Ditch Doc

Last year’s prayer service for those who had donated their bodies to the anatomy department was really quite tasteful. I’m always impressed when a quasi-liturgical function with little foundation in tradition is carried off well. Had my grandfather’s name been one of those on the list, I would have thought him well-treated. But one of the speakers left me with a whole new set of questions about “multi-faith” prayer.

A little background: with one or two possible exceptions, all eighty or so donors had very western names. I would be mildly surprised to find anyone on the list not falling into the religious categories “Christian” and “N/A”. And yet this speaker found it necessary to mention as many sects as she could think of, from Islam to Buddhism with stops at Catholicism and something like new-age. It was manifestly not for the benefit of the donors or their families, or even herself. So what was the point? I’ve come up with a couple of hypotheses:

1. She’s used to talking to more mixed audiences. This theory’s boring, so on to the next one.

2. She feels that a service for the dead has to involve prayer. She also feels that in an academic gathering, there is no room for any mention of God. So the best choice is to have prayer, but make it so pluralist that no one suspects you of taking it seriously. Some will think you’re being profound, some will roll their eyes, but anything’s better than making claims of truth you might have to defend later.

This hypothesis feels a bit superficial too, but I can’t come up with a better one. Takers?

The Catholic Church has stepped back of late from the concept of confessional countries. Secular atheists are vigorously dedicated to national confession of areligious humanism. Muslims, and not just radical ones, believe in national confession of the supremacy of Allah as revealed through Mohammed. So here’s the problem: secular atheism as a political force is reaching the end of its limited shelf-life. What should be the Church’s response to the rising influence of an Islam that is waiting for the chance to replace it with an official policy of Islam? The idea of a religiously neutral state dedicated only to temporal matters but recognizing freedom of religion doesn’t seem like the answer. Islam rejects it, and Christians aren’t entirely sold on it themselves. When we’re the only ones left, I don’t see it lasting. (I am, however, willing to be proven wrong by the continued success of the American experiment.) It is, of course, entirely unacceptable to roll over and let our countries become Muslim. So what’s left? I wonder whether, in the years to come, the Church might not revisit the question of confessional countries. If, that is, there remain any countries able or willing to step up to the plate.

I realized a few months ago, during a rather unproductive debate about homosexuality, what the average university student means by “strong opinion”. It’s an opinion that you actually think is true, at the expense of other opinions contradicting it. Regular-strength opinions are those to which you have some attachment, but for which you don’t have or want a rational account. Since they make no claims about real truth and falsehood, they’re impervious to any arguments supporting the truth of an opposing strong opinion. Ironically, that means you can cling to a regular opinion much more strongly than to a strong one. The marketing is flawless: “Opinion 2.0. Start generating low maintenance, energy efficient personal views TODAY! Just as easy to act on as the original, but requiring only 10% the time and effort! Opinion 2.0 - Outsource your intellect.”

This letter of mine to the National Post will make sense chiefly to those who have been following the recent dust-up over the dealings of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Those who haven’t may find it an interesting topic to dip into.

I found the above-mentioned winery on a roadtrip with my brother through BC’s wine belt, the length of the Okanagan Valley* from Osoyoos up through Kelowna. While I wouldn’t encourage anyone to weigh my opinion on wine with much gravity, here’s what we liked and could afford, and therefore bought, from south to north:

‘07 Pear wine - Forbidden Fruit Winery, Cawston (These guys also make a DELICIOUS cherry port, but it costs $30 a half bottle.)

In justice, I really ought to mention Burrowing Owl, the first Oliver winery we visited. Very good reds we couldn’t quite afford, but I neglected to take notes, so I forget which ones we tried.

‘07 Kerner - Oliver Twist Winery, Oliver

‘06 Pinot Noir and ‘05 Late Harvest Kerner - Stoneboat Vineyards, Oliver
The Pinot is dark and flavourful, and the Kerner is an ambrosian desert wine, well worth the $20 for half a bottle. For general delectability of range, this winery was the find of the trip.

‘07 Pinot Blanc and ‘06 Meritage - Lake Breeze, Penticton
There was also an interesting Gewurtztraminer, so spicy it was almost hot, but we had to leave it behind.

‘07 Gewurtztraminer - Township 7 Vineyards, Penticton

‘06 Pinot Noir - Greata Ranch Vineyards

‘06 Cabernet Sauvignon - Mission Hill Family Estate
Mission Hill is B.C.’s foremost winery, perched on a hill with a bell tower that makes it look like an abbey. The von Mandl family’s coat of arms contains a pelican feeding its young with its own blood. I asked the keeper of the guest book if she knew what it meant. She said “Uh, something about altruism…” I set her straight.

‘06 Pinot Meunier - Recline Ridge Winery, Tappen

‘05 Kerner - Granite Creek Estate Winery, Tappen
This winery and the last are not actually in the Okanagan, but the Shuswap Lake region a bit further north, the distinguishing features of which seem to be extravagant mixes of exotic flavours and a tendency to sweetness. Neither winery is large or widely acclaimed, but both Recline’s reds and Granite’s whites are plenty tasty for me. Granite Creek’s store is in the basement of a log cabin that seems to be the family home, next to a vineyard that backs onto pine forest. A semi-surreal and utterly worthwhile trip down the spur line.

*For my American friends, the Okanagan is Canada’s southern California. Dried up hills covered in sage brush, just waiting for a little irrigation to bloom like Eden. Resort towns, unbearable summer heat, lots of wine and lots of orchards. The most obvious differences are snow in the winter and fewer Mexicans.

Well, not really. But at least I’ve been published in a real live magazine. See what you think.