Okay guys. Simmer down. Yes we just kicked momentous butt at the Olympics. Yes we won an obscene amount of gold medals. But let's try to maintain our Canadianness. We're supposed to be the humbler gentler nation, remember? So enough with the gloating posts on Facebook. That's not us. There was a reason we kids slapped Canadian flags on our backpacks when we travelled through Europe. As soon as the locals discovered we were Canadian, not American, their smiles deepened. Their eyes softened. It was magical. We need to hang on to that goodwill, Fellow Canadians. Yes we're a nation only recently cured of a longstanding inferiority complex. Yes we've come into our own, finally emerging from the massive shadow of our southern neighbour. But we can't let it go to our heads. Otherwise there will come a day when American kids are slapping their flag on their backpacks, fearful of being mistaken for arrogant Canadians. I don't want to live in that world, people! So simmer down!
Sincerely,
PC
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Dear Disillusionment,
I've just gone from re-watching By The People: The Election of Barack Obama, the documentary which captures so wonderfully the hope, excitement and optimism of that historic time in 2008, to watching War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. What the hell happened?
You really know how to twist the knife, Disillusionment. Barack Obama promised change. He promised transparency and an end to the Machiavellian tactics so disgustingly utilized by the Cheney, I mean the Bush administration. But Obama has gone after more whistleblowers than all previous administrations combined. These whistleblowers had legitimate concerns, legitimate reasons to expose what they exposed. But they were prosecuted and put through hell. By Obama! How could this happen?
The first inkling that Obama was not going to be what people wanted him to be, in my opinion, was his inclusion of Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner in his administration and his re-appointment of Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Charles Ferguson's excellent Inside Job outlines exactly why these moves were so troubling. Then there was the disturbing revelation of the continued mass surveillance of American citizens by the NSA, which we only know about thanks to Edward Snowden, whom the Obama administration has, of course, charged with espionage. And now there is the question of drone strikes. Jeremy Scahill's Dirty Wars is, well, you've done a heck of a job, Disillusionment. We used to chant Yes We Can. The future seemed so bright. What happened?
Sincerely,
PC
You really know how to twist the knife, Disillusionment. Barack Obama promised change. He promised transparency and an end to the Machiavellian tactics so disgustingly utilized by the Cheney, I mean the Bush administration. But Obama has gone after more whistleblowers than all previous administrations combined. These whistleblowers had legitimate concerns, legitimate reasons to expose what they exposed. But they were prosecuted and put through hell. By Obama! How could this happen?
The first inkling that Obama was not going to be what people wanted him to be, in my opinion, was his inclusion of Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner in his administration and his re-appointment of Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Charles Ferguson's excellent Inside Job outlines exactly why these moves were so troubling. Then there was the disturbing revelation of the continued mass surveillance of American citizens by the NSA, which we only know about thanks to Edward Snowden, whom the Obama administration has, of course, charged with espionage. And now there is the question of drone strikes. Jeremy Scahill's Dirty Wars is, well, you've done a heck of a job, Disillusionment. We used to chant Yes We Can. The future seemed so bright. What happened?
Sincerely,
PC
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