The behaviour-modification tax arrives

A new poll shows 59% of British Columbians are against the planned carbon tax, which kicked in today.

I am shocked and surprised.

I understand that another poll finds 80% of Canadians are in favor of free hot dogs and 90% support the east-west flow of the Fraser River.

If you've read earlier postings, you'll have seen that I'm against it, too -- although not necessarily for economic reasons. After all, with gasoline now over $1.50/litre, how much more damage can an additional 2.4 cents/litre make?

That's not really the point. Nor is the argument that the carbon tax shifts the burden away from income tax: when you're paying $30 for almost half a tank of gas (as I did yesterday in Cobble Hill, where prices are lower than in Vancouver), it's no comfort to know that you'll see a reduction in what you pay to the Province come next spring.

The point here is that this tax has been "sold" -- and embraced by the environmental movement -- from Day One as The Way To Change People's Behavior and force them to leave their cars at home. Behavior modification -- mind manipulation -- is witchcraft, and I believe that, even if the people protesting the carbon tax don't realize that in the natural realm, that's one of the intangible reasons behind their anger.

Putting it another way, it's one thing for the sheikhs of Farawabia to raise oil prices or for the greedy oil companies to be in collusion to keep prices high to line their own pockets; but here is our democratically elected Government Of The People, working with a particular interest group to manipulate the behavior of the general public -- basically forcing the world view of that interest group on everybody else.

In A Very Convenient Truth, I point out that witchcraft is one of Satan's Hot Hits -- a sign that he has his hands all over the dialogue on the environment and that God has basically been left out of the discussion. This was written before the carbon tax came in, but it was evident even then that the environmental movement considered it was perfectly OK to use various techniques to manipulate people's behavior and impose its own world view on others, because the overall goal was to protect Mother Earth.

Jesus Christ didn't manipulate people to follow Him. God always gives us freedom of choice -- life and blessing or death and cursing -- and while He makes it clear what He wants us to choose, He never takes that freedom from us. If the Creator of the Universe and His Son are not going to impose Their world view on us, why should we, who are no better than our brothers and sisters, attempt to do it?

What's a Christian to do? Refuse to be manipulated. Refuse to allow such actions to get in the way of serving the Lord. "Serving the Lord" doesn't have to mean "doing things for the church", but simply pursuing the activities for which He has given you specific gifts. Trust that the Lord will provide what you need, no matter what the price of gasoline or anything else might be. You may need to cut back in other areas, but remember that God always calls us to be circumspect in all things. Remember to count the cost, as Jesus said (Luke 14:28), and make sure the environmental cost is part of the equation; but remember that it is only a part of the equation -- not the deal-breaker. Re-commit to staying close to God in everything you do, and trust that He will take care of the worldly things as we keep seeking Him.