Critical Perspectives and Reflections

  The Peoples Party of Canada is troublesome, and repugnant; it stands for everything I find appalling and un-Canadian. While many may take post election liberties and poke fun at this “Purple Wave” that was supposed to happen. Before you make fun of them, start drilling deep on this site by province, by riding. Naturally the PPC had a strong showing in the Prairies, one guy polled 20%, with some others in double digits. Indeed, reasonably strong in BC. Of concern is their strength in Ontario particularly rural ridings, however some strength in the smaller urban centres.  Thank God for the sane people of Quebec and the Maritimes, the PPC was not so popular with these folks. Though Maxine Bernier polled 20% in the Beauce, he’s a local boy so there is no doubt some loyalty on a pers level. And his father was the MP in the very same riding.  Nationally, the PPC polled higher by and large than the Greens at the riding level other than where sane Canadians live. The Conservati...

The unnecessary Canadian election is now over. One of its many issues was the pandemic and the virulently negative attitudes and resistance to vaccination of a noisy minority of the population. It is obvious that it will remain a front burner problem for the foreseeable future. I’ve noted a lot of comments by anti-vaxxers on Facebook and in letters to the editor as well as the odd op ed columns of our daily papers, that those refusing the small jab in the arm should not be criticized for refusing to be vaccinated to protect “themselves” against covid. They maintain that it is a simple human right. I even saw one which claimed that any vaccine mandate is a negation of charter rights. Leaving aside that we have yet to hear of any court challenge based on charter rights being brought to any court, I take the position that this is an uninformed, even “selfish” position. My attitude, shared by many by the way, not surprisingly, and invariably raises the ire of the anti-vax crowd. Can’t We A...

  For Canada, the issue of the residential school horror is part of one of the two equally important/vital/fundamental issues facing this country. The one, is the existential crisis of climate change of course. The other, of which the issue of the unmarked graves of innocent children forms an important part, is ending Canada’s colonial relationship with Indigenous people. This is issue is being foregrounded1 and has been in the news for some months. There is increasing concern, even fear, among a good deal of the caring public that the issue of the many unmarked graves of residential school students is falling out of the attention of the general public. The fear is that what occurred to those interred, thyoung victims of Canadian colonialism, is that it is in danger of going under the rug. The first is dismaying but to a certain extent understandable. Our contemporary society has a notoriously short attention span, the news cycle is a short one, and there is an array of genuinely i...

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.          - George Carlin We have all seen the various news reports of the angry crowds of fairly well-organized gangs of protesters attempting to disrupt some of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s election events. In some ways this is not new, but in others, it is both new and troubling. One of the concerns is that the individuals are so focused on one issue, not climate change, not the economy, not housing or some other important, and typical election issue, but anger over the necessity of vaccinations and mask mandates. These newly “woke” champions of justice are demanding that they be exempted from any and all regulations that are aimed at helping us all (including them and their families) to get out of this horrible pandemic. The second, and I believe greater, concern is that the same or similar gangs are now descending on hospitals so that they can target health care providers, nurses, doctors, re...

I was diagnosed with PTSD, mixed anxiety and severe depression in 2010. My diagnosis resulted from my experience as a “Repatriation Officer” to Canada Afghanistan military personel who had been killed in action. There are other causes of course and I’m only one of many. These days I’m doing quite well, especially now that I’m a grandfather. My darling sweet Princess Freyja, is my world and her presence makes me soar in blissful joy. Thank you Savannah Bellows and Kieran Lawless-Johnston for the greatest gift of all. Dark Times  During my dark times, at my lowest point, I attempted suicide twice. Looking back I can’t help but think what a horrible legacy it would have been to leave Freyja. I know how difficult things can be. Truth be told I think that now I’ve got that PTSD and a depression pretty well managed, but the anxiety pops up far too often, and when I get in a panic sometimes I lose my raspberries. My anxiety kicks in and causes me to be rash and I’m not quite sure how to e...

  Ontario must have vaccine passports, the time is NOW! Gee, go figure, BC announces COVID passports, vaccinations go up 200%. What happened to “We don’t know the long term impacts, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions, gazillions have had adverse side effects, blood clots, grown two heads, died and had their penises fall off?” It’s ok my ultra-right wing FB friends (by in large anti-vaxxers), trust me, the needle doesn’t hurt. I truly hate the things, having “blood work” terrifies me, my veins are hard to find. I’ve had open heart surgery and all kinds of other surgeries. Had to walk around with an anti-biotic/pain drip for a week after a motorcycle accident. After heart surgery, I had to have at home blood work for 6 weeks. I have well over 30 vaccinations in my Health Canada Vax Reg book. Being a soldier for forty-one years will do that. I just hate them, no I loathe them, I have a bit of a phobia, I could sure live without them. Ahh but I can’t can I? Not these days. So, ...

  Recently, people around the world celebrated the anniversary of the birth of a truly outstanding human being. Saint Oscar Romero was born on August 16, 1917, in El Salvador. (Jesuits of Canada and the United States. Face Book post, 2021) Bishop Oscar Romero was one of the most inspiring men in modern history. Though born and raised in privilege he grew into a “man of the people” committed to their liberation and dignity. He demonstrated amazing commitment and bravery. He demonstrated to us how to think deeply about the way we have to, and can be, open to the need for progressive, liberating change, even against the most implacable and vicious forces of evil, greed and repression. Through his life, mission and martyrdom, he called on us all, and still calls on us, to work to understand how there can be no genuine moral polity without justice, compassion and courage. For Romero there could be no “neutrality” where social justice was concerned. He exemplified what it means to really...

The selfish, self-serving, COVID anti-vaxxers continue to peddle their falsehoods and create dangerous memes, the latest of which talks about how evil the idea of a COVID passport is and how it would create a world of “us and them”, and “my rights” and other such malarkey. They speak of rights. Excuse me, as if we, the rest of the vaxxed public don’t have any. Surely there is a technological means of creating a compassionate and efficient way of indicating who is and who is not vaccinated. While I’m not a computer chap I can’t believe there is not a program that could pull the correct info/image off of health cards. The truth is, a COVID registration card/passport would be rather easy to produce. In Ontario every person vaccinated is electronically recorded, batch #, type of vaccine, location(s) administered, name, DOB, healthcare # etc. I presume this is the case for every province and territory. All the info, including a photo, is already captured. A tamper-proof security card will b...

Power is one of the most important elements of life. Many people have written on the importance of power, Lord Acton1, (Lord Acton Quote Archive) is probably the most famous example but Saul Alinsky (1971) and Krupali, (2020) among others also discussed its importance. My own definition of power is a simple one, “The degree to which we are able to act to influence our environment, - to get things done, or make things happen; or to keep things from getting done, or happening.” (Lee, 2011) Today, we live in an age where bromides about power seem to abound. Power is seen as a bad or corrupting force and to be avoided (Shea, 2012) for example. Or, power is a good thing, and within us all, as Hay (1991) suggests. A corollary of that is that we do not, and cannot, be powerful if we do not believe we are powerful and thus, to be powerful (in a good way), requires that we believe that we have power and the agency to achieve what needs achieving. There is a quote by Alice Walker (2004) that fit...

I’m afraid history has shown time and time again the “organized” religion is far more harmful than helpful. There can NEVER BE PEACE with RELIGIONS!!!!! - Facebook posts There is a bit of rhetoric that has been slagging away at professed Christians and suggesting that they are possessed by a particular proclivity for violence, and often hypocrisy. One such piece, easily found on the web, is supposedly articulated by the great Indigenous statesman, Tecumseh that goes: When Jesus Christ came upon the Earth, you killed Him. The son of your own God. And only after He was dead did you worship Him and start killing those who would not. It is a very popular quote, and there is no denying the latter section. It is often seen on Facebook or in letters to the editor. It is typically used when a person wants to have a go at the, pretty often well-known, hypocrisy of a goodly number of Christians, (e.g., the fundamentalist gangs that are so keen on the obviously immoral D.J. Trump, the Roman Catho...