2023-06-23
I’m not a fan of Trudeau or any political party, but I’m bothered by the Trumpian antics of Poilievre, Ford, Danielle and the right. We need Canadian parties whose values do not imitate the devolving antics of our political brothers and sisters to the south. Instead, we need being and giving values that:
- focus on people and our principal partner – the environment
- disarm bronze and iron-age moral codes that enable despicable behaviours and marginalize or punish whole sectors of our society
- assert that humans have no dominion over anything, especially when acting as corporations
- advocate for peace, not soul-sucking, life-crushing militarism
- use medicine to support life rather than turn it into a commodity
- nourish life by providing access to the essentials – safe drinkable water, proper foods, comfortable heat, education and medicine, and human connection
- rationalize and harmonize how things are produced, packaged, purchased, and pitched so they and their processes sustain all life for generations to come
- restore education to its critical-thinking foundations
- advocate for being and giving values, not the material cynicism and cruel optimism embedded in getting and taking as much as possible
- and do this with grace, not the pseudo-therapeutic aggression of a Dr. Phil, the undignified theatrics of a Springer or the vulgarity of a Trumpian blatherskite!
As a matter of historical interest, much of the devolution we witness in the antics of our current politic were warned against in Socrates’s criticism of democracy. We need to acknowledge Socrates and refocus on healthier values – and I think we are up to it. All we need do is apply critical thinking (something actively discouraged by our chrysocracies) and use the democratic tools already in place (assuming some or most have not already been tampered with to the point of obsolensence).