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+--- Thread: The 2019 Canadian election (/showthread.php?tid=13576)
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - Labster - 10-23-2019
I think that while it's fair to consider Trudeau a very "meh" leader, I hope you all realize how amazing that sounds South of the Border. The way I look at it, we dodged a bullet here by not letting divisive politics take over Canada the same way it did in the U.S. I realize not everything revolves around us but it kinda does. Or rather, the less of the kind of Putin, Orbán, and Trump there are elected in the world, the less of the inevitable bloodshed there will be at the end of this stupid era of history. I'm probably mischaracterizing the Conservatives (and probably not the People's Party), but as you can see in other English-speaking countries once proud right wing movements have turned into total shit-shows.
Oh incidentally, I avoided this thread until now so as not to be seen meddling in the election of a foreign government. It was remarkably easy to do; other important people should try it.
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - hazard - 10-23-2019
It's inherent in right wing movements for that to happen. Too much 'obey the leader' and not enough 'think things through and accept the reality you have to deal with'.
To be fair, that's not only an issue for right wing movements, but such movements are rather nakedly authoritarian.
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - Labster - 10-23-2019
In defense of conservatism, I'll just say that at some points in history, rugged individualism and not trusting politicians were considered conservative values.
I'm afraid the problem has more to do with human nature than conservatism or liberalism. People in general want to feel like they are part of a tribe, that their tribe is the best, that their tribe is winning, and that what they do is righteous, and people who do things differently than them are wrong and bad. It doesn't even matter that in the modern day tribes are obvious granfalloons. Populism is crack for high-functioning people.
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - Black Aeronaut - 10-24-2019
*Shruggs*
I simply prefer to define what is evil.
I know, it's kind of a nebulous thing. You can arbitrarily point at anything and claim that it's "evil". That happens a lot even these days.
But I like to think that my own litmus for evil is an ideal that many can agree to, if only they can put their own prejudices aside.
To me, evil is actively going out of your way to make someone's life worse. Not even being a bystander - we all know why some of us are just bystanders. We don't want them to suddenly turn their attention towards us. And that's a legitimate concern - I won't fault many people for it.
But the act of making it your purpose to spread misery? To actively hurt people? To profit off of human suffering?
To me, that is the epitome of evil.
And when so-called "conservatives" make it their mission in life to hurt women by removing their reproductive rights? To marginalize minorities? To spread fear and xenophobia? You're not a conservative. You're just plain evil.
It's no secret around here that I was raised as a Latter-Day Saint and that even though I don't talk to God much these days, I do adhere to a lot of the core tenets. One of those being that you shouldn't judge people - that is a right saved exclusively for the man upstairs himself. But that doesn't mean that we don't do anything about people that are this misguided.
But that will only happen so long as voters continue to show up at the polls and say with their votes, "No, I do not want your hatred and undisguised avarice in my life. Be Gone!"
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - SilverFang01 - 10-24-2019
(10-23-2019, 07:01 PM)Labster Wrote: In defense of conservatism, I'll just say that at some points in history, rugged individualism and not trusting politicians were considered conservative values.
I'm afraid the problem has more to do with human nature than conservatism or liberalism. People in general want to feel like they are part of a tribe, that their tribe is the best, that their tribe is winning, and that what they do is righteous, and people who do things differently than them are wrong and bad. It doesn't even matter that in the modern day tribes are obvious granfalloons. Populism is crack for high-functioning people.
There is a quote that comes to mind regarding conservatism:
Quote:To be firm without a complementary flexibility is to be a corpse. Conservative self-confidence without a liberal broad-mindedness becomes chauvinism, pedantry. My sensei taught me the value of the rock’s obduracy. He provided too, the example of the fluidity of the sea that flows around the rock…
Dave Lowry, Persimmon Wind
And although individuality can be a virtue, it can also be taken to an extreme such as telling a person who actually needs help to just “walk it off”, or thinking that you reached where you are by your effort alone without recognition of all the direct and indirect help you have received along the way.
Right now I feel that conservatism is out of balance, feeding only of our darkest impulses which throws the whole out of whack.
RE: The 2019 Canadian election - robkelk - 12-08-2019
So, we had the Speech from the Throne late last week - that's where the Sovereign or her representative reads a speech written by the government that sets forth in general what the government hopes to accomplish. It's a policy statement, not an Act of Parliament.
The Conservatives didn't like it because it didn't say the government would strengthen the oil industry.
The NDP didn't like it because it didn't say the government would weaken the oil industry.
Which leaves the Bloc Quebecois to support the government in the vote on the speech to be held some time this week (assuming no filibusters).
If the vote fails, so does the government.