“Mission Creep” refers to a policy that begins well, but ends in disaster. It’s a gradual  process. Here’s the pattern: A government or organization commits to a policy.It spends time, money and resources on it.Initially it meets with success, so it commits itself even more. This results in more success which, in turn, makes it more confident. It goes all in and commits itself completely. Then things start to go wrong. But now, having devoted so much time, money and resources to the fight, it can’t back out. In too deep, it hopes for final victory and continues the struggle. In the end it fails miserably and everyone suffers. What started off as a reasonable initiative ends up as a complete fiasco. The original mission “creeps” upward and gets out of control. This happens for governments when a war or foreign adventure gets out of hand, but it can happen in domestic policy too, or in the lives of ordinary citizens.

Canada is experiencing “mission creep” right now. Ours, however, is different. For one thing it’s been happening for a long time. It also has elements normal “mission creep” doesn’t have. It’s social and spiritual in nature, although it has a political element too. But it’s mission creep all the same. No doubt about it. It’s gradual, insidious and dishonest, and it’s harming all of us.

Canadian “mission creep” is based on two key elements: Social engineering and the removal of rights. It fits the classic description of “mission creep” because it’s gradual, so gradual that we hardly notice it. While we’re living our lives, raising our families, struggling with debt and doing our best to get by, the institutional and political Left change our nation into something we can’t recognize.

The success of “mission creep” depends on something called “gradualism.”We gradually grow accustomed to changes imposed on us through legislation, popular culture and education until one day we wake up in a world that makes no sense,  full of policies that restrict our freedom or punish us if we have a different point of view.

Classic “mission creep.”The fact is that liberal progressives and leftists have already negated our values and forced us to conform to theirs. If they had tried it through legislation they wouldn’t have succeeded.Years ago, in a more balanced society, they would have been defeated.But they were clever enough to employ gradualism, slowly introducing their ideas into the culture through television ads, programs, movies and literature until it reflected their values.

Their message was clear: Conservatism wrong, Liberalism right. Objective morality wrong, Relativism right. Clear identity wrong, Fluid identity right. The West wrong, The rest of the world right. If you are bombarded with this message long enough, it eventually begins to influence you. Whatever your age or background, you can easily begin to doubt truths you have known and understood all your life.

If you resist and follow logic, common sense, or facts then liberal progressivism forces you to conform. This is done through clever media campaigns that force their values on you, or through laws that restrict our freedom to publicly state our beliefs.

It’s sad, but it’s happening. Hate speech laws now restrict dissent. Human Rights Commissions punish those who disagree with prevailing liberal ideology. Mainstream media, academics and popular authors revise history, creating false impressions of events or slanting the narrative in favour of 21st century liberal values. It’s “mission creep” at its finest.

When we dissent we retain our power and our rights as individuals. We have the right to say what we want and to defend the things we believe in. If enough of us do so, then things will change and the “mission creep” I’ve described here will slowly fade away. That will be a good day, because while I may not agree with your viewpoint I do believe in your right to express it, just not your right to suppress mine.