On a wing and a Prayer

For all of their protestations about freedom of speech and more importantly freedom of thought so many of may friends from the left are constantly embarrassed by the excesses of the Political Correctness crowd, probably because they are forced to defend what is in fact quite indefensible. More and more we see examples of just how the new thought police are trying to force people to comply with their leftist brand of new Puritanism. So we get the sort of Bru Ha Ha that has engulfed Carol Thatcher in the UK over a remark made in private, and this example where a community nurse has tried to offer the solace of prayer to one of her charges and has been made to defend her very livelihood for her compassion .

Suspended: Nurse Caroline Petrie

Community nurse Caroline Petrie offered to pray for an elderly patient who was being treated at home. The following day, Mrs Petrie was confronted over her offer by a nursing sister.

The day after that, she was told that she was suspended while disciplinary action would be taken against her which might lead to the sack.

But although the patient had turned down her offer of a prayer, she said she was not the slightest bit offended and certainly had not made a complaint.

As with Carol Thatcher, it was this nurse’s colleagues who were offended that Mrs Petrie had transgressed codes of ‘equality and diversity’ – which apparently preclude a nurse offering the Christian solace of prayer.

And it was professional colleagues, both in that NHS Trust and in the BBC, who took it upon themselves to enforce those approved attitudes from which there can be no deviation.

Mr Ross’s offence is that in sick language he offended the elderly. Old, white, middle-class people don’t really count for much in the BBC mindset. Ms Thatcher’s alleged offence involved race – which to the BBC constitutes the most heinous crime of all.

Such political correctness is now the governing characteristic of public sector institutions such as the BBC and the NHS, along with an intelligentsia determined upon a draconian process of social engineering aimed at changing not just society but human nature itself.

Ostensibly designed to protect disadvantaged groups, it is actually all about advertising the moral purity of those who enforce it. It’s a dogma enforced with the zealotry of a secular inquisition and is profoundly totalitarian in character. Indeed, behaviour such as this has always been a key feature of police states and totalitarian regimes.

MELANIE PHILLIPS

As an atheist I have had people offer me prayers, some to save my soul others offered as a comfort when my mother died. It was never offensive to me, nor was it offensive to the patient that Caroline Petrie sought to comfort. But that does not matter a jot to some ideological atheists out there. I get just as annoyed with the militant atheists as I do with mad  Christian Fundies or mad Jihadists.  there are simply as many ways to understand the universe as there are minds that can perceive it and it is only those who are so very insecure in their own beliefs that will insist on trying to convince others that theirs is the one true truth or try to sanction the expression a contrary belief.

When ever I have been offered the comfort of prayer my response has been to accept it for the good will, hope and affirmation  that it contains even though I have no belief in the supernatural in any shape or form. Because when it comes down to it as a social animal we all need a  little compassion from time to time . It can be something as a simple  kindly touch , a common platitude or even a prayer.

In a tough and busy world no one should ever be sanctioned for their compassion and desire to help those in need. Now if we could just get my friends from the left to realise just how counter productive the political correctness stuff actually is we may just stand a chance to build a better future for our children.

Cheers Comrades

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