In these polarized times, it seems that two age groups are often looked upon by the media in almost absolutist terms. We are told, for example, that people over the age of 65 are the most likely to vote (about 75 per cent did so in the 2011 election), and
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Politics and its Discontents: Guest Post: The Values Edition
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, It seems a propitious time to reflect on the values that have been fostered and avidly promoted (especially during this election season} by the Harper government, values that no doubt will be on the minds of many as they head to the polls on October 19.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Some Things To Give Thanks For
H/t Toronto Star As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, moving beyond the usual things we express gratitude for (family, health, etc.), here are a few other things I give thanks for: A high turnout in advance polls: Elections Canada says it estimates some 850,000 people voted on Friday, the first
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Another Word From Harry Smith
Harry Smith, who I have written about previously on this blog, has some timely reminders for us this election season. …because so many Canadians of my generation had come from nations fraught with religious and ethnic tension, we tried to create a more tolerant society that crossed political beliefs. Inclusion
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Select Refugee?
The Globe and Mail reports the following: Canada is prioritizing some refugees based on characteristics that include their religion, the age of their children and whether they have a business background, using increasingly specific criteria over the past year. These criteria are used in a complex triage that attempts to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: About That Pavlovian Response
It is enough to make a recovering cynic suffer a very bad relapse. As I noted earlier this week, to see what lurks just beneath the surface of Canadian sensibilities, something dark and ugly, is extremely disheartening. Amply revealed by the Machiavellian incitement of prejudice engineered by Lynton Crosby to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: This Just In!
Something wicked this way comes. H/t Toronto Star Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Better Angels Of Our Nature
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” – Abraham Lincoln Stephen
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: We Aren’t As Good As We Think We Are
If anything, the racism and xenophobia that have become cornerstones of the Harper re-election strategy are showing us something we would prefer not to think about: when provoked, our own darker natures come easily to the surface. In his column today, Edward Keenan reveals a few things we should ponder:
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Lifting The Veil
Lifting the veil behind what has become a major part of the Tory re-election strategy reveals nothing good. Consider, for example, this shameful announcement by party stalwart Kellie Lietch, who has yet to meet a Harper directive she doesn’t salivate over: In other words, the directive has gone out: surveil
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Full Of Sound And Fury, Signifying Nothing But An Unfitness To Govern
Like one of my favourite Shakespearean creations, Macbeth, the story of a corrupted Scottish king, Stephen Harper’s tale unfolds on a landscape that has become increasingly blighted thanks to his diseased leadership. Harper’s demagoguery, his total disregard for the moral, social and ethical well-being of Canada, all powerful attestations to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Resisting The Fashion Fascists
If his shrill demagoguery is any indication, I suppose Herr Harper and his regime can be considered to be at war with Islam; the latter’s offences range from embracing jihadism to being a culture that, according to our self-appointed fascist fashionista, is ‘anti-women.’ In that war, Zunera Ishaq is what
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