Eric Alcock Asked to Join Editorial Board of Newfoundland & Labrador's Largest Newspaper, The Telegram

Well, not quite, but it does make a good headline, doesn’t it?

I actually had to apply for the position.

Today, Wednesday October 10, my first Community Board editorial appears in the local newspaper, The Telegram. The Telegram is Newfoundland and Labrador's largest newspaper, and publishes 7 days a week. It also has an on-line version, The Telegram. Its by-line is "The People's Paper", accompanied by the Provincial flag. The Telegram selected a total of 16 individuals for the Board from the applications they received.

I was very surprised that The Telegram accepted me onto the Community Editorial Board due to my well known pro-life activism and, shall we say, classical Christian stance. Hopefully it will be a mutually rewarding experience for me, The Telegram and The Telegram’s readers from now until next July.

Here’s the editorial which appears in today’s paper.

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The Future—It’s In Our Hands

“I question The Telegram’s claim of being unbiased. Their editors, columnists and even their volunteer editorial board rarely, if ever, offer contrary views to the steady diet of pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, amoral bias of their commentary…Their acceptance of a few letters to the editor hardly qualifies as balancing the scales…surely there should be room for one [outspoken] pro-life minded columnist.”

With that rant, I ended my letter to the editor a little more than a year ago. Today, The Telegram is making me eat my words.

People are reluctant in our day to raise the subject of morals—unless of course it’s their kind of morals. Take for instance the recent comments about Danny Williams’ plan to give $1000 for every new child born in the province. Many scorned the plan, saying it would be abused and lead to more “unwanted children” and besides, the government has no business in our bedrooms. Yet some of these same self-proclaimed family planning “specialists” insist that not only must government legally protect the right to “terminate” these “products of conception” but that government must use taxpayer money to finance the destruction of the “unwanted” pre-born children resulting from their own bedroom activities.

Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I agree with Danny’s bizarre approach to the problem of a “dying race.” Imagine—paying some mothers to create children while at the same time paying other mothers to violently destroy nearly a thousand new budding unborn lives just months away from residency. It’s a strange way to prove he is concerned about population growth but when Bishops and pastors would rather busy themselves with politically correct issues such as AIDS, poverty and the environment, what’s a premier to do? Indeed, forty years of outrageous sexual license in our society testifies to the far greater cowardice of today’s religious leaders. Honestly Danny I feel for you but, again, it’s just skewed morals at work.

Nevertheless, give this premier his credit—he rightly sees the future of Newfoundland and Labrador endangered by depopulation “choices.” Likewise I’m concerned about the future and I see dangers too. I’ve been accused of being a one issue guy. I admit it’s true. But the issue is not abortion.

The issue is our future—that of my children and grandchildren. That future will be best guarded by those who believe an accounting for their actions in this life will be demanded in the next. I hope we’ve just elected some politicians with such beliefs.

We’re back to morals again aren’t we? If lying, stealing, cheating and adultery are still not legitimate choices, why should pornography, gambling, sex outside marriage and all manner of sexual perversion be acceptable for our future?

The fact is that all of these choices are downright dangerous to our future because they destroy the fabric of our society. They represent selfish behaviour which paves the way for our province’s greatest challenges: abortion, sexual perversion and promiscuity, sexual assault and violence, school bullying, the home care crisis which is simply another ugly expression of elder abuse, corrupt politicians, STD and VLT epidemics. These all expose a crisis regarding respect for the life and presence of our fellow man.

I thank The Telegram for the opportunity in the coming months to share my views on the above subjects which touch the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians daily. It will be my goal to place the subject of right morals front and centre where it belongs.