tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364201582024-03-19T01:40:37.340-06:00George's WindowThis blog is my forum for venting, for congratulating, for questioning and for suggesting, especially on subjects of spirituality, the news, and whatever strikes me from day to day. I am also on Twitter at @epp_gGeo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.comBlogger510125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-29689188357027738212024-02-28T12:00:00.001-07:002024-02-28T12:16:51.561-07:00Is Trudeau really to blame?<p><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNY4g_TZHjmMIl2RpLABRVRHsRBU_SBmY5n-q0D4RhrA3tJVYAC1I253LFH3sQLgP-Eqk5vqTHVB7AHk6Xl7AnFNx_uH6QGFZyHYTCBPD0jR9vLUNweTHpriL0GcbdR5V84hHOcFukpInpX5NqsrvHBy0GgGz-E2euXKEqWI2W_1Bt2EeqM5W/s2104/Self%20Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2104" data-original-width="1375" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNY4g_TZHjmMIl2RpLABRVRHsRBU_SBmY5n-q0D4RhrA3tJVYAC1I253LFH3sQLgP-Eqk5vqTHVB7AHk6Xl7AnFNx_uH6QGFZyHYTCBPD0jR9vLUNweTHpriL0GcbdR5V84hHOcFukpInpX5NqsrvHBy0GgGz-E2euXKEqWI2W_1Bt2EeqM5W/w261-h400/Self%20Portrait.jpg" width="261" /></a></span></div><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br />The photo was startling, at least to me</span><span style="font-size: medium;">: Jordan Peterson, Danielle
Smith, Tucker Carlson and Conrad Black posing in connection with an event in Edmonton,
I think. It accompanied an article written by Black titled something like: <i>What
happened to Jordan Peterson has serious Implications for all Canadians.</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">What happened to Peterson is that the governing body of professional
psychologists in Ontario ruled that some of Peterson’s public pronouncements
went beyond the bounds governing professional conduct and obligated him to take
a media course if he wished to retain his license to practice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Since then his case, propagated as a conspiracy to
stifle free speech in Canada and championed by Conrad Black and Rex Murphy and
others, has become another signpost on the supposed “road to perdition in
Canada.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The article was published by the <i>Epoch Times</i>, a periodical
that purports to tell the unvarnished truth while predominantly printing news
that can be tailored to its central theme, which is the promotion of a reactionary
response to liberal values and legislation. Of late, it seems clearly to have
decided to jump on the bandwagon with those demonizing the Prime Minister, a
strategy that’s working but is unworthy of thinking persons in a democracy, in
my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Firstly, the Peterson incident is <i>not</i> a case of
stifling free speech. Black, Murphy and Peterson himself have aired that
shibboleth repeatedly in public without repercussions. Their opinions, their
speech are not hemmed in by Trudeau, or the Liberal Party, or the courts; that
declaration is a flag waved to attract the disaffected, individuals who feel oppressed
by circumstances, convincing them that “Trudeau’s to blame.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Based on a comparative assessment of individual economic and
personal freedom, Canada ranks high, alongside other liberal democracies. (<a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-freest-countries-in-the-world.html">The
World's 10 Most Free Countries - WorldAtlas</a>) It’s been liberal democracy
that’s established and maintained a country where the balance of individual
freedom and community cooperation has been able to thrive. We need only go back
as far as the eras of Lester Pearson, Tommy Douglas, Pierre Elliot Trudeau to
see how liberalism in Canada ensured access to medical care for every
individual, took its place on the world stage by initiating peacekeeping forces,
got the police and courts out of our bedrooms, gave status to millions by legislating
official multiculturalism. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And when we look back on the COVID and climate change
dilemmas down the road, assess how we under Liberal governance and later, Liberal/NDP
cooperation, weathered the pandemic storm, we’ll conclude that we did the best that
could be expected given the knowledge and resources available. At least, comparisons
to the experiences of other countries all point that way. A Pew survey reported
by the World Economic Forum<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Document%20852.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
indicated that in Canada, 88% of citizens believed their country had done well
in its response to the pandemic; in the USA, the approval of the country’s
response to the pandemic was at 47%. The indecisiveness of the Trump
administration at the critical time has been cited as a reason for US citizen
dissatisfaction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">All this is important. Two Sundays ago, in an expat church
in Mexico, a pastor lamented “what’s going on in Canada.” The anti-Trudeau
rhetoric was blatant and overt in US news during the convoy protest/occupation
in Ottawa. Conspiracy theories, crime news, intimations of threat spread easily
and far; to see our fellow Canadians bargaining away our international reputation for political points at home is discouraging, especially when using false scenarios to do so. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">We are a great country, as great as countries anywhere have
so far managed to become. Per capita crime rates are lower than ever, our healthcare
system is faltering but will clearly recover, literacy and education standards
are higher that ever, individual freedom of choice is remarkably unhindered,
our politics are made responsive to public need by free and fair elections and although
we’re not nearly there yet on environmental protection protocols, we’re working
hard at it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOSs568TVqz6kw0ByOWZLZUkHEXL0TLtodHJJcNlinJhcroIuIewtV-gAScYGTCjpEsB76B2MGtm3lNMZT4nKE4pkcuTUjPMcBCk7vBMGEsVicdlYXbUNvjHFk_aLQqBXkPzttSSrXIt14gDSDv97Z58nZ8FuEkeWg71MNJvoIgxNwLt-IQux/s2292/succulent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2292" data-original-width="2254" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOSs568TVqz6kw0ByOWZLZUkHEXL0TLtodHJJcNlinJhcroIuIewtV-gAScYGTCjpEsB76B2MGtm3lNMZT4nKE4pkcuTUjPMcBCk7vBMGEsVicdlYXbUNvjHFk_aLQqBXkPzttSSrXIt14gDSDv97Z58nZ8FuEkeWg71MNJvoIgxNwLt-IQux/w197-h200/succulent.jpg" width="197" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The word on political systems popularized by Winston
Churchill continues to be insightful: <i>Democracy is the worst form of government
… except for all the others that have been tried from time to time. </i>Let’s
all weigh what we hear against the reality of our own experience. Trudeau is
not to blame, dictatorship neither characterizes our government nor are we moving in that direction, personal
freedoms are not being stifled, there are no such things as a leftist or “woke”
conspiracies, the Chinese didn’t create COVID, the phasing out of fossil fuel
energy sources is good for us in more ways than one. And as every adult knows,
there never were monsters under the bed. Moldy cheese sandwiches and lost socks, maybe, but no monsters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Conrad Black, Jordan Peterson, Danielle Smith, Tucker
Carlson, please think further down the road when you speak; your words have an
audience, you attract followers, choose the paths you advocate carefully. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Document%20852.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Aptos",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/covid-19-survey-trust-unity-cooperation/">These
countries handled the COVID-19 pandemic well, says recent Pew survey | World
Economic Forum (weforum.org)</a> The WEF is itself the target of conspiracy
theories that see it as manipulating world economic conditions for the benefit
of its members, a theory which the Conservative Party of Canada is supporting
as an election strategy. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-63068683449955186242024-01-23T20:15:00.000-07:002024-01-23T20:15:12.319-07:00Now's not the time ...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyDyt91tz6-ZgEfag8XzeRFFFKHcQutz6pN3fOmO_16a2yLNe36lam91uChzxtnferNacnvRoqMS9n_jYk35w7G4AZTZbm4OzuWxmKjO_WZKzL060rlvViJHFFo7bsJ-huGISrbhndu9Kvcz48WzOPG9Gd5uEQ9uVf3ACMztYq9UI-kYPJGbr/s3456/computer%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyDyt91tz6-ZgEfag8XzeRFFFKHcQutz6pN3fOmO_16a2yLNe36lam91uChzxtnferNacnvRoqMS9n_jYk35w7G4AZTZbm4OzuWxmKjO_WZKzL060rlvViJHFFo7bsJ-huGISrbhndu9Kvcz48WzOPG9Gd5uEQ9uVf3ACMztYq9UI-kYPJGbr/w400-h400/computer%2002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) grew out of the <i>Progressive</i>
Conservative Party</span></b>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Without making too much of this, the fact remains interesting. What
we call <i>left wing</i> or <i>liberal</i> (and perhaps, <i>socialist</i>)
politics are also called <i>progressive</i> political ideologies. Voters should
have learned in school what’s meant by <i>left</i> or <i>liberal</i> politics
as well as the difference between it and <i>conservative</i> ideology.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Conservative </i>impulses exist in all of us; we find
comfort in <i>conserving</i> what is; change is unsettling. A good example is
the CPUs campaign to “Axe the Tax,” a progressive carbon emission tax imposed
to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and their contribution to climate
change. Progressive ideology recognizes that a changing climate demands new
ways of doing things; conservative ideology looks to what worked yesterday and campaigns
for the status quo. Progressive policies look forward; conservative thinking focuses
on the present as informed by the past. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Tree-hugging environmentalists may be progressives—even
socialists—on Employment Insurance, but adamantly conservative on preserving
forests as they are. Being “right-wing” is not like being right-handed; we’re
all politically ambidextrous depending on the issue. It’s the divisive party
systems that label us either “candy-assed liberals” or “red-necked
hillbillies,” making every election an us-and-them, win-and-lose proposition. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">There’s a time and a place for conservative thinking, and it’s
tempting to join the current rush to defying change while the “let’s all hate
Trudeau” theme is threatening to displace our national anthem. It’s easy to get
swept up in the notion that the time and place is now. <b>It most certainly is
no</b>t;<b> this is the worst possible time</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The implications in a time of rapidly escalating global
warming are clear: to reject progressive measures and deny the need for decisive
change is to borrow life from future generations. It’s the refusal to make a small
sacrifice now, even if it results in a lifetime of huge sacrifice for our
grandchildren. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In times of frustration—inflation, forest fires, dependence
on foodbanks, intolerance, medical care crises, “wars and rumours of wars,” etc.—the
temptation to kick over the furniture in rage is strong, the blaming of leaders
and the dividing into for-and-against camps is predictable. But like wars,
depressions, pandemics, famines, hurricanes and such, climate change and
economic cycles cannot be gone around, they must be soldiered through. Neither
are they the fault of the government in office: the cycles of human social and
economic fortune have always been. And because each trial is unique, it’s
progressive thinking—innovation—not adamant conservatism and finger-crossing
that will help us through. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZmpe4P9r8P241jXkwh9BEH8ZBDvSzyNZiks6VT251w1IOimYe6ntWRL2q1_0xU3ZxvMeTx32Niezog-DA3amQehwtAjbwAeqYmRd8NOxMDFzjS_kcju9RQGTOe-rd7t963TIAtZmcCWVSd9Dk_gi37iylSDMuRK8C1La76ms5V6KyCKRW67p/s2448/publicity%20shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="1874" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZmpe4P9r8P241jXkwh9BEH8ZBDvSzyNZiks6VT251w1IOimYe6ntWRL2q1_0xU3ZxvMeTx32Niezog-DA3amQehwtAjbwAeqYmRd8NOxMDFzjS_kcju9RQGTOe-rd7t963TIAtZmcCWVSd9Dk_gi37iylSDMuRK8C1La76ms5V6KyCKRW67p/s320/publicity%20shot.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Feel Free to reply to gg.epp41@gmail.com</div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-72404762725995599412024-01-14T15:12:00.000-07:002024-01-14T15:12:50.194-07:00They Ride on Moonlight<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name="_Hlk156134587"><b></b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsBKbcDAWWxnOgGsMZZi_5K4JB1CANJ_bLsXZOB8i_ljC_kI8B1lK266G41ByD_-FzdsvfSXSXUJgfbdZrpnWC7OfrEc0bBASXRb6B4LWD77ofhUlcclrDqoJp7DAwHzqhAwTh2CQpgG9V9984XkhLwlcKeYKg9dirwIAZwRctj_cpPXweqDM/s1280/War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsBKbcDAWWxnOgGsMZZi_5K4JB1CANJ_bLsXZOB8i_ljC_kI8B1lK266G41ByD_-FzdsvfSXSXUJgfbdZrpnWC7OfrEc0bBASXRb6B4LWD77ofhUlcclrDqoJp7DAwHzqhAwTh2CQpgG9V9984XkhLwlcKeYKg9dirwIAZwRctj_cpPXweqDM/w400-h225/War.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><b><br />THEY RIDE
ON MOONLIGHT (Copyright)<o:p></o:p></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span><span> </span>George
G. Epp </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">They
ride on moonlight through the night,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">sad
tidings at the speed of light<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">delivering
news of wars and strife<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">most
murderous waste of limb and life. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>With images of blood and fire<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">from cities, playgrounds, churchly
spires<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">comes news of wailing, moaning,
dying<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">the screams of anger, life denying,
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p> <span> </span></o:p>while here in quiet Canadian town</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">i offer up a furrowed frown,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">a wish that somehow, somewhere men<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">would learn compassion once again, </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>would feel the wounds their
victims feel<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">the misery that smoke conceals,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">the choking, pleading question,
“why,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">to serve what end must children
die?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>Is it because we’re humankind<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">that selfishness has left us blind<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">to pain and sorrow f’ those who lie,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">in fields and ditches? wounded die? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>But let us now make this our
prayer<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">to do more than just say “we
care,”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">to pick up pen, placard or phone<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">and tell the world “we all are one?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>to say a pleading prayer again<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">for those who suffer grievous pain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">seems more a gesture, less a gift,
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">won’t ease their burden, bridge
the rift. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>‘Twas hoarding, greed and
selfishness<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">that sowed the seeds for such
excess;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">as humankind prepared the way,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">so human hands must seize the day </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>and pave a way for lasting peace<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">for justice, fairness, equity<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">for dignity for everyone,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">with news: <i>new dawn has surely
come</i>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span> </span>Then sparks like sunlight through
the day<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">glad news will bring, and hope
hold sway:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“rejoice, my people everywhere,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">the bow of love has banished fear.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p> </p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-51646742160325533472024-01-06T14:48:00.000-07:002024-01-06T14:48:24.753-07:00The Vulnerable Colony<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG-Ad5Uqv3gacr0G9ziSpU6icgd0QDf3gNNkR7GgBPMNGLgvBRokD86z-I8a3E49nkE2SXmwrYIfvth8QQ4w2Lo7IF_lqhISUbNeXNMbUAJk4yiIcpE0IMxGlLjtuPTqKq987u6bX85XR3yX4MCIS6BsWXhZp-82ZF0oafIJZWs5nFP61dNKM/s4032/Bookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG-Ad5Uqv3gacr0G9ziSpU6icgd0QDf3gNNkR7GgBPMNGLgvBRokD86z-I8a3E49nkE2SXmwrYIfvth8QQ4w2Lo7IF_lqhISUbNeXNMbUAJk4yiIcpE0IMxGlLjtuPTqKq987u6bX85XR3yX4MCIS6BsWXhZp-82ZF0oafIJZWs5nFP61dNKM/w470-h640/Bookbook.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">It wouldn’t be surprising if students of the Bible and the general
history of the Middle East would see parallels between the Israel/Gaza conflict today and the Biblical conquest of the territory between the Jordan River and the
Mediterranean Sea.</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">Under Moses, and then Joshua, the Hebrew ethno/religious
nation dispossessed, routed, killed indigenous tribes and clothed the genocide
in the robes of manifest destiny foretold in Jehovah’s promise to Abraham to
give them a dedicated homeland. <a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">As a Mennonite with a Prussian/Russian sojourn in my heritage,
I recognize both the advantages and the hazards implicit in the choice of
living and dying in ethnic and/or religious, homogenous colonies.<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Historically, Mennonite colonies tended to thrive economically because a common
belief, common meeting places, parochial schools and institutions enjoy general
support, and co-operation facilitates progress. But that very success made
Mennonite colonies targets for the disadvantaged population surrounding them when
hardship and hunger drove the mass to desperation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The conquered Palestine gave birth to a successful “nation
state” after the Hebrew conquest. Its defence, however, would prove to be a
continuous concern because it too had—as an ethnic colony—enjoyed the
advantages of co-operation and internal solidarity—relatively speaking. Having
to repulse constant military threat can consume resources and in due time, the
Babylonian Empire did to Israel and Judah what the Hebrew nation had done to
the indigenous tribes of Palestine: the “promised land” was seized, resources
were routed, its temple destroyed, and leadership marched into captivity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And therein lies my main point: one price to pay for
establishing and living in a homogenous colony lies in the fact that by its
nature, it makes of itself a visible target. The antagonism and frustration
that’s bound to accrue when hardship besets a general population will find you
easily. The markers you displayed to demonstrate your solidarity with your
community will become symbols drawing negative attention, even hatred: long
skirts, yarmulkas and hijabs, overalls and Stetsons, horse and buggy as
requirements of religious piety, a refusal to participate in the military, etc.
I might think about antisemitism writ large as a model for such an eventuality.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">After the Russian<b> </b>Revolution, Mennonite
colonies saw their populations scattered to the winds, their resources
confiscated, their institutions co-opted or destroyed. Those of my ancestors
coming to Canada hadn’t the option of resettling in ghettos, as had their
predecessors in Prussia/Russia. Land was divided into 160 acre plots in Canada,
homesteaders were required to live on them, work them in order to benefit from
the homestead settlement program. Solidarity in the Mennonite faith would henceforth
have to be preserved in the establishment of central institutions of worship
and learning while adherents might well find themselves surrounded by
Catholic, Ukrainian, British, indigenous, etcetera neighbours. This, along with
compulsory public education, literally forced Mennonites to live cooperatively
with non-ethnics while maintaining as best they could the faith imperatives by
forming a “virtual colony.” We became “less Mennonite” and “more Canadian” by outlook.
<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">History tends to indicate that if Israel of today continues
to function as a religious/ethnic colony, it might well be preparing its own
destruction. This is not an antisemitic comment, but <i>Realpolitik</i>
pertaining to the prospects of maintaining a bordered colony with citizenship
tied to religious/ethnic background in the world as we find it today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mennonites don’t have a homeland. Neither do Gypsies, Kurds,
Uyghurs, Hutterites: this list could be very long. Some Christians sing, “This
world is not my home, I’m just a’passin’ through …,” even as they participate
fully in the economy of “this world.” For people of faith, whatever they’re
born into, the question of “in” but “not of” this world is relevant, but often
ambiguous. And as communication and transportation become faster, freer and
less regulated, we had all better be thinking clearly about our places in
worldwide humanity. <a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">For many, the threshold between personal freedom and the
responsibility to live cooperatively is fuzzy, and they begin to see the two as
either/or, so that requirements of their faith trump national and/or
international convention and vice versa. For Mennonites in Latin America who
have achieved a right (for now) to settle in self-determining colonies, the
consciousness of being “in the world,” but not “of the world” may be satisfied for
now, but they, too, are finding that living in colonies doesn’t guarantee immunity
from outside influence, nor from creeping apostasy, even rebellion, from within.
As necessity makes colony borders ever more porous, there’s finally no way to
prevent Jacob Dueck from falling hopelessly in love with Tasha Samborski, or
her brother Ivan, perhaps. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's tempting—but probably appropriate—to invoke the natural
law called entropy here, namely that every system decays, falls back toward
randomness. Building a house is the gathering of materials from the random
environment and forming therefrom a “system,” which in the passage of time will
be rendered unusable due to entropy. A nation, municipality, church
denomination, even a family or clan are all constructed systems in a process of
decay, the elements of their construction returned “in dust and ashes” to
whence they came. The vibrant, exciting “downtown” invariably becomes the
slummy, decaying urban core. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seeing nations, municipalities, church denominations,
colonies as existing somewhere in the continuum of entropy can help us
visualize our future, and prepare for it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">One can list the conditions under which life on the planet
is enhanced or rendered bearable: social acceptance; enough good food; comfortable
temperatures; safety from aggressors, disease, storms, floods and fires; a
positive, self-respecting identity; variety, etc. Most certainly, a bordered
colony provides promise of better chances than the alternative … until it
doesn’t. Mennonites now living scattered among the general population in Canada
mostly live lives hardly distinguishable from the general population—the
“world.” Except that they find themselves—arguably— far better positioned to
provide charitable, peacemaking influences than they would have had, had they
settled and lived in bordered colonies like their Hutterian Brethren.<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That Israel was conceived of and
functions as a religio-ethnic nation/colony is not in question. There are
parallels to be drawn historically, even with the Mennonite experience, but
there is another “truth” that can’t be ignored: nothing like the genocide of
all ethnic Jews by the NAZIs had ever been attempted before, at least not in
its coldly calculated magnitude. The juxtaposition of these simultaneous truths
poses a quandary for many: for North American Christians, for instance, it’s as
simple as praying for—or campaigning for—either Palestinians or Israelis
knowing that “success” for one may mean “failure” for the other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In <i>Christianity Today</i>,
October 7, 2023, editor Russel Moore writes an article under the byline,
“American Christians should stand with Israel under attack.” He bases his
argument on a government’s right and duty to protect its citizens (the just
war), not on the “Promised Land” sensibility central to parts of the Old
Testament. He fails to—or chooses not to—qualify any of his comments with
reference to Israel’s illegal occupation of lands by deposing residents. One
wonders if his mind has changed after three months of deadly warfare. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes, models sharpen issues and whet our imaginations.
One of my favourite models has been the visualization of the earth as a ship,
the people as either crew or passengers, the destination the shores of the
Peaceable Kingdom. As a crew member, I cooperate with the captain, the
engineering, kitchen and hospitality personnel, while at the same time functioning
collaboratively with the passengers in order to maintain goodwill, peace, and the
well being of all. It’s not in my or anybody else’s interest to separate
passengers into blocks of cabins based on their skin colour, ethnicity,
religion or ideology; landing safely is everybody’s overriding interest. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">All crew members and all passengers realize by the
peculiarity of their situation that they are, after all, <i>all passengers</i>.
If the ship sinks or becomes unliveable through neglect or quarreling, all will
experience the same fate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some, of course, will always be
found to be saboteurs, willing to jeopardize the ship and contents in their
grasping for more than their share of the food, the comforts, the influence.
There will invariably also be mutineers who seek to displace the captain and
crew because all on board are of the living species known as humans, the most
complicated and unpredictable of creatures. Still others will be disciples of
denial: the predicted consequences of selfishness will probably never happen,
so follow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the advice alluded to by the
Old Testament prophet to “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you will die
anyway.” (See, for instance, Isaiah 22:13)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because I was born into a Christian family in a Christian
community, I quite naturally see myself as having been called by Christ to join
the ship’s crew, although not without the perils and frustrations of being an
on again, off again, sometimes generous, sometimes selfish servant of a captain
who himself has the insight to know that washing the feet of fellow humans is
the epitome of leadership. I’d rather just be a vacationing passenger, sunning
in a deck chair with a mug of cold beer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Others are welcome to reach back in their story to explain
their place on the ship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or—if you prefer—imagine Canada to be the ship, or North
America, or the Middle East, or continental Europe, or your
dwindling-membership church. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Sorry, I appear to have worked this metaphor to death.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unless and until the
understanding that humanity is not a myriad of competing “us-es” sinks in and
ethnicity, race and colony-dependency are subjugated to the “common weal,” all
ships live in peril, the very next storm might well be more than can be
survived. We are evolving in that direction and the hiccups we call wars
illustrate the enormous resistance to the changes this evolution infers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 3; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly;">
<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="0" vspace="0">
<tbody><tr>
<td align="left" style="padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 43.45pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 3; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; page-break-after: avoid; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">But</span>:</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the variety of languages,
religions and life options on earth today, and the apparent propensity of the
human species to clump together with those who understand and can be
understood, it’s hard to see how any world <i>could</i> exist without tight
communities—like colonies—forming. I’ve lived for the better part of two years
on a Canadian first nation, for three years in the heart of Germany. These
experiences taught me both how resistant I can be to adopting new cultural ways
and languages, and revealed to me the sheer volume of emotional energy that
assimilation, even adaptation, can exact. Imagine shuffling the world’s
population like one does a deck of cards and then scattering the lot onto one
land mass, say, Australia. I suspect the first order of business for you and me
would be to search for someone, anyone of the same language and culture as us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The simultaneous realities of wars, famines, economic
fluctuations and now, global warming effects and the migrations they
necessitate, open the door to a broader discussion about literal and virtual
colony formation and disintegration. That discussion, although relevant, is too
large for my purpose here, namely to show how the Jewish nation/colony we call
Israel shares vulnerabilities with similar structures historically. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And for another day, the topic of virtual colonies, the kind
of clumping together in militant community around an opinion, a prejudice, a
hatred or an ideology. Religious denominations, Naziism, Maga, conspiracy
theories strike me as colony formation ... sort of. Somehow, I intuit that the material colony informs the virtual, but
like I said … that’s for another day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjh7XmWN2OMzIHOR4M5r-GPtKQiS1lk-lvWFLohBukQ12gZ3bn0rEeJZspSncrTVskhw0IN55QJtugIGW1z63oGuM3UR9xzEeHMPUqdyOsfG8Jb21H9BZUCpVNHHps3LqG5051OdN9SBPbQwn8YgGSw_sEZLWomyFhBoCjNoX7_tTYu__8XbI/s3612/bw%20lilies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3612" data-original-width="3186" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjh7XmWN2OMzIHOR4M5r-GPtKQiS1lk-lvWFLohBukQ12gZ3bn0rEeJZspSncrTVskhw0IN55QJtugIGW1z63oGuM3UR9xzEeHMPUqdyOsfG8Jb21H9BZUCpVNHHps3LqG5051OdN9SBPbQwn8YgGSw_sEZLWomyFhBoCjNoX7_tTYu__8XbI/w115-h131/bw%20lilies.jpg" width="115" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> That is, if
we read these Old Testament accounts as if they were factual histories without
the colouring of a mythology that supports the chosen self-image of a people. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The word, <i>colony,</i>
is used in the sense of the Cambridge Dictionary definition: “a group of people
with a shared interest or job who live together in a way that is separate from
other people.” (<a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/colony">COLONY |
English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary</a>)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> This
description refers quite specifically to the “Rosenort Mennonites,” primarily
immigrating and settling in the Saskatchewan Valley area in the 1890s. In the
immigration in the 1870s to Southern Manitoba, not colonies but villages
similar to those in Russia were developed, as they were in the Hague/Osler area
of the Saskatchewan Valley. They also declined and largely disappeared as
Mennonite communal settlements, a consequence of the grid survey system and
gradual but persistent acculturation. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Similarities can be drawn between <i>ethnic homelands </i>and <i>colonies</i>
as they’re used here. A valid argument in equating them might be that both
imply homogeneity, a shared ethnicity, religion, culture if you will. My
Mennonite experience informs me that shared ethnicity, religion and culture
does not automatically imply common land/location ownership. Islamic worship,
language, cultural markers are practiced openly in Saskatoon, for example; the
only problem I’m aware of has been with occasional racist outbursts and Mosque
attendees parking in residential areas. (See: https://islamiccenter.sk.ca/)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Colonies%20Israel%20Gaza.docx#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> My friend,
Ted, brought up the case of Hutterites living successfully in colonies in North
America as possibly being antithetical to the thesis posed here. I think we
agreed that their success as colonies persists because <o:p></o:p>they remain a relatively benign
presence and show efforts to be good, unthreatening, cooperating neigbours. </p><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: large;">Feel Free to Respond in an email by clicking on gg.epp41@gmail.com </span></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-56113962272674576852023-11-25T10:26:00.000-07:002023-11-25T10:26:06.619-07:00A defense of democracy<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vnQAR8HmFZeKYUlG-75PZBAAmH5uurVs8oFN6Ttr2Hrv5gjVybbGxqGtAICzzCJFxcMMJSY-S9nQfEwxSQEGxUcpvyzzDDWrC_jQ5yuxnLEQCRTnvguNiO9rK5k65vts_cqV5EkTe8iiiO0CAcTzL5Oqf0ACwYYOlR1kaJ-ktVN075qiPHLK/s1280/elections-536656_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1217" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vnQAR8HmFZeKYUlG-75PZBAAmH5uurVs8oFN6Ttr2Hrv5gjVybbGxqGtAICzzCJFxcMMJSY-S9nQfEwxSQEGxUcpvyzzDDWrC_jQ5yuxnLEQCRTnvguNiO9rK5k65vts_cqV5EkTe8iiiO0CAcTzL5Oqf0ACwYYOlR1kaJ-ktVN075qiPHLK/w608-h640/elections-536656_1280.png" width="608" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">READ, LEARN, VOTE</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="color: red;">Is democracy doomed?</span></u></b> To hear day after day the fears about
losing democratic rights to Trumpian/Republican authoritarianism has obviously
got many of us running scared. Is the fear for our political future warranted?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">First in New Brunswick and then in Saskatchewan and being
contemplated in Alberta, current governments have found it okay to legislate the
classroom procedure if a child asks that a pronoun and name exception be made
without notifying parents. Ten Republican-governed states in the USA have done
the same thing, and others are considering it. (<a href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-schools-transgender-student-names-pronouns-c2ad763e7656faaf2d9ab321f13c8edd">Indiana
Senate backs bill on student names, pronoun changes | AP News</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Without arguing the merits and pitfalls of this particular
“parental rights” law, the prospect of a central government legislating in that
way can certainly be disturbing. We have become used to the dismantling of
earlier legislation that seemed to set standards for social/moral behaviour. Gay
marriage, MAiD, even film classification are just a few examples of practically
withdrawing central authority over what ought to be local, even familial or
personal choices. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Granted, solving real or imagined social problems by enacting
<i>a law</i>, will live on as a temptation. Problem solved, but in that
solution the possibility of significant exceptions, of variations case-by-case are
wiped out. Such is the dilemma created by applying central authority to the
relationship between a teacher and a child; teachers come to know which
students go home to loving, informed, nurturing homes and which to homes that
are abusive or neglectful or oblivious. To legislate parental rights that can
override individual human rights represents the common, devastating consequence
of authoritarian regulation of social issues. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">We do well to remember the words of Pierre Eliot Trudeau,
who in debate regarding the decriminalization of homosexual acts famously quoted,
“The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation (</span><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/no-place-for-the-state-in-the-bedrooms-of-the-nation-1.4681298">'No
place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation' | CBC</a><span style="font-size: large;">).” And before
countering with the fact that PET was much hated, we need to ask ourselves, “By
whom was this devolution of central authority on socio-sexual behaviour hated?”
Was it the cohort that relishes the presence of kick-ass, authoritarian
governance that privileges one stratum of citizens, one set of opinions?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In today’s Iran, women who allow a lock of hair to protrude
from a head covering can be arrested and maltreated by authority. Without
implying that Canada is headed in that direction, it should serve as a reminder
that without vigilance, we can as a nation edge closer toward authoritarianism.
Populations in Germany now lamenting the rise and fall of Naziism mourn the
fact that they didn’t read the signs and respond at the outset when the
persecution of Jews was gaining strength. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">You and I have as much power at the ballot box as does the
prime minister or the governor-general. Going into the voting booth uninformed
about the issues and the policies of candidates might as well be declaring that
we don’t really care enough to bother. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Here in Rosthern, our member of the provincial legislature
is also the province’s premier. Many are weighing recent legislation against
the question of democratic/authoritarian governance in, for instance, the
passage of a bill to regulate the approach to schoolchildren experiencing
gender dysphoria, requirement that every school fly a Saskatchewan flag, the
ongoing rhetoric pitting Saskatchewan against Canada on climate change and
resource development issues, the promised attempt to refuse collection of the
federal carbon tax, etc. Is the promise of a new hospital for people in the
Saskatchewan Valley enough to ensure that we’ll ignore the elephants in the
room? I would hope not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The point being that as long as we’re well informed on issues,
and have understanding enough to rank them in importance, we’re not as subject to
voting on single issues that may crowd out more important ones. For instance,
voting for the party that promises to lower the tax on gasoline, <i><u>or</u></i>
the party that is keen on sticking to carbon-emissions-reduction goals requires
ranking the two policies in importance. Election rhetoric is not likely to clarify
the question; science can … for anyone taking the time to tune in, that is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Most of us, most of the time, can “walk and chew gum at the
same time.” Pride in <i>our Saskatchewan</i> needn’t feed on the denigration of <i>our Canada</i>;
we don’t have to give up on one to support the other. In a place where
Saskatchewanians are also Canadians, and in a province where legislation would
never have been forced with the invoking of the Notwithstanding Clause until
now, the authoritarian approach to governance lately demonstrated should
certainly affect what people rank as important as they enter the voting booth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-89018627366601622702023-11-06T07:11:00.000-07:002023-11-06T07:11:57.467-07:00<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">SWORDS
INTO PLOWSHARES, SPEARS INTO PRUNING HOOKS</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Forward</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: About five hundred years before
Christ, a Chinese military strategist, Sun Tsu, wrote a book we now know as <i>The
Art of War</i>. He said much about strategies for executing winning wars, but
also wrote quite philosophically about wars precursors, including the
personalities that lead people to wage destructive, murderous conflict. </span><a href="https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Sun+Tzu+War+Quotes&form=RESTAB&first=1"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He wrote</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, for instance, “An evil enemy will burn his
own nation to the ground … to rule over the ashes.” His “The wise general is a
Lord of Destiny; he holds the nation’s peace or peril in his hands” I find
naïve if applied to today’s geo-political environment. Surely placing our
destinies in the hands of our militaries would be a lot like assigning
curriculum development in schools to the <i>Chartered Professional Accountants
of Canada</i>. Good people, but primary education isn’t where their heads are. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When trade
disputes, territorial claims, even ethnocentric impulses lead to strife, the
difference between negotiated accommodation and bloody war has come to hinge around
the possession of the means of force. US and allied response to Ukraine,
Israel, Taiwan right now is to send killing and destroying machinery. Strenuous,
prolonged negotiation isn’t necessary if you have a big gun to hold to an
adversary’s head. What’s more, superior weaponry holds out the hope that you
can have it all; compromise unnecessary. A zero-sum game. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And so I
wrote this allegory ... </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">But let the
allegory—parable, if you prefer—do its work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">GGE<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgy5zH09Vu2BH1iDlXpKW7rFHt68qHG2iEzlqwda-XHSLJXoRrxGIczLLtFmUfCwjj65wESlnhsxS5axd4GMpXiIg9h1oxeyFjeul3UCIrkPG-v6FQgE0dr27LuVbGJiKZba03avAuX6LXTwQRLw8_xPjnNxmC0C1dIcyKvk4-tPRHH3qVMkb/s472/PicassoGuernica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="472" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgy5zH09Vu2BH1iDlXpKW7rFHt68qHG2iEzlqwda-XHSLJXoRrxGIczLLtFmUfCwjj65wESlnhsxS5axd4GMpXiIg9h1oxeyFjeul3UCIrkPG-v6FQgE0dr27LuVbGJiKZba03avAuX6LXTwQRLw8_xPjnNxmC0C1dIcyKvk4-tPRHH3qVMkb/w640-h286/PicassoGuernica.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Pablo Picasso, <i>Guernica </i>(la guerra=war)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES, SPEARS INTO PRUNING
HOOKS<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></p>
<div style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 2; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly;">
<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="0" vspace="0">
<tbody><tr>
<td align="left" style="padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-linespan: 2; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: dropcap-dropped; mso-height-rule: exactly; page-break-after: avoid; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Drill Sergeant Yoshie Hauptmann</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> wouldn’t have needed the alarm to
go off at 7:30 every morning. He’d disciplined his body to fall asleep at
11:30 precisely, and as precisely to wake up at 7:30, and he was as punctual
at setting the alarm as he was about everything. Just in case. You never
know. Be prepared. The devil’s in the details. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On August 5<sup>th</sup>, 2027,
he rolled over, sat up gently so as not to wake Anika and padded into the
walk-in closet to retrieve the uniform Anika had so carefully brushed the night
before. It wasn’t there. He backed out of the closet and closed the door, <a name="_Hlk69804398">in response, probably, to the ubiquitous advice that
unplugging a thing that’s not working usually cures the problem.</a> He opened
the door again, but a white robe hung in the precise spot where his uniform
should be. He woke Anika. She was as befuddled as he was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>His duplicate uniform was at the
cleaners and they wouldn’t be open until 10:00. He donned street clothes and
drove to the barracks. A few dozen raw recruits were wondering around the
parade ground, some in pajamas, some in their underwear. They gathered around
Drill Sergeant Hauptmann and informed him that where they’d hung their uniforms
and street clothes last night, there were only blue jeans and Hawaiian shirts.
Also, that they’d been awakened at 7:00 by what sounded like a choir singing
something about sheep grazing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With that news, DS Hauptmann took
out his cell phone and dialed headquarters in Tel Aviv. They already knew
something was up, had already decided that Iran was retaliating for the
previous week’s bombing of a nuclear enrichment facility by Israel. “The air
force has been ordered to scramble all fighter jets, and land-based-missile
command to be ready for further orders. Do your best to …” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The call was interrupted by “Hang
on, Hauptmann,” and the click of a phone being hung up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The news flashed down the chain
of command via X. When pilots (in street clothes) ran to the hangers, they
found every jet had been replaced by a skateboard and where bombs were stored
ready to be attached to planes, there was a bowling alley. Missile command
examining the silos’ contents found that the ICBMs had mysteriously turned into
long, fat sausages. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The entire base was gripped by
excruciating fear. Officers and privates ran back and forth between rooms,
between buildings, and the parade ground was awash in Hawaiian shirted “civilians”
carrying baseball bats, hockey sticks, anything they could get their hands on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fortunately,</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> relief followed hard upon all this
devastating news: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Russia, Australia, Great Britain
were all struggling to understand how their entire military apparatus had
turned into food, flowers, game venues and identical Hawaiian shirts. Nobody
knew who was who, rank and privilege lost all their markers and most amazingly,
every economy discovered that the last year’s military spending had been
reimbursed and governments were awash in cash.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Prince
William was up early,</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
dressed for a portrait photograph to be taken by Amelia Standingstill, Great
Britain’s most celebrated female portrait photographer. At 7:00 precisely,
Amelia gasped as she saw poor William through her viewfinder suddenly without
hat, coat, pants, epaulets and medals, his entire naval uniform gone, and him
looking down and wishing he’d chosen boxers instead of briefs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jerry
Pinkstable and Hank Surinamy were neighbours</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> on Colonel Wogey Street in Denver Colorado.
Jerry’s first thought when he heard the news of very strange doings was to
prepare to defend his family. He reached in and felt around in his night table
drawer, but his pistol was gone. In a panic, he ran downstairs to his gun
cabinet and found when he opened it that his hunting rifles had turned into
gardening tools and his last-ditch, assault rifle was now a cricket bat. Jerry
has never, ever played cricket. Somebody goofed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He ran out to make sure the gate in his chain
link property fence was locked and discovered no fence and no gate. He ran back
into the house and placed Jonathon’s and Sidney’s miniature baseball bats near
the door, then ran back to the kitchen for a knife, but wherever a knife had
been, there was now a pizza cutter. He felt silly holding one in his hand and
making a few ridiculous thrusts with it. He dropped it back into the drawer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
picked up a bat and stepped gingerly out onto the front porch. He was startled
to see that “that bastard Hank” was mirroring his stance and his weapon on the
Surinamy’s front porch. Hank’s six-year-old son stepped out beside Hank, looked
at Jerry and said, “Daddy, if your guns went away, and Jerry’s guns went away,
prob’ly everybody’s guns went away.” Jerry’s defiant demeanour left, replaced
by a sheepishness at the wisdom of a child. He dropped the bat on the lawn, as
did Hank and both felt that a ton of rocks had been lifted from their
shoulders, although it would take some time before they could admit it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A chapter of <i>Hell’s Angels</i></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> had bought three adjacent houses on
Grady Street in Summerdale, Ontario back in 2024. Every other house in that
block had been FOR SALE ever since, but they didn’t care. They tore down the
middle house and erected a large garage for their motorcycles. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At 10:15, a bearded,
barbed-wire-tattooed Jason Farthing awoke, sat up, scratched his ample belly,
pulled on a black muscle shirt and reached for the leather jacket that he’d
left hanging on the bedpost. What came away was not his jacket, but a plaid sportscoat
whose only nod to leather was in the elbow patches. Jason hung it back up,
shook his head, went for a pee—in response, probably, to the ubiquitous advice
that unplugging a thing that’s not working usually cures the problem—and came
back. The plaid sportscoat was still there, hanging from the bedpost. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What’s more, the handgun he kept under his
pillow at night was not under his pillow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jason pounded on every bedroom
door in the house screaming, “OK, you jackasses, who’s the wise guy. Joke’s
over!” A few doors opened, a few arms appeared, a few hands gingerly held out
plaid sportscoats with leather elbow protectors and every coat with a pen
clipped into the breast pocket. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Eventually the world news
registered via Aaron “Frisky” Patterson’s Facebook account. He rushed out to
the garage where, you guessed it, fourteen Harleys and Yamahas and Phantom
Blacks had been replaced by fourteen high-end racing bikes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aaron was probably the most astute of the
chapter membership. First, he thought, “Strange, bikes for bikes, but why
these?” Then he thought, “Military hardware intimidates; motorcyclists in packs
wearing <i>Hell’s Angels</i> decals are intimidating, that’s what we set out to
be. So what now?” He rang the little bell on the handlebar and remembered the
thrill of owning his first bike, a pink CCM hand-me-down that had been a
cousin’s. “Whoever did this is smart, not unlike me,” he thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He ran his hand across the new leather of a
bicycle’s banana seat, then went back upstairs and put on the plaid sportscoat
with the leather elbow pads and took the racing bike out for a spin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It felt really good except that
the jacket didn’t match his leather pants. He stopped on a country road, took them
off and hung them over a barbed-wire fence and gleefully headed west in his
boxer shorts and the greenish-plaid sportscoat with leather elbow protectors. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He was enthralled by the singing
of the birds on the fence wires. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joe
Biden at age 87 was nearing the endpoint of his presidency </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">and like everyone, he was shaken by
the news as it unfolded from around the world. Most astounding to him were the
images of the Pentagon on TV—before and after. Whoever or whatever force was at
work had exercised some cosmic geometry and turned it into a circle.
Furthermore, it was now a school; offices with their maps and strategic
planning documents and international intelligence apparatus were all gone,
replaced by classrooms. The signage out front and back now read “Plowshare
College,” and President Joe chuckled because he’d actually been listening in
church and knew where the name came from. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">His attorney-general opined that it must have
something to do with agriculture, an easy mistake to make. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Prime
Minister Poilievre in Canada</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> approached the new governor-general with a request to prorogue
parliament and institute martial law, a request that was denied. “You’re
suddenly befuddled and clueless, Pierre,” she said, “and you can’t wrap your
head around no fighter jets, no tanks, no army. Well join the club. Go back and
write a budget and a throne speech. Trust me. It’s gonna be fun with all that
new cash and all those personnel freed up to fight climate change. Right up
your alley, nuh?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And the
world unfolded as it should</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. War- and terrorism-refugees started to drift home, people (who had
practically habituated themselves to the inevitability of international
violence) became obsessed with saving the planet, cleaning up oceans, rivers
and lakes, planting trees, building renewable energy infrastructure, building
better hospitals and better schools, ensuring food security, all these and more
creating jobs, jobs, jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Street
gangs filled their pockets with rocks at first, but gave that up when their
thrown stones turned into potato chips the instant they left their hands.
Everyone knows how hard it is to throw a potato chip with any degree of
accuracy. A few gangs, in desperation, turned themselves into comic book clubs.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Most importantly, the world of
the poor, the rich, the powerful, the ordinary, celebrities and heroes, artists
and poets, writers and readers, labourers and thinkers, all could finally count
on a good night’s sleep. The sounds of snoring would at times have been
deafening … if there’d been anyone awake to hear it, that is. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>CBC reported later--two years
later, actually--that Putin had made a disparaging remark about the Canadian
Prime Minister at an international conference. Apparently, the Canadian Prime
Minister stuck his tongue out at Putin in response, at which the UN General
Secretary was reported to have remarked, “My goodness, will this aggression,
counter-aggression cycle never end?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In
Israel/Palestine all the walls and barriers came down</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, missiles and personnel weapons
were nowhere to be found. And amazingly here, the power that had demilitarized
the nations had added a twist: whether faces and clothes were different or just
appeared to be, observers could no longer tell Jews from Palestinians.
Authorities soon tired of having to ask people whether they were Jewish or
Palestinian before telling them whether they were allowed to stand or walk,
here or there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was nothing for it, finally, but to
declare the entire area a democratic, secular state with politicians elected by
universal suffrage, police armed with little more than good will, compassion
and intensive first-aid training, and everyone tapped into the same spirit of well-being
and optimism … side by side.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The En…</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, no, <b>The Beginning</b>!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-18042161257792907012023-10-30T14:38:00.000-06:002023-10-30T14:38:57.477-06:00Human "family?"<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlaCWZdlajQ3mj6HDPjFGYbYwE0EDpAYp2Nh5F3W9k74SWORLGYyCjJueJ3Ei8a4MERLOQHz8nTKnAytyoFsHunLJNkUKtIn6Ev-6Hb0BPFJ9lJgiPi2sts9r1ZjjU26z65KAECkhvaKh_NveMIYrU6Kyydp_Y3bu-9bjxJO0PehMiCdtSbta/s1200/Earth%20from%20Space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlaCWZdlajQ3mj6HDPjFGYbYwE0EDpAYp2Nh5F3W9k74SWORLGYyCjJueJ3Ei8a4MERLOQHz8nTKnAytyoFsHunLJNkUKtIn6Ev-6Hb0BPFJ9lJgiPi2sts9r1ZjjU26z65KAECkhvaKh_NveMIYrU6Kyydp_Y3bu-9bjxJO0PehMiCdtSbta/w400-h400/Earth%20from%20Space.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">You and I</span><span style="font-size: large;"> are probably racists … and will likely continue
to be until the words <i>race, racism, racial </i>no longer exist, and children
all grow up with the consciousness of humanity as a single, interdependent
family. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s not surprising that the dictionary I consulted for a
definition of <i>racism</i> confines its meaning to harms committed to groups
and individuals (prejudice, discrimination, etc.) based on their genetic (racial?)
characteristics. I define it more broadly by adding: <i>invoking persons’ or
people’s genealogy in situations where genealogy is irrelevant. </i>Call it
“soft racism,” possibly. A persisting consciousness around people’s genetic
origins that tills and fertilizes the soil in which the blatant, directly
harmful kind can grow. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">An example: Wab Kinew, a Manitoban, became leader of
Manitoba’s NDP Party which won the most recent provincial election, making
Kinew the new Manitoba premier. All this occurred through normal democratic
processes; the same processes exactly by which all previous premiers were chosen.
I was appalled at the emphasis on the fact that an indigenous person had just
been elected to the highest political office in the province. Although Kinew verbally
downplayed his Indigenous heritage as a relevant to his premiership, he made (to
my mind) the colossal error of wearing a traditional Indigenous headdress to
his swearing-in ceremony. Genetic heritage is <u>irrelevant</u> to Canadian
democracy; that’s its strength … and possibly even, its last, best hope. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Heaven help Wab Kinew and the Indigenous population of
Manitoba when the new premier makes his first glaring political mistake and the
pictures of him in a war bonnet are cartooned all over reactionary media. Soft
racism makes up a comfortable bed for blatant prejudice and discrimination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">This morning I read a justification from the chief editor of
CBC News explaining why <i>The Fifth Estate</i> researched and produced a story
questioning <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/buffy-sainte-marie-indigenous-identity-1.7009303">Buffy
Sainte Marie’s claim to Indigenous roots</a>. <i>Genetic</i> roots, that is. Is
it accurate to say that people who falsely identify by race represent a
hindrance to “legitimate” Indigenous artists? Could be; I don’t know the celebrity
culture well enough to judge this. In any case, the story is interlaced with
soft racism on all sides: at a very basic level, making music is
race-irrelevant unless we insist that it be so; styles vary, of course, but
dependent on <i>culture</i>, <i>tradition</i>, not on genetic heritage. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Related to soft racism, of course, is soft <i>ethnicism</i>,
(ethnic nationalism) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>i.e. invoking
persons’ or a people’s ethnic heritage when it’s irrelevant to the matter at
hand. I’ve been amused by people who identify as “ethnically Mennonite,” say, but
do one of those DNA tests to discover that they’re, say, 8% Spanish, 12%
Jewish, 4% indigenous and 76% undifferentiable European. True, the tests
purport to shed light on biological, genetic heritage, not ethnicity. But as is
the case with soft racism, soft ethnicism makes up a comfortable bed for the
Newfie joke, the “Pollack” putdown and, most abhorrently, antisemitism and the
practice of <i>ethnocide</i>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Soft%20Racism.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Take the radical cleansing of ethnic Armenians from the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/is-azerbaijan-carrying-out-ethnic-cleansing-of-armenians-in-nagorno-karabakh-13302492.html">Nagorno-Karabakh</a>
region of Azerbaijan as an example. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Here in the town, the province, the church community in
which I move and rest and write posts like this, the current preoccupation on
these matters is with the <a href="https://crc-canada.org/en/ressources/calls-to-action-truth-reconciliation-commission-canada/"><i>Truth
and Reconciliation</i></a> project and the subsidiary <i>Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls</i> (MMIWG) focus. To make a difference, you’d think
individuals and communities could engage in clearly defined actions in answer
to the call to “make right a relationship gone wrong.” It’s not happening, and despite
yeoman efforts to move the rock of reconciliation, progress so far tends to
indicate that nothing substantial is going to change. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">I think we all know intuitively that inviting an indigenous
family to dinner and patting their children on their heads isn’t
reconciliation. When you steal someone’s car, you don’t reconcile by giving him
the occasional ride to town in it, you give him back his car! How to do that
locally, municipally, provincially and nationally isn’t obvious by any means.
When Jean Chretien proposed sweeping changes to the crown/First Nations
relationship in his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_White_Paper">1969
White Paper</a>, it became immediately clear that settlers and First Nations both
visualized a net loss if, for instance, the abolition of the Indian Act were to
happen. That reluctance to risk change is still (seems to me) as decisive now as
then. Meanwhile, without foundational changes, the “friendliness initiatives”
remain gestures, although probably still worth doing locally as tools for
building understanding of what the <u>relevant</u> hindrances to reconciliation
really are. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">But I’m not naïve enough to assume that genetic-heritage
differences will be erased from our consciousness, will cease to be significant
factors in our species’ varied strategies for survival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wiping out that consciousness, probably,
would merit as much hope as would a project to teach deer to protect themselves
from human predation by climbing trees. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">But, there’s hope! As the world becomes more mobile, more
interconnected, intermarriage among demographic groups will increase so much
that by, say 3030, bigots will complain that they can’t tell who’s black and
who’s white anymore, who’s Asian and who’s ‘Merican. And people’s language
won’t give them away either, because we’ll all be speaking <s>Chinese</s>, <s>French</s>,
<s>Hindi</s> … ENGLISH!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Why English? Well, it’s still 2023 and that’s my <i>racist/ethnicist</i>
ego talking. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To respond, click here: <a href="mailto:gg.epp41@gmail.com">gg.epp41@gmail.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Soft%20Racism.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I made up
the word <i>ethnicist</i> to parallel with <i>racist</i>. <i>Ethnicism </i>can
be found in dictionaries to mean “ethnic chauvinism.” <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-62470672473572932172023-10-16T11:49:00.001-06:002023-10-16T11:49:09.510-06:00WHAT CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiET6FT-9DaG4uk71zK2zuLW042nYPFzMPSo41k9tKfPTAr762IPrhtNSrPTEvq8DiK9zmUwHEOX_93CFykQP5tDdIGPItpFLHBBzeGlCVaNPsTuzzIs0T-aDzm6JrzBThX51X1XKwqEoZ-rMFVXflngnliniqmv26KYcRUKVDq9X6WpcNsToIV/s2448/publicity%20shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="1874" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiET6FT-9DaG4uk71zK2zuLW042nYPFzMPSo41k9tKfPTAr762IPrhtNSrPTEvq8DiK9zmUwHEOX_93CFykQP5tDdIGPItpFLHBBzeGlCVaNPsTuzzIs0T-aDzm6JrzBThX51X1XKwqEoZ-rMFVXflngnliniqmv26KYcRUKVDq9X6WpcNsToIV/w315-h411/publicity%20shot.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">I just read a Facebook post</span><span style="font-size: large;"> by an organization supporting
the Saskatchewan government’s proposed legislation relating to gender curricula
in primary schools. As a retired teacher, I’m convinced that a new and serious rift
between homes and schools will occur if the tone of the resulting conflict is
not dampened. It’s quickly turning ugly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">First, let’s make just a few observations about the life conditions
humanity would most likely agree to as ideal, an environment worth striving
toward, in our homes <i>and</i> in our schools:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In the best world we can imagine, the air is clean, the
water is clean and clear, the nights are peaceful and quiet and there’s no good
reason to lock your doors and windows. Children walk to school hand in hand,
unaccompanied by adults, and are secure in their homes, in their schools and on
the streets and playgrounds. There are challenges aplenty to whet the
imagination, variety and inviting prospects enough to allow everyone optimism about the
future, celebratory social events enough to bind neighbour to neighbour. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Everyone has access to sufficient safe and nutritious food
without charity; clothing and shelter to suit the climate are general, health
and emergency services are in reach when illness, bad weather or disasters
strike. The prospect of war and the need to divert resources to prepare for it
no longer exists; crime is rare because the desperation of poverty no longer
drives individuals to theft and violence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">To keep and maintain such a world, the training and
education of the young is as vital as it is among lions and tigers where the
survival through adulthood is completely dependent on the ability to stalk and
hunt in cooperation with others. What do human children need to learn, what
skills need to be rehearsed again and again so that we together nudge our
common humanity toward the best we can be? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a name="_Hlk147828294">To this end, I offer some thoughts
that bear consideration in what is fast shaping up to be a fight about parents’
rights vs. public schools and curricula. </a>The struggle for control of what
children shall be taught is as old as education itself; an example among many
is 1) below. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In the late 1950s, Nikita Khruschev sought to promote atheism,
obliterate religion and in that campaign declared that, “… all Soviet children
belong to the Soviet State.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The Nazi regime similarly targeted youth with its most strident propaganda
campaign. State monopoly of educational curriculum development seems to be a very
bad idea, especially when it falls into the hands of totalitarian regimes. Is
it equally true that a laissez-faire, democratically-elected government leaving
education matters completely in the hands of local administration would be a
mistake of another kind? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">We probably shouldn’t avoid talking about the changes that
have led to a rancorous dispute about sexual/gender issues in school curricula.
I took my elementary and middle school public education in 1947 to 1956. Gender
and sexuality where not on the curriculum at all, references to it didn’t
appear on radio or TV, parents were loathe to even allow their children to be
present where animals were breeding or giving birth. Today, verbal and visual
references, even explicit depictions of sexual matters are accessible to small
children, can hardly be avoided in a home with TV and internet. A
seventy-year-old approach to preparing children for the sexual/gender realities
they’ll need to face simply won’t answer to the need. We must engage in many
conversations that aren’t “them <i>against</i> us,” but are “all of us <i>for</i>
all the children.” To this end, I offer some thoughts that bear consideration
in what is fast shaping up to be a fight about parent’s rights vs. public
schools and curricula. By no means exhaustive, I hope it can get at least one or two conversations started.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In the 1920s, hundreds of Mennonite families left
Canada and moved to Mexico because they were unwilling to enrol their children
in provincial schools. They’d set up their own schools where rudiments of
language and arithmetic were taught, and the bulk of the curriculum was
Bible-centred. The national mood was overwhelmingly for compulsory citizenship
education and conformity to a national standard, and both the conservative
Mennonite community and the Indigenous people experienced the practice of forcing
assimilation via public education. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Today, under the umbrella of multi-culturalism, a
citizenship-oriented public education remains mandatory, but separate schools,
home schooling are permitted, even financially supported in some cases so that
cultural/spiritual values education can form part of children’s education alongside
the public schools’ curricula. Is there a downside to a child being schooled
with different value sets in the classroom and the home? An upside?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->As with the exiting Mennonites in 1) above, the
2023 backlash against gender issues as part of public education is bound to evoke
comparisons to the force-feeding of values to captive children. The “revolt” of
parents was completely predictable in the case of the Mennonites as it is with
parents in Saskatchewan today who deem a conservative, home-based approach to
sex/gender values to be “right,” considering the sensitivity of the subject. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It seems overstated to assert that “the state”
has the right to determine what education its citizens must have in the
interest of maintaining a peaceful and prosperous democratic nation. By the
same token, it seems simplistic to assert that parents alone have that right, given
that children very quickly become independent adults with the necessity of
functioning in society as opposed to in family or in school. In a democracy
like Canada, a citizens’ education would likely be developed if it didn’t
already exist, while at the same time, our multi-cultural, multi-faith society demands
a more liberal approach to education content than that of the Government of
Saskatchewan in the 1910s and ‘20s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->For a percentage of parents to demand and be
granted as a right the addition or subtraction of material from a provincial
curriculum automatically usurps the equal right of dissenting parents, and vice
versa. Can disagreement on what’s allowable in public education and what isn’t succeed
if settled by a zero-sum combat?<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->As a teacher, I was trained on what rights and
responsibilities I had and didn’t have over and for students in my classroom. I
had a right to protect the integrity of the learning environment by evicting a disruptive
student, for instance, but not to administer corporal punishment. As a teacher,
touching a student, even supportively, would put me in danger of violating a
student’s rights. If I observed that a student coming to school appeared to
have been physically abused, it was my solemn duty to report it—not to the
parents—but to the police and/or social services. If a boy of twelve were to
have asked me to use the “they” pronoun for them, but not to tell their parents,
would that have been a dilemma for me that I as a classroom teacher didn’t
deserve? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Using <i>rights</i> as an argument in these
situations is fraught with problems. Teachers, parents are not equally competent;
most teachers nourish and educate, some occasionally neglect or abuse students
and are struck off; most parents nourish and teach, some abuse and/or neglect
their own. Whose <i>rights</i> matter here? Who needs the protection of <i>rights</i>?
Would it be truer to the current conflict to speak of school <i>responsibility</i>
and parent <i>responsibility</i> as relating to the children?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Many Canadian parents entrust their children to
organized sports programs. Some, of course, seek to influence how coaches make
decisions affecting their child, castigating a hockey coach, for instance, for
not giving their child more ice time. If we decided it’s one parent’s right to exercise
some control at that level, then it would surely become ALL hockey-parents’
right. Would it then be possible for a coach to form and direct a team? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Suppose a government were to decree that school
curricula at the, say, Grade Six level, must include training in the use of
firearms and the martial arts. How would Quakers, Doukhobors, Mennonites and
other pacifist-bent groups respond, and how might that be comparable to
protests over the gender studies curricula happening today?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Historically,
how have protests regarding public education content been resolved? Allowing
children of non-Christian families to congregate in a separate area during
opening exercises that included The Lord’s Prayer and Bible reading was one
response. Eliminating sectarian religious activity in public education is the
current approach. Neither response has met with universal approval, as you’d
expect. Bill 137<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> if passed
will require that schools inform parents of the scheduling of sex/gender class
instruction and that provision be made for children to be excused during those
times if parents request it. Where will they be while excused, and what will
they be doing and under whose supervision might well be the relevant question. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I
can imagine an eight-year-old pretending to be copycat trans-gendered as a way
of fulfilling some need for acknowledgement, although it’s not easy given the negative
response to gender difference generally in this country. And if an
eight-year-old is struggling with a gender identification issue, how would a
loving, nurturing parent not already know this before it manifested in school? Does
gender dysphoria in children really only exist because the education system has
promoted it? If it is, what would be the motive behind it? By what means would
all educators have planned such a program and kept the planning secret?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->If
a student asks for non-gender-specific pronouns in school, is it logical to
assume that the school has groomed that student to a trans-gender self-appraisal?
And if a teacher is faced with a request for secrecy vis-e-vis the parents, is
it logical for that teacher to assume a relationship breakdown in the home? Is
it more reasonable in such a situation to refer the student to professional counselling
whose object would be to involve the parents with the student’s consent, as
prescribed in Bill 137?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Private
indebtedness and public indebtedness are both serious issues in Canada. Imagine
that the federal and provincial governments were to decree that much more
intensive consumer education must be offered at every grade level. Imagine
further that many schools would end music or art programs to free up resources for
consumer education. How do we decide what is essential, what is “nice to have
but not essential,” and what is unnecessary as part of public, citizenship
education? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Is
it possible for public education to present a comprehensive social studies
curriculum that excludes or restricts sexual/gender relationship matters?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">15)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Is
sexual interference against children enough of a problem in Canadian society to
warrant teaching even the youngest to identify and defend against paedophilia,
child pornography and related abuses of the young? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And is the environment of classroom and
playground relevant to how any such teaching should occur? (See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia">Pedophilia - Wikipedia</a> for related
information.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">16)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Education
has become much more integrated, more confluent than formerly. Roughly, simply
visualized, Industrial Arts and Arithmetic can be taught as less-separate
subjects, and theoretically, “Industrial Arithmetic” could take on the aura of
an entity which advances both disciplines simultaneously. Teaching “the whole
child” is a common catch phrase. If parents sincerely and consistently seek to
pass on values that may not be shared by the majority of citizens (recent
immigrants, members of minority religions, for instance) does that mean that
there are “parts of a child” public education has no business addressing? If
so, what are they? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">17)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It’s
been nearly half a century now since public educators began searching for
better ways to tailor teaching to individual learning strengths. Earlier on, education
required every student to rise to an average standard … or “fail.” Individualized
learning, however, can never reach its apex; that would be one teacher teaching
a class of one student. (In this sense, a parent is an excellent choice as a
teacher of that child, given the skill and perseverance of a parent in the nourishing
arts.) Although class sizes have improved somewhat, and teacher-aides have been
hired in some places, we still lack the resources to do our best for, particularly,
special needs students whose special need isn’t physically obvious. Do we
accept that gender dysphoria constitutes a special need in some children,
affecting learning?<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">18)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->School
classrooms and playgrounds develop cultures that take the shape of their adult
leadership, their facilities and the children themselves. Friendships form,
cliques develop, prejudices spread like viruses, pecking orders are established,
all under the umbrella of children’s need for acceptance in a culture over
which they have little or no control. A microcosm of the world in which their
adult stage must make its way; a practice run for maturity. Does a child who’s
“gender different” stand a better chance of acceptance if all children on the
playground are taught that gender identification differences exist and are
“normal,” or are they better off if gender identification is not broached in
primary and middle grades, and they attempt—and sometimes succeed—in hiding
their difference? Are there home environments in which a child’s uniqueness is
denied, such that some children seek it in places where it’s recognized … in
school, for instance? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">19)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Assuming
“parental rights” are fundamental rights like freedom of conscience, freedom of
religion or freedom of speech, would such a “parental right” include surgically
removing the foreskin of baby males or the clitorises of baby females in obedience
to a religious dictate? Would it mean that children are completely subject to their
parents’ choice regarding vaccinations or medical treatments like blood
transfusions? Is the application of corporal punishment to correct behaviour a
part of “parental rights?” Could there be a conflict between <i>parental rights</i>
and <i>human rights</i> applying to the child, and how and by whom would such rights
conflicts be adjudicated? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">20)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Much
of a child’s life is legitimately regulated by parents: sports participation or
not, family moves whether the child approves or not, bedtimes, table manners,
music lessons, etc. Failure to raise a child to accept guidance and to live
peacefully and cooperatively with others and, yes, to bend to authority and the
rule of law, could surely be chalked up to parental neglect, school and
community neglect, or both. How important is it that a child is being guided
toward the same set of values by his/her/their teachers and parents? Are there
forums for home/school values discussions?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">21)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In
ancient times, school curricula revolved around community faith and life, standardized
content enabled by the fact that mono-culturalism made common views on values
and life skills likely. In a diverse, multi-cultural, post-modern nation like
Canada, values coinciding can’t be taken for granted. The strongest thread
binding us together is our citizenship; our common celebrations relate to
nationalism, not to religious or cultural observances. If correct, what does
this say about the process of determining educational content? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">22)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Suppose
that you, a parent of an eight-year-old, see in your child’s homework an
emphasis on saving money that in your eyes communicates a message of which you disapprove.
You would rather see generosity given at least equal time with wealth
accumulation. How would you proceed in the best interest of your child’s well
being? Is it possible to supplement the school’s curriculum with your values
regarding money in such a way that the child benefits from the combination? or do
you protest to the teacher? or is it more important that you as a parent begin
to teach your child that life is about competing visions, and in your family,
this or that value is king? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">23)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Do
we know who wrote the Grade Five curriculum on sex and gender? Do we know how it
was vetted and approved? Are we willing to find out before reaching a judgment
about whether it’s conceived and delivered appropriately? Are we prepared to go
beyond “all or none” to possible tweaks of whatever previous work on the
subject has produced? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve tried with this to generate at least some public
thought about the current division shaping up regarding sex/gender education in
the public school system. We live in a world where increasing hard-line
division has become a real concern, and the fact that public, aggressive
demonstrations for and against proposed legislation on the subject threatens to
increase the sense of “them vs. us” in an era that can ill afford further
hardening of opposing positions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">A liberal vs. conservative worldview has always existed and
always will. Saskatchewan citizens have alternately elected more-conservative
and more-social-democratic governments, and this pattern has served us well. It’s
when we become convinced that it ought to be one or the other, fulltime, that
we begin to see <b><i>the other</i></b> as a cohort that must be defeated, and
our elections become zero-sum games. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">We can’t afford that in education. Our resources can’t
possibly stretch to accommodate the myriad points of view and diverse value
sets represented in the broad range of political, social and faith persuasions.
In my opinion, opening up every detail of public education curricula to close
scrutiny would end up making us all conflicted and angry: should there be music
or no, and if so, what kind of music, and at what grade levels? A dozen in
conversation around a table, a dozen opinions. Every choice a compromise … or heated
separation. More STEM education, less social studies? The other way ‘round? A
dozen in conversation around a table, six of one opinion and half-a-dozen of
the other. Somehow, we must engage in a conversation across worldviews about
how educational content will be developed and how disagreements will be
arbitrated … and honour whatever decision we’ve arrived at. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Friesen,
Leonard G. <i>Mennonites in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union</i>.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022, p. 261<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Zero-sum
is a term used to describe sports games particularly. In simple terms, it means
that there must be a loser for there to be a winner. A conflict or game without
a loser would be a win-win conclusion; in this case, it’s hard to imagine such
an outcome without dividing children into the “gender education” and
“non-gender education” groups, possible now via separate schools or home
schooling. Dividing a single playground population has its own effects (see #17),
a reminder that “win-win” can turn out to be “lose-lose.”<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> "The
Parents' Bill of Rights outlines a number of different rights that parents have
regarding their children's education, including:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• act as the primary decision-maker with respect to the
pupil's education;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be informed on a regular basis of the pupil's
attendance, behaviour and academic achievement in school;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• consult with the pupil's teachers and other employees
of the school with respect to the pupil's courses of study and academic
achievement;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• have access to the pupil's school file;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• receive information respecting the courses of study
available to the pupil, including online learning, and to make decisions as to
which courses of study the pupil enrolls in;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be informed of the code of conduct and administrative
policies, including discipline and behaviour management policies, of the
school;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be informed of any disciplinary action or
investigation taken by the school in relation to the pupil's conduct;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• if the pupil has been expelled from school, request a
review and reconsideration of the expulsion after the expiration of one year;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be informed and consulted in relation to the pupil's
school attendance problems;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be consulted in or request a review in relation to
the pupil's capacity to learn;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• excuse the pupil from participating in the opening
exercises;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be consulted before any medical or dental examination
or treatment is provided to the pupil;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">*********<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• if sexual health content is to be presented to pupils
in the school:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">o at least two weeks before the sexual health content
is presented to the pupils, be informed by the principal of:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">§</span></span>
the subject matter of the sexual health content;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">§</span></span>
the dates on which the sexual health content is to be presented to the pupils;
and<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">§</span></span>
if the parent or guardian so chooses, withdraw the pupil from the presentation
of the sexual health content by giving written notice to the principal;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• if the pupil is under 16 years of age, provide
consent before the pupil's teachers and other employees of the school use the
pupil's new gender-related preferred name or gender identity at school; and<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText">• be a member of the school community council or the
conseil d'école, as the case may be, of the school.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/8ae0020c9c8b85d0/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Whose%20Rights.docx#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> “<i>Dysphoria</i>
is a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction. It is the semantic opposite
of <i>euphoria</i>. In a psychiatric context, dysphoria may accompany
depression, anxiety, or agitation...” (Wikipedia definition)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-80681327086669153032023-09-10T09:27:00.000-06:002023-09-10T09:27:38.729-06:00Meeowww<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbA3P-AaYbgWipG_cOHsEpL2V87WNFR0nJxYrCYzxfAxdK7VgfBNftudyg3_UxvABhmN7uXD66YDEIKUhXeG5f8X80_a0FLW928zKP23iIjqaTZmbPVil_fwgQ5xwqglxsBsw72nOFUe0RYTWvJbFZbl2BYvrbeIaHQiVvmX9s4I14hjD9qk-/s1539/No%20Trespassing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="1267" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbA3P-AaYbgWipG_cOHsEpL2V87WNFR0nJxYrCYzxfAxdK7VgfBNftudyg3_UxvABhmN7uXD66YDEIKUhXeG5f8X80_a0FLW928zKP23iIjqaTZmbPVil_fwgQ5xwqglxsBsw72nOFUe0RYTWvJbFZbl2BYvrbeIaHQiVvmX9s4I14hjD9qk-/w526-h640/No%20Trespassing.jpg" width="526" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Like this sign, we tend to see the world in yes-no categories. Why not "Please avoid trespassing unless you have a very good reason." Of course, that would take a bigger sign!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">The conversation was about “furries,</span><span style="font-size: large;">” kids who identify as
animals and the schools who allegedly allow them to carry this identity into
the classroom, the playground and the washroom, even to the point of providing
litter boxes so cat-identifying kids can pee like cats.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Way back in the 1950s, I identified as both the Lone Ranger
and his horse, galloped across the pasture with my bent-stick six-shooter under
my belt, drew my horse to a rampant stop in an imaginary cloud of dust and shot
the eyes out of an evil bandit before he could say, “Mennonite non-violence.” On
other days, I identified as an engineer, damming up rain runoff in the yard,
creating new rivers and lakes. Built bridges. Later, I’d pick up the family
guitar and identify as a country singer like, well, take your pick.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">My school never provided my horse-me with a stall and a
manger of hay. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Identifying as something you want to be or wish you were, is
a general phenomenon. Some men dress up as women, use makeup in the way
glamorous women do. Some women dress in a way that projects an anti-effeminate,
physically active identity. Performers preen images, politicians are only
fluent when they have teleprompting, courting adults “put on the Ritz.” Hiding our
shortcomings while projecting an image is commonplace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In children, pretending, mimicking, identifying-with are
learning tools. The object of “furries” identification, of course, can be
disconcerting if it’s relentless and goes on and on. And granted, kids could
certainly mimic behaviour to the point where it appears to spread like a virus.
Schools had to ban “fidget gadgets,” after all. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">People have been saying, “she/he/they <i>thinks</i>
she/he/they is a cat, or dog, or boa constrictor.” Well, no. The only way you
can see yourself in a mirror and register “body of a cat” is if you’re hallucinating,
and hallucinating is symptomatic of brain trauma and cause for medical
intervention. It’s far more likely that an ongoing cat-identification has to do
with mimicking cat behaviour and demeanour, and that lying, walking and even
“speaking” like a cat fulfills a social/mental need. Cats project calm; the
world is stressful, possibly. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">But that brings us to the charge that educators are accepting,
even encouraging, such behaviour. I’ve read numerous credible reports refuting
every one of the “litter boxes in the washrooms” stories. Given the nature of
the children I’ve known, being caught by your peers sitting on a litter box in
a washroom, even using an especially designated litter-room for
cat-identifiers, would render every other part of school life a living hell for
that individual. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">As closely as I can gather from my reading, the “litter
boxes in schools” propaganda dovetails with the abundant doubts being expressed
about our educators, particularly via social media. Schools tend to be
progressive, in part because their clientele live at the very frontier of
whatever changes post-modernity is bringing to humanity. Your local principal
and school staff have all had years of training bent toward educating children
to live successfully in the world as it is and likely will be, not in a world
seen through rose-coloured nostalgia. Keeping balance on a moving train rather
than gluing yourself to the platform is an appropriate analogy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Reaction to change is always a given, and conspiracy
theories serve nicely as tools for attacking progressivism in, in this case, education.
The essence of the propaganda is this: homosexuality, transgenderism, “furries”
identification, are products of the education system, which is therefor not to
be trusted on any level. Misinformation can be bad, but the end goal here is to
return education to the imagined past, and that’s important enough to make “the
end justify the means.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada has stated that “schools
should leave LGBTQ issues to parents.” This “simple question, simple answer” solution
couldn’t be more naïve in its conception. The “LGBTQ issues” march through
schools, churches, workplaces, politics as surely as through homes, and if gays
are being bullied, for instance, it’s possibly not in the home but in the
school where it will become immediate and urgent. For a school to ignore discussion
of human rights—of which gay rights are one item—avoiding both the social and
the biological science surrounding gender/sex subjects would be a blatant
derogation of duty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">It's hardly surprising that in New Brunswick and
Saskatchewan, sitting governments feel compelled to take sides in questions of
what should and what shouldn’t be addressed in the public school system. Among
Christians, the creation allegory has Adam and Eve noticing that they are naked,
right after sinning against God. In my growing-up generation, sexuality vs.
biology was resolved through denial, voluminous covering of the female body, a
cloak of silence and euphemism, and a tacit agreement to live in the pretense
of sexualities non-existence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">That’s what all this is about; a fear that liberalizing the
discussion to include frank education on sexuality and gender will—poetically
put—result in our looking down at last and discovering that we’re naked, or
even deciding, “Wow. Is that how it’s done? Looks like fun! Let’s do it.” This
conservative push toward silencing liberalization in the area of sexuality and
gender is strident and persistent … and the attempted repetition of a huge
mistake. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Parents have every right and responsibility to be guiding,
nurturing influences in the development of their children. Teachers are charged
with preparing them for the responsibilities, rights and privileges of
citizenship, and for providing them with the tools to allow them to succeed as independent
adults. The roles obviously overlap in many ways, and in an ideal world,
differences in philosophy or practice would lead us to negotiate, not to
demands for the resolving of differences through government decree. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Therein lies the biggest challenge I see. First order, of
course, is to consult with, read reliable sources so that we know sex/gender,
pedagogical subjects before firing off, or re-posting, half-baked opinions on
social media. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">A little learning is a dangerous thing;<br />
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Schools%20with%20litter%20boxes.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>:<br />
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,<br />
and drinking largely sobers us again. (Pope, Alexander, in <i>An Essay on
Criticism</i>, 1709.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Schools%20with%20litter%20boxes.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The source
of knowledge<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><br /><p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-43780924041331255682023-08-29T17:09:00.000-06:002023-08-29T17:09:18.071-06:00<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JRmmt66EykV8Kv9dADqhGnoF-nkUS2rZMy0KA7FSE5euFFLUNTGYKpBBOl2fM4jkvIDctrImen9HDndFexhfaTSRF0tKpx77CTEel2CBjqxSgunGEMLPmK8sP6CqntXduGk2viUGtxs-kVuQYKQ_vI34zsmztAQCBM97_ykPYjPjBBMc_D92/s2602/Tell%20me%20a%20Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2044" data-original-width="2602" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JRmmt66EykV8Kv9dADqhGnoF-nkUS2rZMy0KA7FSE5euFFLUNTGYKpBBOl2fM4jkvIDctrImen9HDndFexhfaTSRF0tKpx77CTEel2CBjqxSgunGEMLPmK8sP6CqntXduGk2viUGtxs-kVuQYKQ_vI34zsmztAQCBM97_ykPYjPjBBMc_D92/w400-h314/Tell%20me%20a%20Story.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tell me a Story</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><br />Premier Scott Moe was asked</span><span style="font-size: large;"> by a reporter about the evidence
on which the decision to require—by law—that teachers must inform parents of any
student’s expressed wish to be addressed with gender free pronouns. The new directives also legislate that
any parent will have the right to withdraw their child from a sex education
program if they deem it inappropriate, plus a few other provisions claimed to be "parents' rights" supportive. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">His response<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Moe's%20and%20Duncan's%20educational%20decree.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
to the reporter cited a survey of some 3000+ people, the majority of whom
agreed that any student’s request to have a name change or to be addressed with
gender-neutral pronouns in school should be reported to the child’s parents. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s easy to word a question that will elicit a positive
response in favour of parental rights regarding children. Of course, the people
who manage the household in which a child spends most of his time are justified
in claiming greater authority over that child than does a neighbour. Not the
government nor his teacher can set a bedtime for <i>my</i> boy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">There are a number of factors that make of the premier’s
defense of the policy a naïve and hopelessly incomplete. Some that
come to mind include: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First</b>: in <i>in</i> <i>loco-parentis law</i> (local
parent), the adult in legitimate supervision of that child has the
responsibility of a parent, and by the same token, the biological or adoptive
parent cannot maintain parental supervision while his/her/their child is in a
classroom or on the school playground. Are we clear about what that means in
this case? As it stands, a teacher's relationship to a student's parent is not like that parent's relationship to, say, a babysitter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Second</b>: “Parent,” as used in the survey for instance,
conjures good, responsible, thoughtful, informed mother and father who live
together and plan and cooperate in the teaching and mentoring of their children.
Parents out of Dick and Jane readers, sort of. Meanwhile, every teacher knows
that some minority in their class are coming to them from dysfunctional homes. It
requires four years of pedagogical training including internships and regular
evaluations in order to become qualified for the <i>in loco parentis</i> role. Heated
copulation in the back of a Nash Rambler is all that’s required to make of
yourself a “parent.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Third</b>: Is “parental rights” the appropriate term for
what we’re talking about? In general, <i>human rights</i> are our way of defending
the basic well-being of <b>individuals</b>, not of <b>classes</b> of people. If
a child is badly injured and doctors determine he/she/they require a blood
transfusion to survive, would an ability of the parent to overrule the doctors—in obedience
to a religious tenet, say—be a legitimate <i>right</i>? Or is it the child’s human
right to life that is in question? Likewise,
if a teacher senses a danger to a child if the child is <i>outed </i>to the
parent(s), would that be like the doctors following the parents’ wishes in the blood
transfusion case if the teacher is forced to inform? Do <i>human rights of the
individual</i> extend to, say, a ten-year-old child who has already decided
that coming out to parents will bring him/her/them harm? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fourth</b>: Saskatchewan once had a premier whose grasp
of issues went well beyond political or religious calculations. Tommy Douglas
would say things like,<a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Moe's%20and%20Duncan's%20educational%20decree.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
“We are all in this world together, and the only test of our character that
matters is how we look after the least fortunate among us. How we look after
each other, not how we look after ourselves. That’s all that really matters, I
think.” There’s no arguing that people with same-sex orientation or gender
dysphoria’s manifestations form a minority in Canadian culture. Do their
unchosen natures fit them into Douglas’ “least fortunate among us” category? If
so, is Moe’s new legislation an attempt to “look after” their well-being? Or is
it another too-hasty reaction of turning the dilemma of being <i>born different
</i>into a <b>simple question-simple answer,</b> solution? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Five</b>: Is there any part of pitting teachers and
parents against each other that can be logically justified? If a teacher is
attacked verbally, pejoratively and a school is ordered by a parent to
otherwise engage their child when a provincially authorized sex education
curriculum is being taught, what outcome should we expect for the well-being of
the child, either in school or at home? Isn’t the sex education curriculum
already carefully tailored to match the students’ developmental ages? Is parent
education on these curricula lacking? Are there better ways of doing Home and School?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Six</b>: The legislation curtails schools’ utilization of outside
resources in sex education instruction. Are we remembering that this all
started in Saskatchewan with a Planned Parenthood presentation to a school
class in Lumsden whose participation there wasn’t criticized, except for having left behind a brochure that a parent found offensive
because of its explicit illustrations? “Is the decree proportional to the problem?”
I ask myself. And myself answers, “No, it’s not. It’s too much like banning all
people under the age of twenty-five from owning Pitbulls because one twenty-two-year-old
in Melville had such a dog that bit his neighbour twice.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finally</b>, opinion surveys are not research; for one, responses
are far too subject to the phrasing of the question. Also, we know full well
that, “the majority think so” doesn’t necessarily make an assertion wise, true,
or even practical, although it can help a political party plan its election
strategy. Lastly, a society that heeds Tommy Douglas’ statement on what
matters, and is therefor proactive in defending the rights of minorities, by
this same impulse can’t help but be a defender <b><i>of</i> <i>every child</i></b>:
yours, mine, the neighbours’. Sexual behaviour affects everyone; education to help all of us get it right is key; surely the timing and content can be arrived at in better ways than through arbitrary and hasty legislation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><span style="font-size: large;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Moe's%20and%20Duncan's%20educational%20decree.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-poll-policy-1.6949760<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Moe's%20and%20Duncan's%20educational%20decree.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> https://www.azquotes.com/author/4101-Tommy_Douglas<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-86231795907671258562023-07-21T21:00:00.000-06:002023-07-21T21:00:22.848-06:00Retribution, Restoration, Rehabilitation<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5FeDE7S6xGII-PXj6Tm6HgH4TCRDOzafp5b_mb6NT1lG01Eb72f4A5tx8tsAyVVZThs-M3JPDuddSvhK_3vIm7AmbBUeNdRfOx68olY2JEzu4fIzxvpi8eg7_JY5YqnEhiTufVznByFjhHdao9tUqum5UTls6h6HrwZZw-geu17MNYyw0ppm/s612/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="408" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5FeDE7S6xGII-PXj6Tm6HgH4TCRDOzafp5b_mb6NT1lG01Eb72f4A5tx8tsAyVVZThs-M3JPDuddSvhK_3vIm7AmbBUeNdRfOx68olY2JEzu4fIzxvpi8eg7_JY5YqnEhiTufVznByFjhHdao9tUqum5UTls6h6HrwZZw-geu17MNYyw0ppm/w426-h640/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(I MAILED THIS LETTER VIA CANADA POST TO THE PRIME MINISTER ON JULY 21, 2023, I.E. TODAY)</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Rosthern, SK.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">July 21, 2023 </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Right Honourable Justin Trudeau</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Office of the Prime Minister</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
80 Wellington Street<br />
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dear Prime Minister Trudeau; </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If “let the punishment fit the crime,” or “an eye for an
eye” were the foundational standard of criminal and civic justice in Canada,
then Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka would have been stripped naked in the
public square, raped by strangers in the presence of the families of Leslie
Mahaffy and Kristen French, and strangled. Such a result, most fortunately, can’t
happen in Canada … at least not under sanction of the justice system. The death
penalty was abolished long ago and currently, even criminals with a life
sentence are beneficiaries of a policy that rewards progress in good behaviour
with increments of increased freedom of movement. But our grasp of our justice
underpinnings easily slide back to Judeo/Christian Old Testament principles and
the “eye for eye” sensibility of Sharia law. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prime Minister Trudeau, yesterday you emphasized a point
that the sensitivities of the families of victims of crime are foremost
considerations when justice is meted out. That may be emotionally true, but not
a good academic description of how Canadian justice is administered. Criminal
cases are not between the offender and the offended; they’re between <i>The
People</i> and the offender (Queen vs. John Doe, People vs. Jane Doe). The absolutely-necessary
support of the families of victims and the role of these families in the
justice process must remain separate, or else we risk opening the door to a
return to “eye for an eye” sensibility. The impulse for redressing violence with
counter violence is a strong impulse among us humans.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our justice system is by no means fail-proof. It takes
public vigilance and informed dialogue to ensure that it remains a system that
fits the people’s consensus of what justice is. As this consensus now stands, our
justice systems is guided by three signposts: Retribution (punishment enough to
convince the offender of the seriousness of his/her/their acts, and to serve as
a deterrent to others), Restoration (returning conditions for all involved to a
state as close as possible to what it was before the crime) and Rehabilitation
(training and educating the offender to be a contributing, cooperating member
of society). Implicit in the bars and razor wire of prisons, of course, is the assumption
that the public must be protected from offenders lest they reoffend. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We could easily be drawn into debate about the degree of
importance of any one of these goals. In the wake of the most horrendous
crimes—those of Paul Bernardo in this case—<i>retribution </i>quickly rises to be
the top priority, especially since there is no possible satisfactory <i>restoration</i>
in the case of murder or other unlawful death, and Bernardo, having been
diagnosed as psychopathic, seems far from being a candidate for <i>rehabilitation</i>.
But whether he is housed in a maximum or medium security facility is not a
judgment for the prime minister, the justice minister, the minister of public
safety, the victims nor public opinion to make. We train police, lawyers,
judges, prison wardens, etc., strenuously to make such decisions studiously,
based on legislated principles and their training and dedication to the job. If
their judgment is to be over-ridden by political or social opinion gathering,
why train people to make them in the first place? Why not simply make Twitter
or Facebook posts the sentencing, incarceration agents? Or why not just load
all convicts onto ships to disgorge them in some island far away? (Please
excuse the hyperbole; been listening to the Leader of the Opposition too much,
I fear.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For opposition parties who have found in the transfer of
Bernardo a juicy propaganda windfall, I would suggest proceeding carefully. Although
mistakes are made and legislation has had to be revisited and revised
accordingly, the Canadian justice system is one of the best and fairest
humanity in its long history has been able to devise. The transfer of Bernardo
is not a sign of system failure, it’s evidence that it’s working. At least,
it’s working if <i>restoration</i> and <i>rehabilitation</i> are still
objectives of the pursuit of justice. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And to the governing Liberals, the legislation that rewards convicts
with increasing liberty as their rehabilitation progresses is vital to the
entire justice program. Even if Paul Bernardo should after this transfer prove
that he is irredeemable in any socially acceptable way, the transfer back to
maximum security is there to be exercised, isn’t it? If the <i>restoration</i>
of the victims’ families is as important as you say it is, then help Canadians
understand that the <i>restoration</i> effort is not helped by granting victims
a determinant role in the justice plan for the perpetrator, but in the social
supports to which all citizens are entitled. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I add just two personal anecdotes: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First: In 1981, my fifteen-year-old daughter accepted an
ill-advised ride with a young man, a ride that ended in tragedy when the car
rolled and both died. The driver was unlicensed to drive, the car unregistered.
Had the driver lived, my daughter’s death might have resulted in criminal
charges and a prison sentence. Saskatchewan Government Insurance sent us a
cheque for $2,500, a <i>restorative</i> and well-meant <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but bureaucratic gesture. We were told that this
was common practice in such cases. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Had the driver lived and been pilloried, or had the
government sent me a cheque for two million dollars, that would have only added
to the grief I still bear some forty years later. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(My daughter had very loosely-jointed fingers; I can still
feel her hand in mine.) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I mourn both deaths.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second: I spent the better part of a day at the Healing
Lodge on the Beardy’s Okemasis First Nation a few years ago. It’s a pre-release,
minimum security facility that forms part of an offender rehabilitation
process. There are no fences, but few “escapes,” and residents must shop and
cook for their “house” and are able to spend some days in a guest house with
family at intervals. If we abandon the principle of incremental loosening of
restraint as rewards for progress, aren’t we then abandoning the principle of <i>rehabilitation</i>
with it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wish you and your governing colleagues a good and restful
summer hiatus,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe"
filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="A close up of a paper Description automatically generated"
style='width:21.9pt;height:53.2pt;rotation:-90;visibility:visible;
mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="A close up of a paper Description automatically generated"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="A close up of a paper
Description automatically generated" height="29" src="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="71" /><!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">George G. Epp,
citizen, voter, happy-to-be Canadian.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="mailto:gg.epp41@gmail.com">gg.epp41@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Box 148,
Rosthern, SK; S0K 3R0 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-42560027768044266422023-07-05T08:50:00.000-06:002023-07-05T08:50:11.504-06:00The People shall not be deprived ...<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xlL5b8hrBbu9UaQU2179srzbhw49krLr-ZtAJWOs9_yNZpdV9iHALbPhPh57jiw3WJf7iuQXzNiYVzSuXzWqKC5FYXW5G2k_bO9mvRgRb1mTmsYnQgon5TGC8-BEkjwmhMDPRHA-sEOsHz4jDfOfz3DucftWfyJrGL1QQvC_5Qx0YqxyM8bj/s4032/Bookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xlL5b8hrBbu9UaQU2179srzbhw49krLr-ZtAJWOs9_yNZpdV9iHALbPhPh57jiw3WJf7iuQXzNiYVzSuXzWqKC5FYXW5G2k_bO9mvRgRb1mTmsYnQgon5TGC8-BEkjwmhMDPRHA-sEOsHz4jDfOfz3DucftWfyJrGL1QQvC_5Qx0YqxyM8bj/w294-h400/Bookbook.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book, book - GGE</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk139437174"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m guessing that few Canadians watch what could be called the
“talking heads” television on late night in the USA and Great Britain, or in
the political-junkie cable/YouTube video-streaming world: Piers Morgan, Jon Stewart,
Alex Jones, Brian Tyler Cohen, Jordan Peterson, etc., etc. Mostly their
interviews air as podcasts and they are unabashedly conservative- or
progressive-leaning. A favourite theme popping up regularly is that of <i>free
speech</i>, and that’s not surprising as their podcasts are dependent on their
right to <i>speak</i> with little restriction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Free speech—in the USA,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the “first amendment” to the constitution—guarantees
that:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The civil rights of none shall be abridged on
account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be
established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any
manner, or on any pretext, infringed. <span style="color: red;">The people shall
not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish
their sentiments</span>; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great
bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable. The people shall not be restrained
from peaceably assembling and consulting for their common good; nor from
applying to the Legislature by petitions, or remonstrances, for redress of
their grievances. (See </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Text"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Text</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Most often, these days, <i>sentiments</i>
in the First Amendment is read as <i>opinions</i>, which easily interprets then
as “you are allowed to say whatever you want.” Perhaps that’s covered by some
form of an old joke:, “In Nazi Germany you could say anything … once!” but just
as the Second Amendment is misused in defense of a gun-ownership-free-for-all,
the misinterpretation of the First Amendment is making of “free speech” a socio-political mor</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">é</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">, when that was never the intent. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The amendments are guarantees that the federal
government will not enact laws that prevent states from establishing “well-regulated
[armed] militias,” and that the federal government will not pass a law that criminalizes
public utterances, whatever the topic. This is demonstrated in the very grammar
of the amendments; it’s not a politically-driven interpretation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Often, conservative talking heads use
examples of universities denying visiting speakers a platform on campus as an
example of the breaking of the First Amendment. It’s not. If the federal
government enacted a law which effectively denied the person in question any
platform, period, that would break the intent of the First Amendment. This
confusion has given rise to the “cancel culture” mentality as it applies to the
right to refuse to hear speech we choose not to hear. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">University undergraduates
should not leave university before gaining a grasp of the essentials of every
governance model that’s been tried, but that doesn’t mean that they should
under the rubric of “free speech,” be compelled to listen to advocacy for one
political philosophy or another. Propaganda is attempted indoctrination, it’s
not aimed at the development of sound judgment resting on reliable evidence. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the same amendment, the federal
government is prohibited from enacting a law curtailing religious belief: Christian
churches aren’t obligated to give equal time to other religions; their right to
hold to their opinion that theirs is the only true faith hasn’t been abridged.
Likewise, a university, being a public institution bound to uphold the laws and
the rights of the state and nation, has a right—indeed an obligation—to ensure
that curriculum and public obligation, expressed through the ballot box, match.
Students are free to choose their university; many choose a parochial
university, most a public institution. They attend or skip classes and events
as they wish. It’s at these levels that who will and who will not be heard is ultimately
made.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">BUT, both faiths and universities
must tread thoughtfully. We are a multicultural, multifaith democracy in Canada:
to deny a congregation (say) an education on other faiths, to deny university
students accurate knowledge of political, social alternatives is likewise foolish
when the role of the citizen in a democracy like Canada is as critical as it
is. However institutions walk the free speech/tailored-influences continuum, a steady
diet of single-minded propaganda is unhealthy in a democracy. But the law
cannot uphold the standards; only a generosity of spirit and courteous dialogue
can do that. That—in a democracy—is the core curriculum so badly neglected
these days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Free speech is, after all, not license. You can go back to James 3: 1-12, then on to libel, slander, fraud and
coercion laws to learn that weaponized speech is as dangerous as an AK-15, maybe
even more so; that it can be means for harming individuals or masses of others
practically goes without saying. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The wary among us will recognize a flaw in
much of the “free speech propaganda,” namely that it seeks to <u>reduce or eliminate
the consequences</u> of uttering <i>false, coercive, biased</i> speech, the
promulgation of misinformation and slanted or incomplete information to gain a
political end. That one should be able to say publicly that which is untrue
without consequences (so clearly illustrated in the Donald-Trump-before-the-law
saga unfolding right now) is a lot like donating blankets to indigenous tribes
but lacing them with the variola (smallpox) virus first. There exists no cover
for weaponized speech in the First Amendment, or in the </span></span><a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=b82afedc020448c1JmltdHM9MTY4ODUxNTIwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNjQ1MzI0MS1lZWNmLTZiNWYtMWE2NS0yMjExZWZiYjZhMDgmaW5zaWQ9NTIyNg&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=16453241-eecf-6b5f-1a65-2211efbb6a08&psq=canadian+bill+of+rights+and+freedoms&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2FuYWRhLmNhL2VuL2NhbmFkaWFuLWhlcml0YWdlL3NlcnZpY2VzL2hvdy1yaWdodHMtcHJvdGVjdGVkL2d1aWRlLWNhbmFkaWFuLWNoYXJ0ZXItcmlnaHRzLWZyZWVkb21zLmh0bWw&ntb=1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Granted,<i> Free Speech</i></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"> can become a slippery subject. Jordan Peterson has taken a stand against
what he calls “compelled speech” in </span></span><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/canadas-gender-identity-rights-bill-c-16-explained"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Bill C-16</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">, which extends non-discrimination provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to
trans-gender individuals. It’s an oddity of the English language that gives
rise to an apparent need for changing pronouns so that neither biological
maleness nor femaleness is implied. (“Davida is feeling sick, so {she? he?
they? herm?} won’t be coming.”) The<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>vast
majority of Canadians don’t care if—when others talk about them—the pronoun
used gives away their biological sex; a minority are made uncomfortable by this
and wish people would use non-gender-specific pronouns when speaking about
them. Peterson is wrong when he says using “they” instead of “he” or “she” is
compelled speech; it only becomes an infraction when it plays into a situation
of discrimination—in employment, college admittance, etc. As I understand
Peterson, if a client or student would personally ask him to use a gender-neutral
pronoun like “they,” he would oblige them. So would I, even though the use of
a traditionally-plural pronoun connecting to a singular antecedent rasps
across my English teacher sensitivities. I’ve already <i>almost </i>gotten over it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Speech and writing are
thought-conveyances; a bus is a physical-transport conveyance. A bus can be
used to run over people you don’t like; speech can be the vehicle for gifting
your good thoughts to others, but can also be the tool for inflicting slanderous,
libelous, hurtful, careless thoughts upon them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before we decide where the boundaries
for “what you can say freely” are to be found, we ought to get a better grasp
on speech itself as a subject. A shallow “sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me” understanding is not enough knowledge of speech
and writing processes and effects for a successful democratic community to base
an understanding of what “free speech” really ought to mean. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But then, it’s on the petty mounds
that we choose to fight and die because the mountains are too formidable and
high for us to challenge. Propaganda in the political and commercial spheres is
a treacherous speech mountain; reflexive pronouns, bathrooms, and sports
participation for trans-gender persons are mole hills by comparison and capable
of being conquered. (Some starting suggestions, re- pronouns: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>develop and teach a dozen or so new pronouns
to replace the sex-specific ones and get used to them gradually through
schools; bathrooms: remove urinals and replace them and the current cubicles with
booths with real walls and doors, substitute TOILETS for the MEN and WOMEN
signs; let sports administrations decide if in their case a restriction on male
to female gender transitioners poses a threat to their sport’s integrity.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Next to the bare basics of reading,
writing, speaking fluently, listening with understanding, it strikes me that <i>negotiating</i>
<i>skill</i> is the most important language learning there is, particularly for
sustaining a functioning democracy. Climate change, for instance, is almost
universally accepted as real and human-contributed, if not human-made. The news
is filled with speech on the subject: the federal voice is telling us that a
new directive to fossil fuel industries to reduce the carbon content of fuels
will help. Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Maritime provinces are appealing for
the repeal of this policy since it will have a negative economic effect. There
are many options for reducing CO<sup>2</sup> emissions, but ranking them,
choosing among them requires <i>negotiation</i> that is less partisan and
arbitrary than what we’ve become used to. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">HOW TO TEACH LANGUAGE INDIFFERENCE:
Give your 25 Grade 11 students Catcher in the Rye; stand in front of the rows
of desks, read portions to them and explain “what they mean.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">HOW TO TEACH LANGUAGE FLUENCY AND
NEGOTIATION SKILLS: Replace the desks with round tables for four. Have the four
at each table read aloud selected portions of the first chapter. Have each
table come up with a three-point plan of things to do first if this classroom
of people were to find themselves shipwrecked on an uninhabited, jungle island,
while you go table to table coaching their discussions. They should be
conscious that they’re practicing negotiation just as one would practice the
keyboard if piano playing was the goal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My hat is off to the great teachers
and parents who are being deliberate mentors in the art of negotiation, since
it’s in the exercise of that art that <i>free speech</i> finally makes absolute
good sense! <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk139437174;"></span>
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-30264845798780727052023-06-20T14:47:00.001-06:002023-06-20T14:47:29.413-06:00Nostalgia: the dark side<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_sRBtDZt1eCUXqh-6g5vSzISeChPxXUQQPQ0btcVZvax_jA7mQ46lorIi_4klJx2li5ZuxkZHXuQG7dcGSuYTWnp8QzDAGoUWTHhkWMQe7roNx6vxGRPL6x9mQ9HITr4RbOYpOZa-HGEywqjv9-gp5TltSEQZ7qzZnkRK0Q0d1qEEgA2TBxM/s2440/Nostalgia%20the%20dark%20side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2440" data-original-width="1907" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_sRBtDZt1eCUXqh-6g5vSzISeChPxXUQQPQ0btcVZvax_jA7mQ46lorIi_4klJx2li5ZuxkZHXuQG7dcGSuYTWnp8QzDAGoUWTHhkWMQe7roNx6vxGRPL6x9mQ9HITr4RbOYpOZa-HGEywqjv9-gp5TltSEQZ7qzZnkRK0Q0d1qEEgA2TBxM/w501-h640/Nostalgia%20the%20dark%20side.jpg" width="501" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;">But first, some music. Links for hearing what's posted are provided:</span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A love
Ballad for Millennials (born after 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=stay+by+kid+laroi+lyrics&form=ANSPH1&refig=becf78bd206440fcabdd1a0905ee6d5f&pc=U531&sp=2&ghc=1&lq=0&qs=MT&pq=stay+by+kid+l&sk=MT1&sc=10-13&cvid=becf78bd206440fcabdd1a0905ee6d5f"><b>STAY</b></a><b>
(excerpt)<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: list 36.0pt 72.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ab2a004890820c7dJmltdHM9MTY4NzIxOTIwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNjQ1MzI0MS1lZWNmLTZiNWYtMWE2NS0yMjExZWZiYjZhMDgmaW5zaWQ9NTQ2Mw&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=16453241-eecf-6b5f-1a65-2211efbb6a08&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20vc2VhcmNoP3E9VGhlIEtpZCBMQVJPSSZGT1JNPVNOQVBTVA&ntb=1" target="_blank">The Kid LAROI</a>, <a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=5fc638378ee270c8JmltdHM9MTY4NzIxOTIwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNjQ1MzI0MS1lZWNmLTZiNWYtMWE2NS0yMjExZWZiYjZhMDgmaW5zaWQ9NTQ2NA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=16453241-eecf-6b5f-1a65-2211efbb6a08&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20vc2VhcmNoP3E9SnVzdGluIEJpZWJlciZGT1JNPVNOQVBTVA&ntb=1" target="_blank">Justin Bieber</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I do the
same thing, I told you that I never would<br />
I told you I changed, even when I knew I never could<br />
I know that I can't find nobody else as good as you<br />
I need you to stay, need you to stay, hey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I get drunk,
wake up, I'm wasted still<br />
I realize the time that I wasted here<br />
I feel like you can't feel the way I feel<br />
I'll be fucked up if you can't be right here<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oh-whoa
(oh-whoa, whoa)<br />
Oh-whoa (oh-whoa, whoa)<br />
Oh-whoa (oh-whoa, whoa)<br />
I'll be fucked up if you can't be right here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A love
ballad for Baby Boomers (born in the 1950s)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=i%27ll+never+find+another+you+lyrics&form=ANNTH1&refig=f48dd2812ad74a4eb0317704e0243132&sp=2&lq=0&qs=CT&pq=i%27ll+never+find&sk=AS1&sc=10-15&cvid=f48dd2812ad74a4eb0317704e0243132"><b>I'll
Never Find Another You</b></a><b> (excerpt)<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=dcf907488e6e3bcdJmltdHM9MTY4NzIxOTIwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNjQ1MzI0MS1lZWNmLTZiNWYtMWE2NS0yMjExZWZiYjZhMDgmaW5zaWQ9NTQ1OQ&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=16453241-eecf-6b5f-1a65-2211efbb6a08&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20vc2VhcmNoP3E9VGhlIFNlZWtlcnMmRk9STT1TTkFQU1Q&ntb=1" target="_blank">The Seekers</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There's a
new world somewhere<br />
They call the promised land<br />
And I'll be there someday<br />
If you will hold my hand<br />
I still need you there beside me<br />
No matter what I do<br />
For I know I'll never find another you<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There is
always someone<br />
For each of us, they say<br />
And you'll be my someone<br />
Forever and a day<br />
I could search the whole world over<br />
Until my life is through<br />
But I know I'll never find another you<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Try
on this explanation for the “culture war”</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> as we are seeing it unfold in the USA:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Seeing the
world in hindsight invariably results in a nostalgia reaction, the donning of
rose-coloured glasses as we leaf through old photo albums. The nostalgia
reaction exaggerates the good we remember as compared to the much-changed world
we’re living in. This phenomenon is older than ravens (Hi, Doug!) and any
historian will tell you that it has the power to paint mind pictures of WWII (for
instance) that are heroic, glorious even. Nostalgia revises history. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Have you
ever heard a senior say things like, “Kids these days have no respect,” or “Why
is there no good music anymore?” These sentiments understandably magnify in
proportion to the speed and extent of change and are subject to the rose-coloured-glasses
nostalgia, the corollary being that kids were respectful once upon a time, and
music was melodious and meaningful “when I was a kid.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Again, the
speed and extent of change exaggerates the dislocation of values in our minds. What
characterizes our age (mine for instance, 1941 to today) is warp-speed change,
ergo, our age is bound to experience unprecedented chaos, driven mostly by rage
at the imagined loss of a world … that never really was. The disappointment at
what appears to the large older-middle-aged group and seniors to be a burglary
of an age made golden through nostalgia, easily turns to a collective rage and
a search for the villains who are blindly ruining everything! It’s the right-wing
“fascists” for some, the “woke” neo-Marxists for others; you might as well say
“any crook will do in a storm.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">None of this
is meant to say that the losses that come with change are all imaginary. The
internet gave us texting, video conversation and email, but it also opened the
door to a loss of privacy, scam opportunities and virulent trolling, plus being
complex enough to leave all but a few of the oldest generation frustrated. I
certainly feel nostalgic sometimes for the days of letters, postage stamps,
wall phones and paper newspapers. I’m a proud curmudgeon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It follows
that the personality with a decidedly conservative bent will feel the burglary
of the past the most. It might explain, for instance, why Republicans in the
USA are as militantly angry as they are while <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1044019366/democrats-are-having-a-unity-problem-thats-familiar-territory-for-them">Democrats
are characterized</a> as suffering from a lack of unity around a cohesive plan.
Expectation of change that can’t be avoided should engender creativity in riding
the changes in the best way possible; American Republicanism in its rage is
focused firstly on preventing unliked change and, secondly, rolling public
social policy back to an imagined earlier “golden” age.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The two
“love songs” with which I opened this post were intended to illustrate the
typical intergenerational frustration that’s at the heart of this thesis. I
listen to music by my contemporaries: Neil Young, Paul Simon, the Carpenters, Carly
Simon, Joan Baez, Don Maclean, Eric Clapton, etc. I shudder to imagine the
clientele in a seniors’ housing project attending an Avril Lavigne concert, painfully
enduring the <i><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Avril+Lavigne+Girlfriend&form=ANNTH1&refig=ee778f4f76f14f47b4f69e2c38e1d830">Girlfriend</a></i>
song, perhaps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A more
salient illustration can be had by following court decisions on abortion, on
gender dysphoria and the pronouns that have emerged as a result, even on the
sanctity of keeping Mens’ and Women’s washrooms “as they’ve always been.” And
we remember that a combination of factors have over more than a century made universal
<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=metrication+usa&form=ANNTH1&refig=4e7789c5a01a4bc39ffca5d1c1528695&sp=1&lq=0&qs=SC&pq=metrification+usa&sc=2-17&cvid=4e7789c5a01a4bc39ffca5d1c1528695">metrification</a>
of measurement in the USA impossible. Further, we’re well aware of the dynamics
that led to a pro-choice ruling in Roe v. Wade, and what gigantic effort was
put into turning the clock back on abortion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We want to
escape the hardship of change: global warming, national debt, social
disruption, pandemics, artificial intelligence, population dislocation, etc. We
want it to be like it was before the shifts became apparent. We want solutions
without pain, without sacrifice, “like it used to be.” It’s natural. Trouble
is, reality will assert itself despite mountains of wishful thinking, and it’s
liberal <a href="https://michaelshermer.com/articles/was-jesus-a-conservative-or-a-liberal/">(arguably)</a>,
logical thinkers like Jesus Christ who will do what they can to point us toward
our best future, but not without pain or sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Seems to me that
summarizing the “culture wars” by hating Donald Trump is both illogical and
futile. Reaction—including rage—against change will happen and will seek out
its justification and its heroes. If not Trump, then some other person who
knows how to manipulate, magnify popular frustration into money and power will
worm his/her/their way into the White House or other seat of authority. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Possibly you
have a brother or sister who rails against the limiting measures being taken to
slow climate change, while you’re frustrated by people who won’t “get with the
program” like you’re trying desperately to do. Your sibling probably will
attach politically to Poilievre or Bernier while you support the Liberals
and/or New Democrats. Thanksgiving dinners at your house are probably <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You’ve no
doubt noticed that arguing our half-facts, conspiracy theories and social media
pronouncements isn’t getting us anywhere, so you may have decided to avoid the
touchiest subjects. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A couple of
things in conclusion: 1) Scientific assessment is nearly unanimous that global
warming is broadly dangerous to humanity’s future, and 2) Your brother is
objecting out of a very real psychological syndrome, a panic over changes he
doesn’t understand fully, plus nostalgia for a time when climate change wasn’t talked
about. And 3), it’s important that your sibling change his/her/their actions,
if not their mind, at least if the future suffering and dying of people is
important. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How that’s
done is an even more urgent topic than this one</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-5855610385310793782023-05-23T09:15:00.000-06:002023-05-23T09:15:13.654-06:00Who's in Control?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4iv9N3ImfKpwToGQfY_C-QSDPrYRaiBNUZO_95z_FBNOkA-j07YIlR-7y99Ki5xiDkAldkScIHpWMgNEBPDOXDeml0sMMpUmoThollmiJpuTTUr9XXppwNnjvSSa4wNC4KpOShaiyO84RXPW0rW7lFaigP1K-m9jOmnzj79uzU88sg3FMw/s612/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="408" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4iv9N3ImfKpwToGQfY_C-QSDPrYRaiBNUZO_95z_FBNOkA-j07YIlR-7y99Ki5xiDkAldkScIHpWMgNEBPDOXDeml0sMMpUmoThollmiJpuTTUr9XXppwNnjvSSa4wNC4KpOShaiyO84RXPW0rW7lFaigP1K-m9jOmnzj79uzU88sg3FMw/w426-h640/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">“Woke” is about only one thing: control,”</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-distance-from-woke-label-1.6586136">Pierre
Poilievre</a> says in a recent ad for the Conservative Party of Canada. An
example the ad uses is the decision by a Quebec school to substitute <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/controversy-after-quebec-teachers-replace-mothers-day-with-celebration-of-parents">“Parents’
Day”</a> for “Mother’s Day” in the interest of the children with single fathers
or who have lost their mother or who are sadly trapped in a dysfunctional
family or for any other reason experience the day as a trial. What Poilievre
doesn’t mention, of course, is that election campaigning is all about only one
thing: gaining control, and that invoking the “woke” myth is part of a strategy
to displace the dictator of “woke,” Justin Trudeau with me, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the
“not woke.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">Neither does the ad mention how the
“Parents’ Day” event would have unfolded differently if he and not Justin had
been “in control.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">What the CPU and the US Republican Party
have in common is the pursuit of control; no political party can enact its
policies without it, after all. To complete such an achievement in a democracy,
masses of people must either vote for you because they prefer you over the
others, or they must vote for you because they have good reason to fear all the
others. “Woke” is useful as a catch-all to refer to those others of whom we
should be afraid. So, Poilievre doesn’t need to debate the policies of New
Democrats and Liberals separately, he can use the “woke” shortcut to include them
both. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">The trick is to say “woke” repeatedly,
always implying that it is to be feared and to convince the largely-uninformed
citizens that “woke” or “not woke” is all they need to know about the political
schemes being floated. That seems to be the plan for getting into the seat of
control for Republicans and Canadian Conservatives these days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">And they come by it honestly. Since
politicians were either <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/whigs-and-tories"><i>Whigs</i>
or <i>Tories</i></a> in early British parliaments and the <i>Whigs</i> sat on
one side of the aisle and <i>Tories</i> on the other, it’s been a fight between
the Whig’s “adapt to the times” and the Torie’s “keep doing what we’ve always
done because it was working” positions. What this adversarial model has turned
into in many democratic countries is a tragedy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">Voting in a democracy today is a lot like
supporting a sports team. Although there may well be community-bonding benefits
to thousands of fans excitedly supporting the Winnipeg Jets or the Saskatchewan
Roughriders, fan loyalty defies logic. Pro sport is an entertainment industry;
the actors traded like chattels, responding in their life choices more according
to remuneration possibilities than to Winnipeg or Saskatchewan loyalty. For
better or worse, pro sports fandom is the choosing of a myth, discarding a
harsh or boring reality for an alternative world for a time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">A party system of choosing political
leadership easily turns into something like that. A loyalty to a brand that
removes the need to scrutinize the motivation and credentials of a player with,
“He/she/they play on the (Conservative/New Democrat/Liberal) team; that’s good
enough for me!” That elections are “won” or “lost” pretty much sums up my
point. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">The US Congress and Canada’s parliament
should be places where conservative and progressive views meet in the presence
of objective academics to hammer out directions for the country. That they’ve
turned the dialogue chambers into rancorous quarreling, backbiting, and
opportunistic one-upmanship renders them practically useless as problem solving
institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">Adversarial systems make adversaries of
citizens, train them to think about their common home adversarially. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the mouth of Pierre Poilievre, “woke”
sounds a lot like “so*s of bi***es,” or “snivelling cowards,” or any other
playground taunt meant to denigrate a target. The irony is that it’s decidedly
the wrong word for the purpose intended. It’s got black, southern origins where
“staying woke (awake)” was an admonition to stay alert to what’s really going
on, in that case to the suppression of the African-American population. The
teachers who chose to honour all parents (including mothers) on the traditional
Mother’s Day were being “woke” to the different ways in which their students
experienced that day … and responded compassionately. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">Give me a teacher who’s awake over one
hide-bound to the past meanings of things any day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">The irony lies, of course, in the
elementary observation that the opposite of “woke” is <i>asleep</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">You should have stuck with so*s of bi***es!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-68764907165597219782023-05-11T11:27:00.000-06:002023-05-11T11:27:46.761-06:00I, Artificial Intelligence<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBeGb47TSS53Lwx4Xa90NNMrpYsSBvEXwSuaQl2px6Prh701quzZsIOGiYC4E0KbsW5Ejt3MWl0WyMRqT98UUnkVMsSfOjnxiNyah_tk96c7K1KiTsabqNa08YdPRjmakVu-UIDOPYP40EnLqH1kSkqN6bJEPRBpMH1_FHEMYD2Di9Y1QvQ/s3456/computer%2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBeGb47TSS53Lwx4Xa90NNMrpYsSBvEXwSuaQl2px6Prh701quzZsIOGiYC4E0KbsW5Ejt3MWl0WyMRqT98UUnkVMsSfOjnxiNyah_tk96c7K1KiTsabqNa08YdPRjmakVu-UIDOPYP40EnLqH1kSkqN6bJEPRBpMH1_FHEMYD2Di9Y1QvQ/w359-h359/computer%2002.jpg" width="359" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">By now, we’ve probably all heard about the
advances in AI</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">—Artificial Intelligence—most recently regarding the warnings
about, roughly, this argument: If the computer has internet access to mountains
of information and hundred-thousand times more data than many, many individual humans
working together, and if it has the capacity to synthesize all this data in a
millisecond, is human control over outcomes even possible? <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I know, the very thought seems to say that
when we humans think, evaluate and decide, that process is about electrical
impulses being routed through synapses. We’d like our intelligence to be more
god-like, more “ethereal” than “mechanical.” We’re not averse to imagining
ourselves as possessing a spiritual quality that informs our intelligence, thereby
motivating or restricting our actions based on empathy, sympathy, fairness,
compassion … a moral sensibility, in other words. How can a living person be
without that, and how can a material object come <i>with</i> that? And how can
an intelligence that’s artificial (invented) ever be influenced by “feelings”
of right/wrong, compassion/indifference, emotion/objectivity, etc., for instance? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A search engine called <i>Bing</i> is
force-feeding a new advance in browsing that incorporates a number of AI
features like voice recognition, etc., developments that have made “ask Siri” a commonplace
feature of most smartphones and computers. “Ask me anything” pops up on the
screen when you open <i>Bing </i>and it does a data search (using key-word recognition, I gather) and
will answer the question by quoting a source, or—failing a satisfactory
search—suggest an alternative way of finding an answer. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I asked it, “What is
the capital city of Mozambique?” It took about 10 seconds until a Wikipedia
page on Maputo popped up and links to five other sources appeared as well, and
the difference between asking a question and having a mountain of information
appear compared to going to the library, finding a source there, etc., gave me
an amazing speed and effort advantage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The fact that George Epp asked for the name
of Mozambique’s capital on May 11, 2023, immediately became data to be saved
for future reference, sold to retailers, etc. Search “Outdoor fireplace” on any
search engine and watch for ads on social media, even on your news app. This
process is governed by man-made algorithms that run on their own; as AI
improves, these computer-regulated processes will proliferate, will write
themselves, probably, and the scope of their management by humans will be out
of reach. Any algorithm, obviously, reflects its maker. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There’s a whole lot more to be said by the
experts who have worked with the fine details. A <a href="https://flowclass.io/marketing/dangers-of-artificial-intelligence/#:~:text=Dangers%20of%20Artificial%20Intelligence%3A%206%20Risks%20and%20Concerns,decisions%20...%206%206.%20Replacement%20of%20jobs%20">website</a>
lists six potential problems that could arise as AI becomes more and more
sophisticated. “These include invasion of personal data, risk of cyberattacks,
discrimination and bias, opacity and lack of transparency, accountability of
AI-driven decisions, and replacement of jobs and unemployment.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you’re like me, you feel a certain
inevitability in the advances of technology. Madame Curie’s work on radiation
beginning a march toward the nuclear bomb being but one example of how the
material advances capitalism enabled also led to destructive ends in the hands
of those who see each new invention as a gateway to wealth appropriation or enhanced power. AI
will advance as long as it’s profitable, and we will marvel at the convenience
and speed it lends to ordinary tasks … and we’ll buy and buy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US">Or maybe, AI will be regulated so that, for
instance, it’s number one, overriding rule is never to hurt a human. (Sci. Fi. writer, Isaac Asimov formulated the three cardinal rules for robots: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">“(1) a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">robot may not injure a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;">human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; (2) a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; (3) a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”) </span>Or maybe,
it will be able to unravel the most effective combination of actions for
mitigating the effects of climate change. Or maybe, it will become an
invincible tool for diagnosing complex illness, even directing the scalpels
that correct problems surgically, prescribe drugs with nary an error. And what
if it could learn a better process for negotiating international relations,
would actually map out a method for getting to yes in a given conflict?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US"> Would we come to ascribe an authority in AI that we've historically granted to the brilliant minds among us? <o:p></o:p></span>Would we erect statues in its honour, give it a name like Baal or Zeus and worship it?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I think there’s a need to “proceed with
caution,” don’t you? Also, please don't leave us with nothing to do, no thoughts worth thinking, no accountability for our actions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-46832951850389776442023-04-24T09:29:00.000-06:002023-04-24T09:29:33.360-06:00WE don't like it! Ban it!<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8eO_SI8dRIAQIL7PNoiFXij19IoUr49NLY5nBoKRVJ0Iv5J_bu3PBe74qnT357FAAN13_jwY1KxzwYH-n11wK3KFS2KjZqKh61hpjRhT-Ws1z5ZBOxEveVGsGX7e8B81-tzvot9EJcZd6x3EX1iG3qQGXm_2XjIzoIYeNXAoSxwrg0bTaA/s4032/Bookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8eO_SI8dRIAQIL7PNoiFXij19IoUr49NLY5nBoKRVJ0Iv5J_bu3PBe74qnT357FAAN13_jwY1KxzwYH-n11wK3KFS2KjZqKh61hpjRhT-Ws1z5ZBOxEveVGsGX7e8B81-tzvot9EJcZd6x3EX1iG3qQGXm_2XjIzoIYeNXAoSxwrg0bTaA/w294-h400/Bookbook.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Bookbook</b></i> - Geo G. Epp, copyright</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">In Texas</span> (<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/book-bans-are-soaring-in-u-s-schools-fueled-largely-by-new-laws-in-republican-led-states/ar-AA1abdy4">I
read in the news</a>,) <span style="color: red;">public and school librarians are stressed right now over
what b</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">ooks may remain on their shelves and what books may have to be removed</span>.</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">The
choices will be driven by legislation and whatever enforcement mechanisms the
state deems necessary. The selection of reading materials to be banned centers
on issues of sex and gender this time, and whatever influence a book might have
in promoting a liberal attitude toward gender fluidity. Underlying the
controversy is an assumption that reading a book in which a trans-gender person
is pictured positively might raise children’s questioning of their own gender
identity and/or innocently embarking down a path that will leave them
gender-identity confused or damaged.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have a history to refer to in this
regard. Examples galore exist where book banning/book burnings, have occurred
in an attempt at suppressing unpopular developments socially, culturally or politically.
Stifling objectionable ideas, speech, activities by force seems to be a
predictable response to change, particularly in volatile times like the “world
war years” in Europe, for example. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">I find it ironic that accusations of
“cancel culture” (generally aimed at the liberal population) is so clearly
exemplified by the book banning segment of the public in the USA. Seems to me, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>these are the same people who accuse the
fictitious “woke” cohort of cancelling (banning?) right wing expressions of
opinion. I agree with Jordan Peterson on little more than this one thing: we
need liberalism to help us adapt to changing conditions, and we need
conservatism to help us regulate the pace of our adaptation. For one to gag the
other by, for instance, banning their written speech, is surely unwise for this
reason alone. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-US">Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t books
in which gay and/or trans people are depicted positively written for different
reasons than for unsettling cis-gender persons? We all know how traumatic
school can be for kids who don’t fit conventional norms; good teaching doesn’t
pretend the differences are non-existent or meaningless; its aim is to guide
the class and each child in it toward a life of social acceptance and personal
dignity. One important goal of public education according to the Canadian <i>PeopleforEducation.ca
</i>organization is to “</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Build a society
that values the wellbeing of all its members.” To teach children a healthy approach
to the wellbeing of the student in the next desk isn’t in question, even though
how and when to teach this remains a relevant consideration. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We must be careful
here. Book burning and banning have never, ever done more than stifle the
efforts of a community to adapt in changing times. For that, both educational
expertise and parental involvement are crucial. Setting the standards for what
is and what isn’t justified in the classroom is not well served by legislated
enforcement. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But some humility and
some compassion on the part of us who have embraced the need for educating for “<a name="_Hlk133211075">a society that values the wellbeing of <i><u>all its
members</u></i></a>” (emphasis mine) wouldn’t go amiss. The advocates for banning
and burning are reacting to fears that are currently being stoked, namely that
multiple conspiracies are at work against citizens’ interests, in this case
through the children. Unless we dialogue openly and for however long it
takes—with parents and teachers and administrators facing each other across
friendly tables—the children will suffer for our fearful responses to charges that
are educationally illegitimate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And as I’ve
conjectured before, aren’t we all in favour of book banning at some level?
Isn’t it true that our controversies only arise because we disagree on the
threshold where acceptable and unacceptable divide? I agree with those who would
maintain that <i>Hustler Magazine </i>has no place in an elementary or high
school library. I would <b><i>not</i></b> agree that <i>Huckleberry Finn</i>
should be taken off the high school curriculum because of racist content. To
become a culture that attends to the wellbeing of every person, our upbringing
must show us the face of racism, sexism, ageism, etc., so that we may learn
empathy for those who are different. A kind of “walking a mile in their shoes.”
Books provide the stories; teachers are trained to understand their students
well enough to make of the stories learning experiences that promote “a society
that values the wellbeing of <i><u>all its members</u></i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a bit of truism
that books don’t jump off shelves and read themselves to people; the patron of
a library <i>chooses</i> what book will and what book won’t be taken home. This
principle doesn’t provide comfort in the case of the internet, where any child
with a smart phone is accessible to those who would wish to use him/her/them
wrongfully. There the stories <i>do</i> jump off the shelves and present
themselves to wide-eyed innocents without the benefit of a responsible adult
interpreter. Resolving that kind of intrusion into children’s development is
going to be a much more complex issue than simple book authorizing/banning has
ever been. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-929147514648999472023-04-01T10:24:00.000-06:002023-04-01T10:24:05.758-06:00Teach the Children Well ... or else.<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0LPU_FcoPE7l7Xa1DiIuf9xaF9WAxLRUcNsrsMOshNfaF07Y4yag9FCouDKOKb_Va8KqwmwxtZTyPhAj4IaKZl0XDCBugbF0AtGjKtqg49-opesdKOxf97hQYDjRXkz5mD1n15CaGrZjB0G4X1sQLu4yTGg5PCax0G0FY0kWsMiyNP8I-w/s660/David.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0LPU_FcoPE7l7Xa1DiIuf9xaF9WAxLRUcNsrsMOshNfaF07Y4yag9FCouDKOKb_Va8KqwmwxtZTyPhAj4IaKZl0XDCBugbF0AtGjKtqg49-opesdKOxf97hQYDjRXkz5mD1n15CaGrZjB0G4X1sQLu4yTGg5PCax0G0FY0kWsMiyNP8I-w/w266-h400/David.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David - </i>Michelangelo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">This morning’s (April 1, 2023) Global News</span> app is
reporting the resignation of the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9590434/torry-tanner-ucp-resigns-lgbtq2-stereotypes/">UCP’s
election candidate</a> in Lethbridge West, Alberta. Apparently, the United
Conservative Party determined a video she posted online—including a claim that
teachers were showing pornography to their students and influencing them toward
gender ambiguity—was harmful to their party’s chances in the next election. She
is said to have resigned her candidacy without apologizing for the
unsubstantiated claims in the video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I recall another story of a <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/florida-principal-forced-resign-michelangelos-163222464.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL-dKt2KfnUCqM1OZjm7AO8fsuXT_PRQAKKnBoVZPPnJsCYAw8y2RPXAXSIzqrtZiSVAuDPoHwBSqQ5o_kcfLsBOw9we9oCbH8lb1f4n-4sSosevtV9PWreiYR21H67MWqPULREeHn0lsRRtNjcX3SQKBcjiF5UuSGICRrRPX7-u">principal</a>,
I think, who was fired over a question of whether one of his teachers should be
disciplined for showing a picture of the full-frontally-nude <i>David</i>
statue by Michelangelo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Both stories lack a great deal of what’s
called <i>context</i>, but that won’t prevent us from dividing into camps on
the subject matter, which is typical of the great culture wars plaguing our
politics these days. For one, the telling evidence of what lesson plan included the displaying of the <i>David</i> photo, or what pornographic imagery
and teaching happened in which classroom and by which teachers, none of that
seems necessary enough to be entered into the question which could—and here’s
an important consideration—<b>be real concerns</b>. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Teachers (not unlike
police, businesspersons, doctors, airline pilots, etc., etc.) are drawn from a
diverse population and sooner or later, a pedophile, a misogynist, a sociopath or a poorly- informed-and-so-incompetent practitioner will creep into the mix of the
profession. At the same time, the child-guiding prerogatives of biological
parents versus schools and teachers provides a greenhouse for the growing of conflict:
it always has. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Good public schools educate for citizenship in the country in which
they exist; they teach about ideologies but don’t indoctrinate their students
in any but the one under which teachers, students and administrators are governed
at the time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Based on the content of a single news story,
do I have the right to an opinion on its meaning, let alone to repeat my
interpretation online or to people I meet? If I spread a biased interpretation
of an event, a person or an idea, am I doing the same thing as the people who
fired that principal, or who made a video about teachers teaching pornography and
gender fluidity? Rushing to judgment, that is, while either neglecting or
discarding context? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">What would have happened if the UCP
candidate for Lethbridge West had gone to the local school principal and said, “I
have a concern about how sexuality and gender are being taught in this school.
Can we talk about that?” What if she’d done that before making the accusatory
video, and if the principal had called the involved teachers to a meeting with
this person to explain their curriculum choices on gender-related subjects,
thereby giving both positions a context? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Agnes and I were in Belfast for a few days
during the “troubles” period in the 1980s. Our MCC colleague there told us that
the teenaged boys particularly were addicted to conflict. If a week should go
by with no smashing, burning, fighting, etc., they would invariably fill the
gap with some act of violence; the previous week, a group of them had tossed a
transit driver out of his bus, driven the bus out to an open area and set
it on fire. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Addiction to conflict can be as real as a dependence on cocaine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">There’s much in our era in the West urging
us toward a combat of wills, undoubtedly fed by a tendency to seek out
incidents—unsupported by evidence, if need be—that act as bullets in the
culture war: <i>woke</i> against <i>not-woke</i> and vice versa, for instance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I have acres of sympathy for the people
whom we’ve mandated to educate our children in such a time. I imagine myself a
music teacher in a smalltown elementary school. A faction of the population
listens to classical music and considers country music beneath them. Another
group maintains that this is a country-music kind of town, and the music
curriculum should reflect that in its choices. Most parents are indifferent to either faction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">As the music teacher, I’ve felt the
pressure both ways, and having my own tastes and my unique training and
history, I can’t for the life of me think of a way to satisfy both sides.
Banjos or flutes? Violins or guitars? Surely teaching kids to understand and
appreciate music doesn’t boil down to this kind of choice, does it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The principal calls me into his office and
relays the concerns—primarily those expressed by the loudest faction—and proposes
some 50/50 arran… <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">… but I’ve stopped listening, daydreaming
about how I might live a relaxed life by giving private instrument lessons and playing in the
city orchestra….<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">“... what do you think?” he says. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">“I think I quit,” I reply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And I do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-2165639536542081862023-02-23T08:39:00.000-07:002023-02-23T08:39:59.733-07:00ARRIVING AT MAYBE - ON ABORTION<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9-AT1yrvZSmMYlrmwre5mVDhCRs4GyVCEzx3JGLJV98q_ArcbWRMk84xuUrJfaXnsEJxwnRA6leUP6uqYpljTI64e3XhN0sKQas6a_L67uXcPZEhcRu07ik2XFSITQF93s68AZDoueJ7q-MjUG_EXZFtMGHpSiGpA3zKWvBGhxO5RhI30BA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="720" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9-AT1yrvZSmMYlrmwre5mVDhCRs4GyVCEzx3JGLJV98q_ArcbWRMk84xuUrJfaXnsEJxwnRA6leUP6uqYpljTI64e3XhN0sKQas6a_L67uXcPZEhcRu07ik2XFSITQF93s68AZDoueJ7q-MjUG_EXZFtMGHpSiGpA3zKWvBGhxO5RhI30BA=w640-h332" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://leafyplace.com/american-elm-tree/">American Elm Tree: Leaves, Bark (Pictures) - Identification and Care (leafyplace.com)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">When does an elm develop to the point where it can be called
a tree? </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is it already a tree when as a seed, it spins through the air in a tiny, fragile frisbee to land on a concrete roadway, in your eave trough, or in a field of
wheat stubble? Can it be called a tree when </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">a warm spring sun and an April shower awaken
it and it thrusts out a root cell after having lain dormant through a winter? And
if it should wither or be swept up and burned, or be plowed under in a field, could
we say that it was a </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">tree</i><span style="font-size: x-large;"> cut down?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Or if the cocky rooster should mount a hen so that she
would lay fertilized eggs, and if we should poach and eat such an egg, would it
taste like chicken? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Or if a human sperm fertilizes a human egg and cell mitosis commences,
is it more like the elm seed flying from the mother tree, already fertilized?
Or is it more like a new human person, like an elm sapling, say, seeking sustenance
so that it might one day be a tall, standing tree … one day? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Or why do mother elms produce a million seeds and a human man’s
body produce a million sperm unless nature has already determined that of the
million, 999, 998 will, on average, fail; will land on sidewalks, in toilets,
in a condom or a stubble field? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In the Western World, people’s ubiquitous preoccupation is
not for getting food, but for mitigating the effects of too much eating.
Similarly, birth prevention preoccupies us far more than does birth planning. This
seems unsurprising to me in a world where food and sex are in surplus. Frankly
speaking, we humans seek to control when and who and how many new humans will
be produced, only we do it very sloppily so that abortion becomes a consequence
of repeated failure. We are—collectively—as dumb as elm trees when we ought
very much to know better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">How much demographics and economics—the big pictures—affect
how we look at birthing or not birthing children is a subject for another day.
The Chinese government rewarded couples who limited their new-human output to
one per because the population was growing faster than services could be
provided, but they overshot, and now they’re rewarding the new-human output of
three per couple. A growing population is prerequisite to a growing economy,
and, well, the economy is everything, isn’t it? But that’s content for a big,
fat book all by itself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">For a time in our evolutionary development (if we think that
way for a moment), the powerful copulation urge must have served as a necessary
defense against population extinction; in our time it’s a “benefit” we’d probably
be better off without. And if we imagine ourselves beginning from a blob of
plasma millions of years ago, or if we’re thinking we’re just one rib away from
Adam, would either help us understand the dilemma of the greatest miracle—life—as
either a blessing or … a curse? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The threshold at which a fetus assumes the rights and
responsibilities of an independent person is something we disagree about. It
makes a big difference to the women who bear most of the responsibility for
gestating and nurturing what may become an independent person. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">By our actions over the centuries, we seem to have decided that
the emergence of a new person happens at birth. We’ve named new persons at
birth, not at conception. We have no cultural ceremony to mark the passing of a spontaneously-aborted fetus. We know full well that our memories don’t extend back beyond
our birth, indeed that our consciousness is not developed enough in our
neonatal time to record memories of our infancy, let alone our gestation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">We are not invited into formal schooling until we’ve lived
for five years or so. We reach puberty around twelve or thirteen, are forbidden
to drive before we reach sixteen, are wards of our parents until we’re
eighteen—with some exceptions, of course. In other words, the independent human
takes a long time to develop. The thresholds to stages of growing independence
are decided by adult humans and it’s no surprise that humans would imagine
conception to be the first anniversary in the continuing development of a
specific human person. But if that’s true, then aborting an infant, or a teenager
or even an adult would be of similar moral weight as terminating a fetus, and
v.v. But we know that the death penalty persists in many cultures and that in
war, the immediate objective is to “abort” the armed human minions of an enemy
state. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Self-abortion is legal in many states. <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Do you see what I mean about the dilemma in reaching a
judgment about the independent rights of a fetus? If not, let me complicate the
question further. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Stories of accidental or forced pregnancy in women who don’t
wish to--or can't--make the sacrifice necessary to gestate and nurture a child at the time,
well, that’s the most common scenario for which abortion is seen as an option.
(I’m not forgetting here that all pregnancies, save one, have implicated a man
as well. A man who may as easily see a pregnancy as being restricting to his
options, and therefore—having no wish to father and nurture a slowly-developing
human—may reach out for an abortion option.) Common as the stories are, they
can’t be assumed to be identical, neither in their first, middle nor last
chapters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF2CC; mso-background-themecolor: accent4; mso-background-themetint: 51;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But
here's one story: A band of rebels in a fictitious country kidnaps teenaged
girls from a school and spirits them into a remote camp where they are
repeatedly raped. For various reasons, some are ejected, some escape and some
find their way back home. The horror visited upon these girls, their families
and community might well seem to clarify that abortion can be an ethical choice,
but is it? If conception is the initial stage in the development of an
independent human, then the determination to abort a blameless fetus conceived
by a rape carries the same moral weight as does the therapeutic abortion of an
inconvenient pregnancy. Doesn’t it? </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">But can there be a morality that preserves a right for one
person (at the fetus stage, say) to thrive only with the plundering of another
person’s physical, emotional, spiritual resources? Is the teenaged child
obligated to abandon hopes for a future, lose her own right to independence for
the sake of an unwelcome fetus growing inside her? And if a young couple
engaged in establishing a household and nurturing budding careers find
themselves pregnant through a failure of precautions, is the medical
termination of the pregnancy of the same moral order for this couple as for a
rape victim? BUT, the fetus is innocent, you’d say, and it doesn’t deserve
capital punishment. And you’d be right, I think. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Both yes and no (to the question of abortion as a lawful
choice) are supportable with sound arguments. Only, your conclusion—your choice
of arguments—will depend on your initial position on a number of things. Are we
as individuals masters of our destiny or are we beholden to conform to a moral standard beyond ourselves? Do we see community as the arbiter of ethical behaviour, or
do we tend more toward, “it’s none of yours or anyone else’s business.” Do we
see the life of a human as sacred or as negotiable? Is being human primarily
about walking erect and sporting opposable thumbs, or is it marked by levels of consciousness? And—most telling of all, seems to me—do we think of our lives
through a biological or a mystical lens? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps—in our confusion about when a potential human, who then becomes a viable human, and then becomes a conscious and independent human—we could
conceivably agree that in law, at least, a human is beneficiary to all of
“human rights” at birth, and that “human responsibility” shall be recognized,
learned and embraced by eighteen or so years of age. (Wait, what? Isn’t that
exactly what we hold to now?) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Family planning—that is, deciding how many children a couple
or an independent woman will have, and when—is not only allowed, but applauded.
There is no penalty for producing none or only a few children when one is
capable of producing many. Taking steps to prevent a sperm consorting with an
ovum is not seen as denying life to a potential human, is it? Every age creates
conditions of the succeeding age in many ways: how many humans there will be
sharing space and resources is one way, but how much or how little any given
female contributes to the desired population level is her call, even though its manipulated by
government indirectly because it can’t be controlled directly: child support, cheap
daycare, outlawing abortion, free condoms in schools, you name it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">What we may sense, but choose to deny, is that the procreation
project is human-directed. Humans grant life, deny life, squander life, destroy
life and/or nurture life at will. They plant elm trees and they cut them down,
not because God or evolution wills it, but because <i>they</i> do. When an
independent human life begins and ends is human-decided and human-directed
except when aging or illness or war or natural disasters demand their due. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF2CC; mso-background-themecolor: accent4; mso-background-themetint: 51;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Another
story: A village is located in a remote area, five miles from the nearest fresh
water source. Necessity requires that all those who are able make the trek to
water every Saturday and return with ten, twenty or forty litre containers of
water. So the chief and council set up a guide: men eighteen to sixty carry
forty litres, women eighteen to sixty carry twenty litres and children ten to
eighteen and seniors sixty to eighty carry ten litres. Refusal will result in a
household doing without the common water supply. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF2CC; mso-background-themecolor: accent4; mso-background-themetint: 51;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Protests
arise. How can a rule govern what individuals are capable of? Only I know
whether I have the physical resources to make that long walk, carry that
weight. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF2CC; mso-background-themecolor: accent4; mso-background-themetint: 51;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">And
if a woman or a couple determine that they lack physical, spiritual or emotional
resources to handle a pregnancy and the parenting responsibility, should a rule,
or the persons involved decide? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">All this almost persuades me that even if I see my life as a human
to be end-product of a creative or of an evolutionary process, clearly reproductive
issues are relegated to the control of the
independent-but-community-acknowledging-humans in our midst. Let’s hope they
are smart, and if possible, smarter than I am. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m still stuck on yes, or no, or maybe, much of the time. It
depends. It always depends. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">One thing I know. As a fully matured human person (actually
past ripe by quite a bit), I think my chances in life were enhanced greatly by being
wanted, loved, cared for from the moment my mother and father sighed contentedly
and lit cigarettes, until and beyond the feast they prepared for my wedding
day. I've never been a person who was begrudged or commanded into birth, or into a life of continual deprivation or suffering, so I can't compare, never having walked even an inch in those shoes. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">(Here, I admit to lying: my parents didn’t smoke.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-29111254291116093122023-01-21T07:23:00.017-07:002023-01-21T10:01:21.195-07:00Time theft<p> </p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdS738GamVhm6Kfnvk4As_F03teCG_M9prsG0bwCk_uED6zbDyDyOg2f0cA2girO6J_TDBS2B7Gf7p_KEWUn6YrWQ14ZDI1hTo6D3ke7IPDflZqCtIc_yRhEwVaHmd2UAxM5qnWfCBF5VLdmXQxknkYmPtDc32taUTSMsg-DPLOALQj8fkQ/s3456/time.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdS738GamVhm6Kfnvk4As_F03teCG_M9prsG0bwCk_uED6zbDyDyOg2f0cA2girO6J_TDBS2B7Gf7p_KEWUn6YrWQ14ZDI1hTo6D3ke7IPDflZqCtIc_yRhEwVaHmd2UAxM5qnWfCBF5VLdmXQxknkYmPtDc32taUTSMsg-DPLOALQj8fkQ/w400-h400/time.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee Time<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">An article on the escalating concern of some employers with <i>time
theft</i> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">caught my attention today. The COVID pandemic and the resulting “work
from home” option has underlined the possibility that the office worker you’re
paying a full wage is not spending the agreed amount of time working for you. Since
a wage is paid on the basis of time on task, your work-at-home employees may be
stealing hours from you. <i>Time theft</i>.</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unions worked hard to limit the number of hours a worker
could be compelled to work in a week; forty seems to be the current standard. But
hours worked is not a reliable measure by which an employee’s <i>worth</i> to
an employer is determined. It might be if we were all equally skilled, equally
motivated, equally self-directed and if we all had the same commitment to honesty
and fairness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Working on a commission basis, i.e. piece work, measures
worth by productivity, i.e. you’re paid X dollars for each widget you assemble,
each vacuum cleaner you sell. But how do you pay a teacher, a pastor or a
politician <i>by the piece</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Merit pay</i> has been suggested, whereby a teacher, for
instance would be paid a bonus or no-bonus based on students’ standardized test
scores. That has too many pitfalls to be seriously or broadly applied. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Typically, individuals and families exchange a portion of
their strength, skill, experience and time for housing, groceries, a car and
fuel, clothing and leisure-time options. We call it <i>work</i> or <i>a</i> <i>job.
</i>The description of paid employment has and is evolving through automation,
robotics, changing needs and wants, and more and more people will find
themselves unemployed in the traditional sense and more and more of the capable
will join those unable to <i>work</i> or hold <i>a job</i>:<i> </i>the elderly,
the children, the handicapped. How will we distribute food, shelter and myriad
necessities in the years to come? Who’s working on a paradigm for the future if and
when “get a job” ceases to make sense? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">What if I should become a church pastor whose job
description and pay scale are negotiated with the council of a local church? Is
that “a job?” Is it clear as I begin my tenure how many hours of work I owe in
order to match the salary I draw? Am I “on the clock” from 9:00 to 5:00 Wednesday
through Sunday and “off the clock” at all other times? Will I be remunerated
for my productivity, $150 per sermon, $50 per home visit? I’ve seen enough
pastors over time to know how quickly this would turn out to be an absurd way of exchanging
work for means. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">There must be a sweet spot where distributing living sustenance
to people is neither the “from each according to his ability, to each according
to his need” of a Marxist ideology nor the conservative strident resistance to
change, as in defending the age-old simplification inherent in, “work … or
starve!” It’s safe to say that as long as we have <i>jobs</i>, that stealing
time by employees and stealing labour by employers will remain crimes … and will
remain endemic. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Every community needs its members’ contributions of time,
skills and energies in order to prosper; this is probably true. Every
individual has more or less of time, skills and energies to contribute. But every
individual needs good food and a warm, comfortable, safe place to sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">A measure of how much dollar value any individual’s work is worth
is, by its nature, arbitrary and inexact. In the end, without general good
will, a cooperative (as opposed to a competitive) ethic, genuine empathy and
compassion, some will be rewarded with way more abundance than their work
deserves …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">… and others will sleep on a park
bench, hungry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-18792075040570495732022-12-08T13:19:00.001-07:002022-12-08T13:19:22.616-07:00Shoot-out in the Supreme Court Corral - Take Cover<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNauMaJ9mF8Q2zOIMGID-Jinx4o5a69Cr_TZ0MHVSF0XjZB46Kl8lji4XDIC8osZ0A_0RS2IWweZA_SsIyrzewOOWWekTV3V5RUaqGkNxIkoo57DhYNeTGb85y_mg-_7AcS9XyDYmw-c30E4nAs1wQ3YUnr5fQCpOBm3HqlhuzmzS74ceGow/s2461/SCRNSHT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1479" data-original-width="2461" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNauMaJ9mF8Q2zOIMGID-Jinx4o5a69Cr_TZ0MHVSF0XjZB46Kl8lji4XDIC8osZ0A_0RS2IWweZA_SsIyrzewOOWWekTV3V5RUaqGkNxIkoo57DhYNeTGb85y_mg-_7AcS9XyDYmw-c30E4nAs1wQ3YUnr5fQCpOBm3HqlhuzmzS74ceGow/w640-h384/SCRNSHT.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;"><b>… And in Sports...</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;">When I was a practicing “teacher,” </span><span style="font-size: large;">I accumulated licenses to work in
that capacity in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. Not in BC nor in
Quebec or the Maritimes or Newfoundland-Labrador. You see, Education is a
provincial jurisdiction in our constitution and to be trained as a teacher in
Saskatchewan might not make you competent enough to teach in Manitoba schools,
so they’d let you work “on probation” for two years before you were eligible
for a Manitoba permanent certificate. Needless to say, I taught in those four
provinces at one time or another; I was not, as has been rumoured, running from
the law.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Distributed governance by region makes sense; the tricky
part is the division of jurisdictions and taxing power. Educational priorities
could be different region to region, but different enough to prohibit education’s
placement in the national basket? And what about natural resources? Do
provinces with lots of these have any obligation to share that unmerited wealth
with Canadians living in other provinces? Or should Canada—as Pierre Trudeau
believed—have a <i>National </i>Energy Program (NEP)? <a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Sovereignty%20acts.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Anyone following Alberta politics back since the Leduc oil strike knows that
the fight for revenues from the rich oil fields of that province has been an
ongoing battle for a long, long time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some of the jurisdictional divisions seem obvious: defense, waterways,
treaties with indigenous nations, border regulation, international relations
and others clearly don’t fit into provincial or municipal jurisdictions. But
what about day care? What about roadways? Airports? Medicine? Is it good to
have a national health program that pays medical costs out of general revenues while
hospitals and medical training are provincially/municipally governed? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The perception giving rise to Alberta’s <i>Sovereignty Act</i>
and the <i>Saskatchewan First Act</i> is that the lines between national and
provincial jurisdiction in those provinces are blurred, particularly on the
subject of natural resources. Well it would be, wouldn’t it, given the constant
provincial interest/national interest dilemma that’s unavoidable in any nation
that distributes jurisdiction as we do? The mining of fossil fuels falls under
provincial jurisdiction while international trade and climate-change-related
policy are primarily federal. To the Alberta government, the oily substance in the oil
sands looks like money they can’t get at because of environmental protection
policies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The premiers of both provinces are banking on the flexing of
provincial jurisdictional muscle to change the application of the
constitutional powers, if not the constitution itself. In order to achieve
this, the recent actions have set up an adversarial approach, the outcome of which
will depend on continuing public support (Alberta has an election coming up in
Spring, 2023) and the interpretation placed on the constitution by the courts
in specific cases. In Saskatchewan, the premier enjoys a 56%<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>approval rate and the main hurdle to the
effectiveness of the Act there will likely be the courts. In neither province
is it clear which specific issues the governments mean to act on/litigate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">First Nations are protesting provincial sovereignty acts, of
course. Their treaties are with the federal government, for one, and they see little
good coming their way from provinces overriding, for instance, federal obligations
to consult and to regulate environmental impacts of provincially initiated
projects. (Clearly, the whole question of whether the ceding of land in the
treaties included mineral rights might be an interesting debate now, but far
too late to revisit seriously.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m in no position to know how this will all pan out. I
never learned water-witching nor the reading of the future in chicken guts. I
worry though, that sovereignty acts might become a tool for provinces more
generally, at least if the two mentioned achieve their stated goals. We don’t
need a constant, quarrelsome competitiveness among our provinces and/or between
provinces and our federal government. To ask citizens to choose between them
when all our interests are best served by their cooperation can turn out to
have been a “shooting ourselves in the foot” mistake. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will predict, however, that I won’t be carrying a
Saskatchewan passport anytime soon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ggepp/OneDrive/Desktop/Writing/Posts%20in%20Waiting/Sovereignty%20acts.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Energy_Program#Background">National
Energy Program - Wikipedia</a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-4238533798021411272022-12-07T10:06:00.000-07:002022-12-07T10:06:22.230-07:00The Sweet Spot in the Middle<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QgzpG5-EQ6z0rOXitTKeOBx06KXyzvR7FwDEHcGuOAbjVX0ctbYdSnMCiJya-GuzzpNRQ-CY87v2upD-JHFPpoiL-IrRuuEJJ_Bul1srmu9Rn3ILhUn9Gwn4w9WEJXvLcfCyA65vjPgM4BPky73KI_zmuUV3NfPNWPkQ4zIAAAe6HF0rSQ/s612/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="408" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QgzpG5-EQ6z0rOXitTKeOBx06KXyzvR7FwDEHcGuOAbjVX0ctbYdSnMCiJya-GuzzpNRQ-CY87v2upD-JHFPpoiL-IrRuuEJJ_Bul1srmu9Rn3ILhUn9Gwn4w9WEJXvLcfCyA65vjPgM4BPky73KI_zmuUV3NfPNWPkQ4zIAAAe6HF0rSQ/w266-h400/Canada%20Parliament.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></div><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br />A few things stood out for me</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> in the one-and-one-half-hour-long
interview Dr. Jordan Peterson did with Pierre Poilievre recently. If Poilievre
becomes Prime Minister, he will defund the CBC and along with that, the new
wave he will bring to Ottawa will deliver the repeated talking point that he
will reduce government, taking it out of its interfering role in the business
of citizens, thereby setting them free to manage their own affairs. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The first is a threat that’s become tiresome in its
repetition by a host of earlier conservative contenders for power. Peterson
drew attention to that fact, to his credit, but like the current Alberta
premier rising to power via extreme talking points regarding, primarily, Alberta
sovereignty vis <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">á</span> vis the government of Canada, so Poilievre is currently
able to wave the whip of an imagined cultural, political coup d'état to the
cheers of diehard reactionaries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clearly, the curtailing of personal freedom as a legacy of
progressive governments is a myth that’s hard to dispel. The opening up of
greater choice for individual citizens has always ridden on the backs of
progressive, not conservative, political policies. Child benefits lifting
millions of children out of poverty, Medicare that provides illness treatment
for everyone, tuition-free basic education for everyone, even the freeing of
slaves can be argued logically to have been a victory of progressive politics.
In each case, freeing strategies have been opposed by status-quo-loving
conservatism that to this day wishes even to reverse, for instance, the public
education system in favour of promoting theme-based, private schools (USA) and initiating a greater role for private medicine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s no surprise that Jordan Peterson and fellow
reactionaries are opposed to, for instance, non-cis gender
accommodation. Indeed, life was easier for many when individual liberties--like
living one’s life in accordance with one’s make-up--were denied, when left-handed
people were made to write with their right hand, queers made to hide or
be thrown in jail. Individual freedom for everyone to live comfortably and to
be respected for who and what they are is a progressive ideal, and a mightily liberating
one for sexual and gender, racial, ethnic and other minorities. Peterson’s public refusal to
recognize queer people’s individuality with new pronouns is just one petulant gunshot
in the war to reverse citizen freedom for all but the conforming.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The kind of hypocrisy that characterizes Canadian
reactionism was on full display in the interview. Making of the economy and
climate change separate spheres and speaking about one without critical connections
to the other ran rampant. Not to minimize the dilemma faced by fossil fuel workers as the transition to clean energy plods onward; attempts to make omelets without breaking any eggs is simply not on. <i>Progressively</i>, Jagmeet Singh is proposing a dedicated transition program (</span><a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/10/12/jagmeet-singh-promises-programs-funding-to-get-new-jobs-for-oilsands-workers.html?rf">Jagmeet Singh promises programs, funding to get new jobs for oilsands workers | The Star</a>) <span style="font-size: large;">for people losing their jobs to this change.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The hypocrisy was on full display in the Freedom Convoy,
where occupiers compromised the freedom of Ottawa Citizens and vaccinated
truckers at border crossings in order to force a legitimate government to grant
them what they called “freedom.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the debate, Poilievre waded knee-deep into
the “free enterprise” and “self-regulated marketplace” territories and
apparently saw no contradiction when promising to do something about the high
price of housing and the construction of low-cost housing. House building,
rental rates, mortgage rates are largely consequences of the normal functioning
of a free market and one can easily interpret his comments on that front to be advocating
for government interference in the <i>housing </i>marketplace. Affordable housing as a government matter is decidedly <i>progressive</i> policy-making. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can find the interview with your favourite search engine
by typing in “Peterson interviews Poilievre.” You and I should care about
trends in the village square that is Canada, particularly if we know that the
Canada we love is neither an unreserved capitalist state nor a socialist
“nanny state,” but that its strength has always lain in its ability to combine
the best of both leanings and reject the extremes. Not “personal freedom” or
“civic responsibility,” but “personal freedom <i>and</i> civic responsibility.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Occasionally we’re shown charts illustrating where Canadians
lie on the Socialist to Capitalist political spectrum and by a vast majority,
we hover right around the centre, not because we can’t make up our minds, but
because it’s the politic that works in our democracy. We alternate
between Liberal and Conservative governments nationally (and in several
provinces) and the difference in how our affairs are being administered differs </span><span style="font-size: large;">hardly</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">enough to notice. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Results of our elections seem to be driven
much more by personality than by policy, the effectiveness of the <i>ad hominem</i>
strategy in campaigning illustrated by the repeated denigration of Justin
Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh and the Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault,
by both men in the interview. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">At times like this, when events beyond our control have
encouraged an immense, biting dissatisfaction in so many of us that we want
badly to go back to a time before, governments get blamed for so much because,
well, who else could be to blame? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pierre Poilievre, Jordan Peterson very
clearly crave attention and influence and in Pierre’s case, power. The
assumption that there’s enough of a reactionary wave to carry them where they
hope to go may turn out to have been an astute calculation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the end, very basic principles are at stake here. We’ve
faced them over and over and still are: is it OK for people of certain
religious persuasions to see their choice of dress regulated by the state? If a
man or woman refuses to take up arms for this country in answer to a wartime call-up,
should there be consequences? Is a storekeeper or a pastor justified in
allowing only masked persons to enter premises during an epidemic or pandemic? If
authorities advise all residents to leave immediately to avoid an approaching
fire, should fire fighters be obligated to rescue those who ignore the warning? Can a national government legitimately enact a citizen-wide directive to minimize the effects of, say, a pandemic, or must it allow individual citizens freedom to respond to the risks as they wish or believe, and are there exceptions? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The workable range of our words and actions as independent individuals
on the one hand, and as community members on the other, will always be very
basic to the functioning of a democratic country. We need always to be wary of concerted
efforts to push the population closer to one or the other poles; it’s just not
who we are. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-35268561948162085172022-11-26T09:40:00.002-07:002022-11-26T09:51:23.954-07:00Heavy themes in the Foyer<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was listening to the final chapter of the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings yesterday. They took a fifteen-minute afternoon break and
I took the time to compose and print a sign-up sheet for the condo Christmas dinner. I took
the sheet down to the foyer and posted it on the bulletin board. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two residents
of the condo were sitting in the foyer and chatting as residents often do, and
I thought, “Why aren’t they at home, listening to the Commission proceedings, like I am?” A
silly question, of course; a more relevant one might have been, “Why am I
spending hours listening to the repetitious, predictable questions and answers
when there’s so much more to do?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In short, we know that people engage in the big questions of
democracy in direct proportion to the degree to which they’re directly implicated.
“They’re raising the carbon tax,” may come to us as coffee gossip and we take
note, but gasoline prices fluctuate wildly, we see ourselves as involved in
the grand debates about climate change and economics supporting the tax in
the same way that we’re involved in the science of quirks and quarks: it’s all up
there and out there and nothing I could do—even if I understood it—could possibly
make a difference. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">An independent trucker may take greater note of the tax
increase because his/her/their livelihood is directly affected. But if the
principle and the need for it isn’t understood and acknowledged, he/she/they
may see it primarily as a personal affront and--being unable to affect any influence--might well be reduced to a “f*** Trudeau” rage and to attempt influence in this
matter by joining an enraged convoy of truckers to Ottawa. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the collective
interest and individual interest conflict, protest, even outrage, are to be
expected. In a democracy (a politic where each individual has an equal voice in
selecting leadership) the tyranny of the majority can’t be resolved by
substituting for it a tyranny of the most vocal minority; this conundrum will always
need to be addressed, particularly in stressful times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the Freedom Convoy case, a vocal minority (according to
Trudeau’s testimony) “… didn’t only want to be heard; they wanted to be obeyed.”
Could the democratic “will of the people” be broadened to include an exception declaring,
“Notwithstanding the border-crossing mandates, truckers will be allowed to cross from the US to Canada without giving evidence
of vaccination?” To have the general citizenry debate the principle behind a
question like this—a question that goes to the heart of decision making in a
democracy—would only be possible if the majority were informed and engaged,
which might mean not sitting in the foyer chatting about winter tires or the
price<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of coconuts, but sitting up in one’s
apartment, watching, listening and taking notes on the perspectives being expressed
there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AelS3UfvHbTAc7JGRMtDYRc8LWlWAkQpZCey50DZ6qhr9pRHyL5wyclDczWD50I7KOPMeSvf5NgpZG9lzlpH9ECcEIX6lczsH3zL7Sx6Jwl2scqgSdg2_PkkqxqzqMni5IC4dxfaj0xWcJMNYJ3SJ0Qe0iLkNQCPMvwZc3gWS4TP2tFjJw/s1920/Semi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AelS3UfvHbTAc7JGRMtDYRc8LWlWAkQpZCey50DZ6qhr9pRHyL5wyclDczWD50I7KOPMeSvf5NgpZG9lzlpH9ECcEIX6lczsH3zL7Sx6Jwl2scqgSdg2_PkkqxqzqMni5IC4dxfaj0xWcJMNYJ3SJ0Qe0iLkNQCPMvwZc3gWS4TP2tFjJw/w400-h225/Semi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><p class="MsoNormal"><u>And then</u>, going down to the foyer to compare views on these
subjects. </p></u></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Good luck with that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-88117092437828824772022-11-06T10:37:00.001-07:002022-11-06T10:37:35.168-07:00The Emergency Act: an impression or two<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveEMHNaYoXD0VnX1vjhDslSv8gdBpggnT-SLv-3XPsEYtMfDLpmYl0og669YBvKVJWkdk0WJDB31XWDL3ytOFyGGZ0TUbFooWOtcF4FN41u8CackSy9WzALMJ-Xn4TIk2hFBa2bGQ-QCzqMhpV3HIMHgw33QNYZu41-aUO70oLTTo3Dl3hQ/s2743/Geraldine%20and%20I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2743" data-original-width="2624" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveEMHNaYoXD0VnX1vjhDslSv8gdBpggnT-SLv-3XPsEYtMfDLpmYl0og669YBvKVJWkdk0WJDB31XWDL3ytOFyGGZ0TUbFooWOtcF4FN41u8CackSy9WzALMJ-Xn4TIk2hFBa2bGQ-QCzqMhpV3HIMHgw33QNYZu41-aUO70oLTTo3Dl3hQ/w383-h400/Geraldine%20and%20I.jpg" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter ca. 1978, Paint Lake, Manitoba</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></b></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b> </b><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m watching the Inquiry into the invocation </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;">of the Emergency Act on CBC Gem, particularly the interviews with the Freedom Convoy organizers. </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Thursday and Friday, it was Tamara Lich’s turn; she’s spent 49 days in jail on various charges including mischief and counseling mischief. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{178}" paraid="1196568617" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> Paul S. Rouleau, the Commissioner, has run a tight ship. He’s been flexible when it comes to time allotments for the interveners to question witnesses and has insisted on keeping to the focus of the commission, which is </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">to ascertain whether the government was justified in invoking the Emergency Act to end the demonstrations in Ottawa. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{192}" paraid="1741166627" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I don’t need to say this, really, but Canada is seriously divided on the issue of the need for mandates relating to vaccinations, masking, distancing in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The news that a protest convoy was being organized drew far more numbers and far more financial support than was anticipated. The convoy organizers and participants being questioned at the commission hearings tended to paint the demonstrators as peaceful, loving and kind and to deny reporting that drew attention to racism, threats and harassment. That’s completely understandable. Cross examiners for the police and Ottawa citizens tended to justify their viewpoints and actions as you’d expect.</span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{198}" paraid="1905284748" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">What became apparent in virtually all the testimony was that the sheer number of people participating in the protest was both a boost and a handicap for the central organizers, particularly Lich and Barber who presented as likeable, reasonable people with strong convictions regarding personal liberty. Maintaining the overall focus on ending the mandates as they related to unvaccinated truckers was practically impossible; that goal was muddied by the numbers of diverse groups, hangers-on and individuals with broader objectives. This apparently became very frustrating for the Freedom Convoy leadership. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{214}" paraid="1631046374" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Blaming the mainstream news for distorting reality will always be an issue, but the presence of “F*** Trudeau” signage, the maverick messages of the hangers-on existed in abundance on social media and in common discourse so that Canadians probably assumed that they had a relatively clear picture of the chaos in Ottawa. To explain the events as “just a mob action” would certainly be unjust to those participants who sincerely believed that mandates represented government overreach and that their actions were simply demonstrations of this belief. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{224}" paraid="1958127998" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">I know too little in detail to opine on the core question: was the Government of Canada justified in implementing the Emergency Act in February of 2022? I expect that a “yes” answer will raise loud protests and possibly street action by the supporters of no-vaccine, no-masking, no-social-distancing mandates. If the answer is “no,” then citizens who approve of health measures directed toward the general population in a pandemic may well be incensed. The problem that makes this so divisive is not as simple as it might seem; whether we cooperated with mandates or not grew out of our perspectives on community cooperation and individual liberty, perspectives that lie peacefully side by side until something like a pandemic brings them into the open.</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{234}" paraid="251645553" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Throughout the demonstration, I wished that Trudeau and the relevant ministers would take a day for a round-table discussion of the protestors’ grievances. That they had no obligation to do so is obvious, but according to the organizing leadership of the Freedom Convoy, being heard was their paramount objective. What the hearings suggested to me was that the Convoy leadership failed for several reasons to achieve their objective, and that the Government of Canada failed in exercising a leadership that would have decreased the division rather than boosting it. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" paraeid="{434d0377-75ac-4c32-87a7-2a5a8fc62f2d}{240}" paraid="1997428178" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Commission is expected to take eight weeks before it concludes deliberations. Most Canadians won’t spend that time glued to their TVs to watch and learn. The outcome, however, will be significant in the light of the Freedom Convoy’s and others’ challenges to the future of democracy in Canada. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e8998dd9-09b2-456b-908c-b6f01c20b28f}{246}" paraid="565678566" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">As legitimate as protest is in any nation, the rule of the ballot box must remain </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">foundational. T</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">here’s good reason to argue that the Freedom Convoy and the groups that attached themselves sought to overturn governance rulings made by an administration placed in Ottawa by a free and peaceful election. Working to replace or re-elect that government is a legitimate democratic activity; protesting the decisions reached by the duly elected government is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well. Occupations and blockades that seek to inconvenience private citizens, governing authorities and businesses in order to force a minority agenda is </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">neither </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a democratic </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">nor </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a human right. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{30c998b2-98c5-44ce-9ff4-799a1d5a6d8b}{234}" paraid="793742998" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">At the same time, a democracy will always be measured against its attention to the well-being of its minorities. Otherwise, it finds itself in danger of becoming a tyranny of the majority. This becomes particularly significant where the prime </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">minister,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> the entire cabinet can be selected from a party that received only 40% +/- of the popular vote. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{1ce35bc4-3e51-49c7-a49a-f80afcaa9d66}{225}" paraid="2115943104" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Emergency Act, if I understand it correctly, requires that its use be impartially examined after the fact. The question of whether its invocation was justified is not without problems of bias and personal and group interest, seems to me. Against what principle or set of rules is it being tested? We’ve heard much conjecture that the “occupation” could have been concluded using existing tools, but for three weeks the OPP, the RCMP, the Ottawa Police Service and the Parliamentary Police Service, the possessors of these “ordinary tools,” did not achieve what Ottawa citizens and administration, the Federal Government, the Provincial Government and Canadian citizens generally knew to be necessary. Does that justify the invoking of powers of the Emergency Act? </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{1ce35bc4-3e51-49c7-a49a-f80afcaa9d66}{236}" paraid="1374071234" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">It’s true, many fellow Canadians suffered loss of jobs, income, and security because—for conscience or whatever their personal reasons—they chose not to be vaccinated, or they chose not to mask in places where it had been mandated, or they gathered in numbers that didn’t conform to the guidelines of the day. Although human rights and freedoms were invoked as defenses for the Convoy action, that defense rings hollow without an equivalent appeal for the rights and freedoms of those cooperating and in </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">favour</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> of the mandates. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{1ce35bc4-3e51-49c7-a49a-f80afcaa9d66}{247}" paraid="547446721" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Whether or not the restrictions on Canadians were the correct ones for countering the pandemic threat is arguable, and in hindsight, it's clear that how decisions were made by governments on the advice of virologists and immunologists must be reviewed. To say that governments “should have known,” however, is disingenuous … unless one can show that it was conspiracy, not planning, that drove decisions. In law, a conspiracy is an agreement among two or more persons to carry out an unlawful act, with the intent of carrying out the unlawful act. Hence, the Freedom Convoy’s understandable efforts to show that theirs was not an occupation (illegal) but a demonstration (legal). </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{04b77fd2-e12e-4473-beac-a4eba97cdd86}{3}" paraid="201682041" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The witness of participants supports the view that what began as a planned demonstration went out of control because of the large numbers of participants with differing agendas, turning what began as a demonstration into what was reasonably judged to be an occupation. This was unfortunate for everyone involved (all Canadians, in reality) because it made negotiation, even dialogue between government and protesters impossible. With whom was a government supposed to even begin a dialogue? Can a gathering of thousands even have a single, trustworthy voice with whom one can reasonably carry on a negotiation? </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{04b77fd2-e12e-4473-beac-a4eba97cdd86}{25}" paraid="986242622" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">So, was the Emergencies Act justified? It depends on imagination, in part at least. How would Canada be different if the demonstration/occupation hadn’t been dispersed by force? Would ordinary policing without the power to freeze funding have brought the event to a conclusion that was satisfying to all? Would an offer of a dialogue with organizers have been sufficient incentive for the demonstration/occupation to disperse voluntarily? Would the various area police forces have been able to disperse the demonstration/occupation if there had been more cooperation? We’ll never know. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{04b77fd2-e12e-4473-beac-a4eba97cdd86}{36}" paraid="1453383265" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">There can come a point where dissent and the demonstration of that dissent begins to degenerate into what has the appearance of anarchic </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">behaviour</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, a refusal to recognize or accede to the authority governing the country. The refusal to obey the “back to work” order of the Ontario government by educational support workers is a case of teetering on the brink of anarchy. Where is that line? </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{04b77fd2-e12e-4473-beac-a4eba97cdd86}{47}" paraid="1298216027" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">For me, the most poignant historical example of protest from which we might generalize some principles would be the participation in—or refusal to participate in—armed conflict. Principle One is that you cannot make a person carry or use a weapon on another person, just as you cannot drag a person to a clinic and hold him/her/them down while injecting a vaccine. No democratic government can control citizen </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">behaviour</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> to an unlimited degree. The second principle is that being excused from a national directive doesn’t come without a cost, so that if I refuse to bear arms, it is both logical and legal that I contribute to the welfare of the country in another, balanced way. Conscientious Objectors gave up their freedom to serve in mandated programs of work in the forests, mountains, farms and fields of the country ... as a civic duty. Many who took the conscientious objector option gave up more than some others </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">who enlisted. Those who refused military </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">alternate service were imprisoned. </span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{92e47bcb-6ff6-4d92-be82-e166c1296937}{178}" paraid="1917633909" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">And an overarching principle: the world is and always will be </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">chaotic </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">as opposed to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">orderly</span><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, at least until humans are replaced by robots. What kind of hell would that be? How to be a good person in a chaotic world is, in a nutshell, the Christian Gospel at its best. To love God and God’s creation and to wish for your </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">neighbour</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> peace and plenty amid the chaos is the incontrovertible kernel inside the nut. When a truckers’ convoy and the Canadian government set this kernel aside and make something else their truth—power, personal liberty, the righteousness of governance, the righteousness of protest, money, notoriety, whatever—chaos will always laugh its way to the bank. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW268305418 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{04b77fd2-e12e-4473-beac-a4eba97cdd86}{69}" paraid="2093310310" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW268305418 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW268305418 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-54641665054188202612022-10-29T09:32:00.051-06:002022-10-29T09:56:15.385-06:00Bet Ya Ten Bucks...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US">I drove past a casino on a Sunday morning some years ago and noted that the parking lot was full of cars. “Why aren’t those people in church?” I wondered for a second, but only for a second because I knew why they were here and not there. The casino promises the chance of a reward for their presence, or at least a greater reward than the church does. We go to places that promise pleasure, avoid places that don’t. </span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US">“Simple as that?” you ask. </span></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{70e78d71-76e4-4b17-a359-2a9deebad550}{214}" paraid="540277475" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW84948691 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span class="TabChar SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre;"><span><span> </span> </span><span> </span> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">No, not really, but it’s enough of a factor to demand some serious exploration.</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{70e78d71-76e4-4b17-a359-2a9deebad550}{214}" paraid="540277475" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{504c4438-c176-4151-aea3-be4f9954e1af}{91}" paraid="735036151" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun EmptyTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW84948691 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span class="TabChar SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Dr. Brian Goldman on a podcast called “White coat, Black art” recently explored the implications of relaxed sports betting regulations on, particularly, those vulnerable to gambling addictions. Apparently, it’s not illegal anymore to bet on a specific game, even to bet on its details, like which hockey player will score the winning goal. You may have noticed the increased advertising by betting sites on your smart phone and computer. </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{504c4438-c176-4151-aea3-be4f9954e1af}{91}" paraid="735036151" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW84948691 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span class="TabChar SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">I took a few Psychology courses at the University of Alberta long ago. The profs were either </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">behaviourists</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> or cognitive theory proponents, and this difference was reflected in how they accounted for influences that led us to behave in one way and not in another. Why did the chicken cross the road? The </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">behaviourist</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> assumed something on the other side promised a reward or that remaining on this side portended a punishment, but this reasoning dropped us right into the </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlSpellingErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">bailywick</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> of the cognitive (thinking) theorist who would argue that the chicken weighed her options and chose to cross for </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">whatever </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">logic </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">she was following.</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Our chickens on the farm had very small heads; they showed no signs of behaving logically. </span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> A story was told of a behaviourist professor who taught that we humans are conditioned in the same manner as dogs are when being trained to sit. In discussions over beers, the class decided to test the theory by using and withholding the rewards of paying attention and taking notes. The details were that they would pay attention and write notes only when he spoke from the right corner of the classroom. It took only a few days before the goal was achieved; he lectured almost exclusively from the right-hand side of the room, jotted terms only on the extreme right-hand end of the blackboard. </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> When they divulged what they had done to the professor, he was furious; we want to be thought of as logical, not as </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">unconsciously-trained</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> creatures. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> A parent gets his/her/their son to wash his hands by giving him a jellybean whenever he does so. He washes his hands twenty times a day and his mouth </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiBlbmNvZGluZz0iVVRGLTgiPz4KPHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iNXB4IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjNweCIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDUgMyIgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4xIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHhtbG5zOnhsaW5rPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8xOTk5L3hsaW5rIj4KICAgIDwhLS0gR2VuZXJhdG9yOiBTa2V0Y2ggNTUuMiAoNzgxODEpIC0gaHR0cHM6Ly9za2V0Y2hhcHAuY29tIC0tPgogICAgPHRpdGxlPmdyYW1tYXJfZG91YmxlX2xpbmU8L3RpdGxlPgogICAgPGRlc2M+Q3JlYXRlZCB3aXRoIFNrZXRjaC48L2Rlc2M+CiAgICA8ZyBpZD0iZ3JhbW1hcl9kb3VibGVfbGluZSIgc3Ryb2tlPSJub25lIiBzdHJva2Utd2lkdGg9IjEiIGZpbGw9Im5vbmUiIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgc3Ryb2tlLWxpbmVjYXA9InJvdW5kIj4KICAgICAgICA8ZyBpZD0iR3JhbW1hci1UaWxlLUNvcHkiIHN0cm9rZT0iIzMzNTVGRiI+CiAgICAgICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0wLDAuNSBMNSwwLjUiIGlkPSJMaW5lLTItQ29weS0xMCI+PC9wYXRoPgogICAgICAgICAgICA8cGF0aCBkPSJNMCwyLjUgTDUsMi41IiBpZD0iTGluZS0yLUNvcHktMTEiPjwvcGF0aD4KICAgICAgICA8L2c+CiAgICA8L2c+Cjwvc3ZnPg==")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">becomes</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> a mess of cavities. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> “Freedom” has become the noise de jour, it seems. “Restricting individual’s freedom to gamble however and wherever they choose is not the business of the government,” is the logic, the reasoning, the cognition. “We want to be free.” This makes perfect sense in a humanity where everyone is cognitively driven, but like the poor professor, we can be conditioned to behave in ways that are decidedly </span><span face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large; text-indent: 48px;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none;">analogical</span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> and harmful to us and others, repeatedly betting against the house being one of them. <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> How much cognition does it take to end the behaviour of repeatedly buying lottery tickets where the chances of winning are in the millions to one? How much cognition does it take to figure out that casinos, lotteries, raffles are schemes with but one purpose: to condition as many as possible to cooperate with a plan for moving money from fellow citizens’ pockets into someone else’s.</span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c74aef15-b494-4513-ac46-420041fddf0b}{252}" paraid="1300042900" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgFOm1108FxWnaqR-HZZXbIGzveSiydYRrAq1decDGDnioLCJb6VEtbUlgn5r2-3Q41_2Sw7fG1b8PyoRhpJ2jVWPqWsGFyVmYdxq9-MsW-idQREydId_TnkqmIh4J2wa_x5WIdLIaSZTrWi_medvBsMzDsi55s5AfGFUAucRqKuGa4twJA/s474/Canadian%20money.jpg" style="font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="474" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgFOm1108FxWnaqR-HZZXbIGzveSiydYRrAq1decDGDnioLCJb6VEtbUlgn5r2-3Q41_2Sw7fG1b8PyoRhpJ2jVWPqWsGFyVmYdxq9-MsW-idQREydId_TnkqmIh4J2wa_x5WIdLIaSZTrWi_medvBsMzDsi55s5AfGFUAucRqKuGa4twJA/s320/Canadian%20money.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Liberalizing gambling laws may feel like freedom, and for those who’ve already figured out that casinos’ promise of rewards is illusory, manipulative, the change means little. For those who can’t cognitively figure such things out, it’s an expansion of corporate opportunities to enslave, to advertise and coax as many as possible into habitual </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">behaviour</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">.</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">An irony: a </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">woman* spends hours</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> several times a week putting loonies into the one-armed bandit in the bar down the street. Occasionally, the machine coughs up a handful of coins and in her mind, she’s a winner. She doesn’t know that this payout is the jellybean that will rot her wallet; the occasional dopamine rush is enough to keep her dropping in the loonies and pulling the handle. If for every </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlSpellingErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">loonie</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> she dropped in, the machine would spit out a </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlSpellingErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">loonie</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> and a dime, it would become a job and she’d quit.</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{46feeb16-9879-4cd2-bcf5-be0379db76bf}{245}" paraid="242170266" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“Sit, Lassie, sit! Good girl.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-size: large; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{aca0289d-ff71-45f8-9394-3f115293a069}{105}" paraid="816782088" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{9aee2276-b3a9-4f9c-9d28-d539d6c4bcaa}{105}" paraid="928183325" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> I’ve been </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">in</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> a casino once. In Moose Jaw. I ate a meal there and left. I’ve been to church about 2,712 times or more. I’ve also eaten </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">many a</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> potluck meal there. I don’t remember conditioning or cognitive processing ever being discussed when “Why are our numbers falling?” comes up. Perhaps it’s time.</span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{9aee2276-b3a9-4f9c-9d28-d539d6c4bcaa}{105}" paraid="928183325" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559685":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 20.5042px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><p></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{241e2685-e44e-4ea0-aa85-906981d5ad0b}{66}" paraid="569298413" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">*</span><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 15.1083px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> If you prefer, read the rest in the masculine. If there’s a gender difference, I’d suggest that men are at least as “trainable” as women, maybe more. </span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 15.1083px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW84948691 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{241e2685-e44e-4ea0-aa85-906981d5ad0b}{60}" paraid="1664294657" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 15.1083px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW84948691 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW84948691 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 15.1083px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420158.post-15016072736983939522022-10-15T10:06:00.003-06:002022-10-15T10:07:12.130-06:00To Jab or not to Jab<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneyGBDvKf5n_O25QyW7obKYasMmoLNAmpEWfSjppzJR0icvhA_puuJlLqs8nUCYshUL6MVjDvYWOkH5g9eXVV9fHkMKJThZITguDVegHmsOJKf0lcjKrK4fdQl5jVuLgGbrZTnSxn5CstY08uDRqBp3vSR4fe-jjxX5HRXdrlzYxA3Mpykg/s267/Outrage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="267" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneyGBDvKf5n_O25QyW7obKYasMmoLNAmpEWfSjppzJR0icvhA_puuJlLqs8nUCYshUL6MVjDvYWOkH5g9eXVV9fHkMKJThZITguDVegHmsOJKf0lcjKrK4fdQl5jVuLgGbrZTnSxn5CstY08uDRqBp3vSR4fe-jjxX5HRXdrlzYxA3Mpykg/w400-h286/Outrage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Danielle Smith has just become premier of Alberta</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and wants to enshrine non-disclosure of vaccination status as a human right. Meanwhile, hearings are being held to determine if the Government of Canada was justified in invoking the Emergency Measures Act in response to the Freedom Convoy’s occupation of Ottawa. It feels like two chapters of the same book, doesn’t it? </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: large; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><p></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{31618ceb-3a93-4ff3-bec0-db0679fbeddb}{176}" paraid="1240377801" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span class="TabChar SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; white-space: pre;"> <br /></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">It’s become apparent that ignorance about the content of the British North America Act, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the Constitution as it currently divides up federal, provincial and municipal jurisdictions is no deterrent to holding strong but illogical opinions on matters governed by law and tradition in Canada. To hear Premier </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Smith</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> hold forth on human rights and provincial jurisdiction is a bit like listening to old Uncle Mike arguing the medical merits of WD40 and Windex.</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: large; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b30af49a-58b9-4ea9-a5ad-df0f87a33814}{50}" paraid="998907086" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Democracies generally divide themselves into what is the </span><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlAdvancedProofingIssueV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">nation as a whole, what</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> is </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">provincial</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> or state responsibility based on differing regions, and what can be decided municipally. The use of rivers that cross regions can’t be finally left to provinces and states to regulate or Edmonton could dump raw waste into the North Saskatchewan to the detriment of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Same principle applies to airports, international borders and declarations of war. In a pandemic, best bets would be on world government to plan the response, national planning would be second best, provincial third, but only if citizens don’t cross boundaries. Involving Ottawa or Regina in a decision to fill potholes on Second Avenue North in Saskatoon would be absurd; Ontario declaring war on Michigan likewise. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{b30af49a-58b9-4ea9-a5ad-df0f87a33814}{50}" paraid="998907086" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{af771792-ae95-4ff0-b1d5-a7ce7a0fb27c}{135}" paraid="446632516" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">As regards human rights and the decision not to accept vaccines, nothing new is needed. Going to a place where vaccines are administered and rolling up a sleeve has been an adult’s choice; no one has been compelled. To forfeit a job because it requires that personnel be vaccinated belongs with this choice; all employers are charged with exercising what they deem to be best practice in safeguarding employee and client safety and health. </span><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlAdvancedProofingIssueV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">As long as</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> vaccination is scientifically shown to lessen the likelihood of transmitting a virus or bacteria, the right of an employee to overrule standards that include vaccines is no more a valid argument than making smoking in the staffroom a human right, an employee choice. </span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{af771792-ae95-4ff0-b1d5-a7ce7a0fb27c}{135}" paraid="446632516" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{82540284-01b0-460b-9cd9-9544a702a7e2}{255}" paraid="1291051319" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I’m fully aware that the fear of vaccines is a real motivator for many. That there can be adverse reactions (even though they’re rare) and that pharmaceutical companies are maximum-profit oriented are not hollow concerns, and the perception that there might be persons behind the promotion of vaccines who are conspiring to risk the lives of the gullible for profit is not a huge stretch. At the same time, the observation that people like Alex Jones are profiting financially from promoting misinformation and falsehood impales already frightened people on the horns of a dilemma. The agony must be especially acute for parents of young children for whom the care for their health and education represents an onerous responsibility.</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{82540284-01b0-460b-9cd9-9544a702a7e2}{255}" paraid="1291051319" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{8eb5a21a-a48b-4b4f-980f-f322ce19deee}{86}" paraid="850976646" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">But this dilemma is a shared burden. While individuals and families struggle with their response to vaccines, masking and distancing, the national government faces difficult choices of what to do, how to do it and how much action is enough and not too much. Canada’s national response has been exemplary, in my view. Guided by communicable disease science, masks, vaccines have been made available to provincial healthcare administrations in a timely manner. Border security could have been enacted quicker and arguably lightened quicker as well, but what was decreed clearly had citizen safety front and </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">centre</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. </span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{8eb5a21a-a48b-4b4f-980f-f322ce19deee}{86}" paraid="850976646" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{c617b84c-10c4-468a-8435-9ccf15710385}{204}" paraid="1205382174" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">But how should a government act and react when citizens refusing the mandates band together</span><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlAdvancedProofingIssueV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> to</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> force a policy that removes all consequences of their non-compliant choice? Calling their primary action to date a “Freedom” Convoy gives a clue to the driving sentiment, and this thinking is echoed in Danielle Smith’s contention that no one should be asked about their vaccination status, and that it be enshrined as a human right alongside freedoms of religion, speech, etc. The implication is that a nurse working in a hospital, say, need no longer have the right to know what precautions a colleague is taking to prevent the spreading of a communicable disease. Her rights to a feeling of safety are trumped by my right to make my health choices without consequence or reference to my neighbour's well-being. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{667b3cae-95c8-4464-adb3-143cd2f85378}{247}" paraid="1501096364" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW224015293 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{667b3cae-95c8-4464-adb3-143cd2f85378}{247}" paraid="1501096364" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TabRun IPSelectionBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW224015293 BCX8" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; white-space: nowrap; width: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="TabLeaderChars SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; user-select: none; white-space: pre;"></span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Like I said, it’s a shared dilemma and none of us—no matter what our stand is on vaccines—has the moral right to demand privileges that supersede the rights of a </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">neighbour</span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW224015293 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="font-size: medium;">. Whether better civic education would help us settle our differences on subjects like this is debatable, but we all should at least know that the ballot box is the sacred decision-making right in a democracy, and that the challenge to democratic governance with means that include coercion and force puts democracies at </span><span style="font-size: large;">risk. </span></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW224015293 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: x-large; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div>Geo.Epphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14722142979716416551noreply@blogger.com0