Journal

A Matter of Maturity

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Recently Elizabeth May, formerly the leader of Canada’s Green Party, suggested that the country lower the voting age to sixteen. It should be obvious that this would be a disaster. Quite apart from the fact that sixteen–year–olds lack a fully developed prefrontal cortex and are therefore at a disadvantage in making rational decisions, the simple fact is that they are children, not adults.

So why would May, and she is not alone in this, (the Liberals have tried to make this suggestion too) want to implement such a dangerous and unwise policy? The likely answer is:  Pure unadulterated power.  Teenagers are easily influenced, and there is more than a little wisdom in the old adage that “If you’re not a liberal at 20 you have no heart, and if you’re not a conservative at 40 you have no brain.” Also, as many parents and teachers can attest, almost without exception, children tend lean to the far left. What an opportunity – willing and compliant tools.

May can see a chance when it comes her way. Should she be able to accomplish her goal, Canadians may all have to deal with an irrationality they have never experienced before. This is not an exaggeration.  China’s Mao Zedong unleashed the Red Guard, an army of indoctrinated teenagers, on his enemies and as history proves, the result was disastrous. Perhaps one should not leap that far ahead, but the idea that unqualified, immature teenagers could influence politics should cause all Canadians to pause.

Marxism and Sharia?

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Both Marxism and Sharia lean on hate and divisionism to control populations, something the Western World abhors.   Nothing in the west is sacrosanct under these oppressive regimes, and now even some children’s books and cartoons have become taboo.  The recent casualty –  the beloved Dr. Seuss.

Dr Seuss should be commended for demonstrating diversity to children in showing there is not a universal sameness of humans in the world.  For example, one of the drawings leading to the recent controversy was of an Asian man wearing a rice hat while eating from a bowl with chopsticks.  Yes, Asian people are known to look a particular way and yes, some eat with chopsticks, and some do wear rice hats.  Those are all things to be celebrated, as Asian history is long and rich.  Add to that the fact that these drawings are caricature renditions meant to emphasize characteristics, we see that the man depicted is a delightful Asian fellow.

Cartoons are meant to evoke happiness and fun.  One would have to look far and wide to find someone who has not enjoyed the lilt and pictorial whimsy of Dr. Seuss.

It is a slippery slope when a cartoon is considered offensive, and we have all seen the evidence of that in Sharia law.  It’s time to hail Dr. Seuss as the humanitarian and inclusive children’s author that he was.  The western world is approaching the end of humour and joy – retroactive no less! The attack on Dr. Seuss is an attack on joy itself.

 

True Woke Justice

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It seems to have happened overnight that eight hundred years of jurisprudence has been trashed. The concept of Due Process been replaced by social media spectacles featuring the destruction of lives and careers. No suggestion of substantiation to charges is demanded by media outlets and, more importantly, their subscribers. 

This is now a nation where accusation equals conviction, and outcomes are made absolute despite the absence of sustaining evidence. Unproven allegations are dropped from the news pages but live for ever in the vastness of the Twitterverse, leaving nothing but personal ruination in their wake. 

The witterings of a few sad internet trolls are converted by lazy minded politicians into a new form of Original Sin and heaped as obligations on the taxpayer. The Judiciary, hitherto a check on ill-considered legislation, now follows a meandering path dictated by politically correct inspirational muses and now requires people to identify themselves by their self-arrogated pronoun of choice. 

The saddest aspect of this deteriorating society is that its Woke instigators are the grandchildren of the survivors from the Second World War generation. It was they who went ashore in Sicily and, later, Juno Beach and returned to create a civilization providing wealth and justice for all.  Their reward is to find that those whose world was their legacy have adopted the values of the people they fought to defeat. 

Woke brigades have invented systemic injustices inherent in Western civilization. This civilization, it is held, is a skein of oppression and genocide that must be torn down in its entirety. To impose this idea on others, the Woke use the tactics of mob harassment, hysterical denunciation, and most of all, the weaponization of cancel culture to deprive people of their platforms, livelihoods, and reputation. (1)

Democracy usually provides a ready means for the disposal of unsatisfactory functionaries, and for that reason, popular logic says we always have the government we deserve. The Woke forces have found ways to circumvent society’s safety valves. They have targeted non-government regulatory bodies including university administrations, churches, municipal bodies, and professional standards organizations which all serve as platforms to preach their cause and from which they are difficult to dislodge. 

Their presence is a world-wide issue and Canada is not alone in needing to find a way to take back its way of life. In the United Kingdom, the Reclaim Party stands for freedom of speech, thought and inquiry. (It) stand(s) in support of broad and reasoned debate for all. (It) stand(s) against censorship and the emerging trend of extreme political correctness. (It) stand(s) to Reclaim the values of freedom, fairness and common sense.(2)

In the United States, an American couple’s frustration with woke ideology at their child’s school led to the recent formation of The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR), a nonpartisan organization “dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding and humanity.”  (3)

Here, with any luck at all, we can re-establish our society with voters moving back to re-assert control of their schools, churches and municipalities armed with the common sense that lay at the base of their founding. If we cannot, it will be a very hard push to find other ways of dispersing this hostile mob. 

1.  When Will the Woke Go Full Caligula? Avatar, Benjamin Kerstein, Algemeiner; 24 February 2021 

2.  Mission Statement, The Reclaim Party London, Feb 17, 2021 

3.  Birth of a new resistance – Parents mobilize to tackle woke ideology. Barbara Kay, National Post, Mar 12, 2021  

 

Government Debt

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Our governments have a debt problem. The federal deficit for this fiscal year is approaching $400 billion and the total debt is about $1 trillion.  BC is in better shape with a current year deficit of $13.6 billion and a total debt of $88.626 Billion.  

A conference Board of Canada report stated that governments are “spending like never before” producing “massive and permanent” debt levels.  This is not sustainable.   

Our governments believe that a combination of low interest rates and high levels of economic growth will allow them to accommodate this level of debt. It might just be possible if that was all the debt they were going to add but the Federal deficit for the next fiscal year will be about $121.6 billion dollars and continuing in the red for the foreseeable future. BC will also be running deficits for years.   

Our governments have not been transparent as to how they intend to pay for this increased debt, and currently are borrowing just to cover the interest.   The Trudeau administration has not produced a budget in 2 years and Canadians  don’t know what this government‘s detailed taxation and spending plans are.  

With the pandemic not yet over, maintaining support payments to those in need will have to continue. It seems certain that a combination of increased taxes and a reduction in spending will be necessary, and soon. This will reduce economic growth, which in turn will reduce the government’s ability to sustain this level of debt.  

What is the plan Mr. Trudeau? 

Propaganda versus Truth

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On Race:  Leftist identity politics divides people into categories based on identifiable differences, such as race, instead of along traditional broad-based party lines.  Based on  those contrasts, the Left assigns rules based on where each person fits into their perceived oppression hierarchy.  For people on the Right, skin colour is irrelevant.  

On Speech:  For the Left, words that prove them wrong are a form of violence and should be outlawed or silenced by force.  People on the Right who may not agree with that ideology will still defend the Left’s right to voice it. 

On Property:  The Left feels entitled to “other people’s stuff” and will engage governmental bureaucratic force to try and get it.  On the Right, Adam Smith’s philosophy still reigns in that a person owns themselves and all fruits of their labour. 

On the Environment:  For the Left, the sky is always falling, which leads to extremist actions such as the Christchurch shooter (1), the El Paso Walmart shooter (2), and the Unabomber (3).  All were done in the name of saving the environment.  Those on the Right depend on empirical evidence in their decision making, not misconstrued ideas and self-righteousness. 

On Family:  The Left leans on government for parenting.  The Right believe autonomous self-sufficient strong families are what lead to successful children.

On Science:  For the Left science appears cherry-picked from Left-wing gurus. For the Right, it is the systematic observation, measurement, experiment and formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.  Skepticism is a fundamental part of science. 

1 Opendemocracy.net/en/countering-radical/ecofascism-justifications-terrorist-violence – Christchurch and El Paso shootings.
2 Huffingtonpost.ca/entry/el-paso-shooting-manifesto
3 Fee.org/articles/is-the-unibomber-and-ecobomber/

Heading Back to an Old System?

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It would be very reassuring if all public sector meetings began with a recognition of the private sector of the economy.  For it is there where the wealth is created that provides the income on which taxes are levied to pay for all our well-paid public servants and their grandiose plans. There is likely no hope for this ever to happen anywhere in the Cowichan Valley, because our Federal and Provincial representatives, together with most of their municipal colleagues, seem to have never been members of this part of the economy. Few, if any, of them appear to have ever had a paycheque that the taxpayer did not sign. It is reminiscent of the time when an educated but unproductive elite needed the feudal system for their survival.

Alistair MacGregor’s private member’s bill to cut off access to the coastline for deep sea vessels awaiting berths at local ports is an example of legislation proposed to meet the convenience of very few people. That his new bill would have the result of providing yet another unneeded obstacle for our stumbling economy seems irrelevant to him.  It shows a complete lack of appreciation that west coast port operations are one of the few bright spots remaining in the national industrial establishment. Excessive taxes and inconsistent regulation have sent capital fleeing to other countries and not enough seems now available to improve the operations of the port in order to reduce or quell the need to moor expensive ships in remote locations.

Mr. MacGregor’s proposal is yet another reminder that once viable Canadian industries are now surviving on reduced revenues and curtailed markets. Our local, Provincial and National governments are very creative in finding ways to consume the wealth provided by taxpayers but seem utterly incapable of understanding what needs to be done to produce it.

Entryism

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“Entryism” is a political tactic used by radical groups to infiltrate larger, more acceptable organizations and gain power.  The most famous example is the “French Turn” a tactic recommended by Trotsky to take over French labour unions in the 1930s.  Those practicing “Entryism” hid their real identity in order to take over.  In other words, they pretended to be something else: center leftists, benign socialists, anything but Trotskyites.

They joined French workers’ organizations so they could push them towards Trotskyism through stealth and intimidation.  The question for our time is  “Is Entryism still happening?”  If you define it in broader terms than Trotskyism, the answer is yes.  For example, in the United States, leftists have changed the Democrat Party and pushed it toward Socialism.  It isn’t the old Democrat Party anymore.  It is the party of “The Squad,” all of whom are socialists and radicals. Entryism worked.

Locally, we would be well advised to watch for entryism in all its forms.  If an organization talks about collectivism, communalism, redistribution and breaking down free enterprise, then Entryism may be at work.  The most important thing to remember is that “Entryites” are not going let you know their real purpose.  That is the danger.  American socialist Norman Thomas said, in 1944:  “The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism.  But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America (sic) will be a socialist nation, without ever knowing it happened.”   Entryism at its finest.

“Castle Canuck” ….. a parody

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Mesmerized by fancy socks, puffy words, promises of legalized drugs, and free stuff, one third of a Kingdom was propelled to vote the village idiot in as Emperor.  Another group, downtrodden for various reasons, of their own volition or otherwise, propped up this first group, like dancing jesters performing in the castle, hoping for scraps and favours.

A third group, disgruntled, and wanting to be free from the confines of this entire royal confederation holed themselves up behind a pale of their own making, even though they opened the door readily to accept handouts for doing absolutely nothing.

Then there was the sprinkling of supercilious underlings, who jostled for position, with no hope of ever securing elected status, nipping at heels and stealing votes on all sides for their own egos because they flatly refused to get along with any of the others.

Alas, this left the last group, a quiet popular majority, standing outside the castle walls looking in at the chaos.  They did not ask for handouts, nor did they dance.  They merely desired to work for their own autonomy and self-determination but, none the less, were disliked by all the others.

What a strange rag-tag and disconnected group, for which the Emperor, naked as he was, could not reconcile.  “You ask for too much!” he cried while throwing their hard earned money to the wind, and insisting they now use only the newly approved words.

Thus, was the Kingdom of Castle Canuck, a sad and royal mess to behold.  Then the plague arrived…….

Mysterious Phenomena

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There is mysterious phenomena at play when workers transform from a Capitalist system to a Communist system.  This is evidenced in the latter by a lack of productivity and loss of natural incentive.  Can this be solely the workers’ lack of ownership in the process, or might there be something additional at play?

To answer this one may look at human psychology, specifically human relationships.  When one toils for one’s self or family, natural altruism is a factor.  However, it could be argued that there is also a certain sense of altruism toward one’s community.  But that idea does not translate fully between the scenarios.

For example, a “breadwinner” may be self-compelled to work sixteen hour days under grueling conditions but will not willingly do so under force from others.  That is a given, but it still does not explain the basic scientific reason.

For this one may turn to physiology and measure the hormones released through repeated positive human connectedness.  This connectedness is driven by mysterious phenomena, which humans call love, and the release of serotonin from bonding, through reciprocal acts of appreciation, within close knit familial units.  With this reasoning and context, it may be scientifically rationalized that labour under the Communist system is driven by fear and force, while labour under the Capitalist system is driven by love and reward.

 

Whitewashing History

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One of the earliest memories most of us have is of our mothers telling us not to lie. Mothers give good advice, and this is probably their best. It applies to everything, but most especially to our history. A nation’s history is sacred. Tampering with it for political purposes is unforgivable. Apart from being dishonest, whitewashing history is also a weapon, and these days it is being used by the left to change everything.

There’s no shortage of examples. The distorted condemnation of John A. MacDonald, removing statues, replacing the people on money with others less important who serve your purposes, the 1619 project in America, examples are endless. Eventually, if it happens enough, people become brainwashed. Their history means nothing to them or, even more tragically, they believe propaganda and their history disappears. The Russian people know all too well how that worked.

It is up to the proper authorities to give us an accurate view of history. But it is up to us to insist on it. When their so called “history” doesn’t match our memories then we know they are lying. When that happens, we must call them on it. The official name for what they are doing is “historical revisionism”, but it should be called “strategic lying.” It is wrong. Some may not like authentic history, but they have no right to distort it. Everyone is advised to embrace the real historical record. It is just better that way.