATION IS AN AFFRONT TO GOD'S PRINCIPLES - 1 MAN AND 1 WOMAN - AND CANNOT BE TAKEN INTO OUR OWN HANDS. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO REFLECT THIS ISSUE."
All The Postmaster can say in return is "Please take time to proofread your work, and, time permitting, a draft version may prove invaluable to the writing of a cohesive and well-structured letter". Still, your request is certainly noted, though were it composed in a gramatically correct fashion it would be far more easily granted, since the lack of sound sentence structure makes it difficult for the reader to ascertain exactly what is being requested. Pardon me, what IS being requested, for, apparently, the fine people of Oxbow prefer the word capitalized, and this particular writer prefers to capitalize all letters, perhaps because the writer is aware that the argument does not speak so loudly on its own. Regardless, The Postmaster has placed a copy of this letter in front of a mirror so as to better reflect it, although The Postmaster is curious as to what this will accomplish.
In conlusion, The Postmaster would like to thanks the aspiring wordsmiths of Oxbow, Saskatchewan, for their contributions to the Marriage Mailbag and - though they are taking but the the steps of infants in this direction - wish them further success in the field of expanding their capacity for arguing convincingly.
posted by floyd at 11:39 AM
1 Comments:
Dear can'tstandbigots,
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I graciously and humbly accept your most touching compliment. The Postmaster is pleased to meet one who so values the sanctity of the written word. The Postmaster often feels as though souls such as ours are the true minority in these times.
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