As I said in my last post, my conclusion that the harpercon government has no legitimate authority arose out of my support for Brigette DePape's violation of Parliamentary decorum during the Speech From the Throne. As I said, I actually have a great deal of reverence for our democratic institutions. I lament how they're compromised and abused and hope for their improvement, whereas stephen harper sees them as barriers to be overcome and burdens to be treated with contempt.
I decided, that since harper treated Parliament with contempt, he had no right to complain when his opponents decided to violate the rules.
And that's what led me to my bigger conclusion. Because, in all honesty, before and during the election I thought that the most likely outcome was another harpercon minority government which would then be swept aside by a coalition, or (smaller possibility), that he would be outright defeated. I gave hardly any thought to the possibility that Canada's political culture was so undemocratic that he would be rewarded with a majority.
But we are so undemocratic and debased (as a people) that he now has the powers of a majority government. That's the new reality. But what to do about it? What if we don't do something about it? Well, look at the downward spiral of US-American politics. There, the people countenanced two stolen elections. Two illegal wars (and now a third one). The torture of their own citizens. Vast government spying networks. The services of the US Coast Guard put at the service of British Petroleum during its oil spill. A President who "looks forward, not backwards" with regards to his predecessor's crimes so that he can maintain and build upon the despotic powers those crimes achieved. A country with a 20 percent unemployment rate and a political elite that focuses on tax cuts for billionaires and deficit reduction on the backs of the poorest. And etc., etc.
There's absolutely no hope for the US-American political system. Especially through elections dominated by the two parties of Wall Street.
And we're almost there, my fellow Canadians. harper's crimes during the past six years have been unprecedented assaults on the basics of Parliamentary democracy. And we, as a people, have let him get away with, ... no, why don't I just say it: REWARD him for his crimes with a majority government (thanks to the votes of enough ignorant, apathetic or anti-democratic people).
The first step in reversing this process is acknowledging the depths to which we have sunk. And doing so on more than a passing intellectual level, as in: "Yeah. I guess you're right. harper has no basis to his claim for my acceptance of his authority." We have to realize that in the real world, we have a despot for a prime minister, elected with the votes of people who either had no clue what they were doing, or who enthusiastically cheered on his violations of parliamentary democracy when he was stifled by Parliament's powers under a minority government. If we don't do something about this (also in the real world) we are saying that our devotion to Canadian democracy is hardly any greater than that of the harpercons.
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7 comments:
Ya know, thwap, I can't disagree with anything you're saying. If you're going to tell me what an asshole Harper is and what his ascendancy says about the disengagement of our fellow citizens and the dysfunctions of our culture and our parliamentary system, well, you're preaching to the choir.
What's still troubling me, though, are the strategic implications of what you're saying. You've written about the use of civil disobedience, and I've tried, in my feeble way, to address that both in comments here and over at my own place. But either I'm not reading you as regularly as I should (which is a distinct possibility) or you haven't followed your own argument through to the point where you make concrete suggestions for action.
We're all committed to the democratic process, warped and misshapen though it may currently be. Given that, our most important task is reaching out to those of our fellow citizens who supported the harpokons and convincing a large number of them to change their minds. Tall order, yes, but we won't accomplish it by insulting them.
And hovering in the background, of course, is the spectre of Godwin: the possibility -- nay, the inevitability -- of someone pointing out that Hitler was democratically elected in 1933. I'm not saying you're going to be the one to do it, and I'm not even going to reject whatever lessons might be drawn from such an analogy, but let's face it: the minute that comparison is drawn, the conversation moves into emotionally volatile terrain where reasoned discourse is a lot harder.
You say we need to do something about this. I couldn't agree more, and thus my question to you is anything but rhetorical: what do you suggest we do? I'm still struggling with that question myself.
OB
You don't have the guts to try anything more than break a few windows for a afternoon. Your kind is weak! The left will do nothing outside the law.
Strength? You don't have it.
Courage? Not pissants like yourself
Guns? Guns are gross! Ewwwwww
Fight? You might chip a nail.
Talk, that is all you and yours do is talk. Some revolution.
Anonymous,
So, we lefties are all hitlerist-stalinist menaces while at the same time we're mincing flower-fuckers?
Ya just can't win, can ya?
OB,
Quick word for now: I think being polite about right-wing choices has caused a lot of damage. According to harper, all the "socialists" don't even have the right to govern in a coalition. We're beyond the pale of respectable political opinion.
So much for being punished for not respecting the views of 20% of the electorate.
I have no wish to insult Conservative voters beyond relieving them of their ignorance or chastising them for their undemocratic behaviour.
Read this old article: Harper in New York, gives a speech at, the Council of Foreign Relations. Harper fully supported the N.A.U. This has been Harper's evil agenda all along.
Google: Harper delivers his speech on, Global Governance for Canada. Everyone present were shocked by Harper's words. Harper even said, Global Governance, has been worked on since 1945. Some call this Global Governance, the New World Order, NWO.
Hitler had a plan for a NWO, only he called it, the Thousand Year Reich.
You are right on the pansy-fucking count, I will give you that. No one sees the left has anything more than a warmed over joke. Big talk, no action. The left have been singing the same song for 40 years and they are no closer to power today at all.
And I will go one step further than Harper, the left has no business anywhere near the levers of government. If the left ever gets in, which is doubtful, well may would see them as less than legimate and well, lets just say the right has a wider slate of "diversity of tactics" than the left does.
Been out all day, going back out soon.
I guess the lowest hanging fruit here is my courageous "Anonymous" member of the vaunted Keyboard Kommandoes, boasting about how he'll kick the collective ass of the left.
Two questions:
Would you respect us if we actually tossed some molotovs and beat the shit out of right-wing twerps who mouth-off their stupid bullshit? Or would you hypocritically screech about how we can't win the battle of ideas so we degenerate into thuggery and etc.?
Secondly, ... what are your opinions about harper's anti-democratic assaults on the basic fundamentals of parliamentary democracy? Do you approve? Disagree? Deny that he did any such thing?
Other anonymous,
You're right about harper's globalism.
They all believe in this whole global corporate world.
It was a semi-respectable position to take after the autarky of the 1920s and 1930s.
But it was lacking in humanity.
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