Wow Dan, this really got at the heart of it. As a fellow Canadian, a Metis, and whose work is centered on Indigenous economic Reconciliation, it hits home. In fact, I am blown away by the stark cause-and-presumed-effect you have laid out here and just how silly we do seem in throwing around big-boy terms without serious consideration to what they mean or what we might then be expected to do about it.
Our hero’s are few and far - fewer and farther these days - and our population so few that our leaders seem tangible, touchable. Their proximity makes them seem more human than the mega-personalities that rule other Nations and are responsible for their ills. I wonder if that contributes to our unwillingness to hold our own to account -commensurate with the charges we’ve convicted them of. If that’s the case, it should stand as a warning to some of our more ‘Superstar’ seeking leaders, fly not too close to the sun as you’ll surpass the protective orbit of us commoners.
This piece has sparked no small amount of inner-turmoil. Much to think on, sit with, and reconcile within. Thanks for this heavy bit of accountability. We only grow by doing hard things.
This is excellent, sad, and true. As to matters foreign rather than domestic as a possible excuse, ask what domestic infrastructure has been built post COVID to prevent spread of the next pandemic? What newly designed hospitals and seniors homes have been built? What new medical and nursing schools? LNG to tidewater to assist Europe against Russia? Opiate crisis? Drinking water on reserves? Anyone? Bueller? Canadians are not serious on any issues at present, foreign or domestic. Our per capita GDP is a disgrace. Our Confederation is at risk from insensible ideologues of the left and right. With respect to the politicians, if you want better than demand better and the mudslinging ends when it ends with each of us. Play the puck not the man. Debate policies and judge on achievements not annouceables.
As one whose politics lean strongly toward the progressive side, I've no choice but to completely agree. Although I am appalled at the Official Opposition's populist hate/rage farming and habitual misinforming of the public, if not outright lying, there does seem to be the semblance of this to their criticisms: the government is shallow and totally lacks seriousness.
DON'T COME AT ME....I know only too well, that the opposition is no better. In fact, if they were to form government, there is ample evidence they would be considerably worse. And of course they are projecting, this is a group as unserious as any political party I have ever seen (like their kindred to the south,) in my 5+ decades of observation.
And, yet. Part of me thinks the popularity the utterly charmless and critically dishonest Poilievre is now experiencing, is a result of Canadians being somehow on to the fact of our collective and literal unseriousness.
I think it's clear as crystal. Our words mean just what we want them to mean and nothing more. And we can do it in two languages which frequently means they can mean the opposite thing at the same time, or half the room not knowing what's being told to the other half and the person delivering those words not speaking at least one of the languages which adds in plausible deniability, depending on how you might define that.
I find human behaviour somewhat paradoxical -- our social being will "go with the flow" yet our rational being will analyze.
Thus, the situation arises where prominent people can lead a popular sentiment without affirmation until/unless they are confronted by a rebuttal. Hence, spectacles like unanimous agreement among MPs that residential schools were genocidal. We'd probably be cancelled if we suggested otherwise in public.
There are many rebutters but, unfortunately, they don't have the necessary visibility to redirect the flow. Our "journalists" or their media have let us down. Why don't we have something like a Jon Stewart's Daily Show lampooning idiocy on national television immediately after the suppertime news? If people are prompted to think about issues, they will.
As it happens, yesterday I listened to linguistics professor and NYT columnist John McWhorter, one of the guests on Bari Weiss's "Honestly" podcast of Jan. 4. Asked for his predictions for words that would be prominent in 2024, he said that the definition of "genocide" would be frequently discussed in traditional and social media.
There's an old Toothpaste for dinner comic from 20 years ago that goes like this: "Hey Dad, why is it so many actors go into politics? "it's basically the same job, but they don't have to wait 6 months for their royalties." https://i0.wp.com/www.grunchbox.com/tpfd/reg/2008/actors-in-politics.gif
Edit: my initial reason for commenting was that they should use the Cannes scale for measuring the length of the standing ovation.
Canada has not been an international role model for a few decades.
Canada's credibility first took a beating on the international scene when Canadians deleted the definition of sex.
Canada's international cred has especially gone down in the last three years, with one of the most authoritarian bigoted responses to a virus the world has seen, only to be outdone by a couple of island states.
We're a sad sorry excuse for a "democratic" country these days, and a huge number of new immigrants, many from the old Eastern Block, chose to get the hell out!
All painfully true. Canadians have become complacent. My father fought in WWII and was proud to be a Canadian soldier. It is sad that today, we are viewed as smug and unimportant.
We've never been taken entirely seriously- that's the problem. We were a group of British and French colonies that banded together to protect ourselves against the bad old United States. And we borrowed things that "worked" from them to solve our problems: our shameful treatment of our Indigenous people has echoes in the conduct of other British colonies like Australia and New Zealand, which were just as bad, if not worse, with their Indigenous people.
We had to go to Britain to get them to approve us being a nation in 1867, and to completely separate ourselves legally from them in the 1980s. No armed uprisings for us....
Great piece. But if you say the ultimate goal for our politicians is power and votes and work backwards then this is good and effective politics. It's sad but we live in a social media ADD age full of and encouraging moral dilettantes. It would take selfless leaders to push us out of this. At the educational level, at the corporate level, in
Wow Dan, this really got at the heart of it. As a fellow Canadian, a Metis, and whose work is centered on Indigenous economic Reconciliation, it hits home. In fact, I am blown away by the stark cause-and-presumed-effect you have laid out here and just how silly we do seem in throwing around big-boy terms without serious consideration to what they mean or what we might then be expected to do about it.
Our hero’s are few and far - fewer and farther these days - and our population so few that our leaders seem tangible, touchable. Their proximity makes them seem more human than the mega-personalities that rule other Nations and are responsible for their ills. I wonder if that contributes to our unwillingness to hold our own to account -commensurate with the charges we’ve convicted them of. If that’s the case, it should stand as a warning to some of our more ‘Superstar’ seeking leaders, fly not too close to the sun as you’ll surpass the protective orbit of us commoners.
This piece has sparked no small amount of inner-turmoil. Much to think on, sit with, and reconcile within. Thanks for this heavy bit of accountability. We only grow by doing hard things.
This is excellent, sad, and true. As to matters foreign rather than domestic as a possible excuse, ask what domestic infrastructure has been built post COVID to prevent spread of the next pandemic? What newly designed hospitals and seniors homes have been built? What new medical and nursing schools? LNG to tidewater to assist Europe against Russia? Opiate crisis? Drinking water on reserves? Anyone? Bueller? Canadians are not serious on any issues at present, foreign or domestic. Our per capita GDP is a disgrace. Our Confederation is at risk from insensible ideologues of the left and right. With respect to the politicians, if you want better than demand better and the mudslinging ends when it ends with each of us. Play the puck not the man. Debate policies and judge on achievements not annouceables.
As one whose politics lean strongly toward the progressive side, I've no choice but to completely agree. Although I am appalled at the Official Opposition's populist hate/rage farming and habitual misinforming of the public, if not outright lying, there does seem to be the semblance of this to their criticisms: the government is shallow and totally lacks seriousness.
DON'T COME AT ME....I know only too well, that the opposition is no better. In fact, if they were to form government, there is ample evidence they would be considerably worse. And of course they are projecting, this is a group as unserious as any political party I have ever seen (like their kindred to the south,) in my 5+ decades of observation.
And, yet. Part of me thinks the popularity the utterly charmless and critically dishonest Poilievre is now experiencing, is a result of Canadians being somehow on to the fact of our collective and literal unseriousness.
The ironies, and horrors, abound.
Nailed it.
Terrific article. I can't believe how the word genocide gets tossed around these days.
I think it's clear as crystal. Our words mean just what we want them to mean and nothing more. And we can do it in two languages which frequently means they can mean the opposite thing at the same time, or half the room not knowing what's being told to the other half and the person delivering those words not speaking at least one of the languages which adds in plausible deniability, depending on how you might define that.
I find human behaviour somewhat paradoxical -- our social being will "go with the flow" yet our rational being will analyze.
Thus, the situation arises where prominent people can lead a popular sentiment without affirmation until/unless they are confronted by a rebuttal. Hence, spectacles like unanimous agreement among MPs that residential schools were genocidal. We'd probably be cancelled if we suggested otherwise in public.
There are many rebutters but, unfortunately, they don't have the necessary visibility to redirect the flow. Our "journalists" or their media have let us down. Why don't we have something like a Jon Stewart's Daily Show lampooning idiocy on national television immediately after the suppertime news? If people are prompted to think about issues, they will.
As it happens, yesterday I listened to linguistics professor and NYT columnist John McWhorter, one of the guests on Bari Weiss's "Honestly" podcast of Jan. 4. Asked for his predictions for words that would be prominent in 2024, he said that the definition of "genocide" would be frequently discussed in traditional and social media.
There's an old Toothpaste for dinner comic from 20 years ago that goes like this: "Hey Dad, why is it so many actors go into politics? "it's basically the same job, but they don't have to wait 6 months for their royalties." https://i0.wp.com/www.grunchbox.com/tpfd/reg/2008/actors-in-politics.gif
Edit: my initial reason for commenting was that they should use the Cannes scale for measuring the length of the standing ovation.
Well written.
Canada has not been an international role model for a few decades.
Canada's credibility first took a beating on the international scene when Canadians deleted the definition of sex.
Canada's international cred has especially gone down in the last three years, with one of the most authoritarian bigoted responses to a virus the world has seen, only to be outdone by a couple of island states.
We're a sad sorry excuse for a "democratic" country these days, and a huge number of new immigrants, many from the old Eastern Block, chose to get the hell out!
All painfully true. Canadians have become complacent. My father fought in WWII and was proud to be a Canadian soldier. It is sad that today, we are viewed as smug and unimportant.
We've never been taken entirely seriously- that's the problem. We were a group of British and French colonies that banded together to protect ourselves against the bad old United States. And we borrowed things that "worked" from them to solve our problems: our shameful treatment of our Indigenous people has echoes in the conduct of other British colonies like Australia and New Zealand, which were just as bad, if not worse, with their Indigenous people.
We had to go to Britain to get them to approve us being a nation in 1867, and to completely separate ourselves legally from them in the 1980s. No armed uprisings for us....
We don't have leaders who have the vision and balls to look beyond their own interests
Great piece. But if you say the ultimate goal for our politicians is power and votes and work backwards then this is good and effective politics. It's sad but we live in a social media ADD age full of and encouraging moral dilettantes. It would take selfless leaders to push us out of this. At the educational level, at the corporate level, in
Brilliant. Thank you. 🇨🇦