Both Paul Wells of Macleans and Paul Tuns of The Interim think Stephen Harper's reversal/capitulation on contraception also amounts to a reversal/capitulation on abortion. Their reasoning is even similar. Here's Tuns:
Six of the other seven G8 countries are all strongly committed to “reproductive health” (a euphemism for both abortion and contraception) as part of maternal health, so Harper has effectively capitulated on that and he will be under tremendous pressure from foreign leaders, NGOs and the opposition parties to include abortion.
If so, watch the inevitable clarification re abortion to take place on the down-low: it's not something, that is, that the Tory base will want to hear about.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that, whatever Harper says, the minute he figures the time is ripe, he'll attempt to introduce legislative restrictions on abortion. All you have to do is pay attention to the vox populi (if you can stomach it). There's a disturbing proportion of Canadians who seem to believe abortions routinely occur right up to the last day of the third trimester.
ReplyDeleteHarper's just counting on Canadians, especially those in our demographic (35-55), who are entering their peak earning years and assuming the reins of power, getting dumber. And we are. Dumber, more exhausted, set in our ways but conversely, entering the peak of our influence.
It's going to another bleak decade, I'm afraid.
Bleak century, Ti-Guy, bleaker than even you or I can imagine I suspect.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is slowly being killed off in a death of a thousand cuts or is self-immolating in a perfect fire storm of endlessly flexible, self considering politicians with little care for next month let alone the next decade. The few who do have some kind of long view are consistently battered and ridiculed by both the corporate shilling press and their quisling political colleagues.
Democratic citizenship as a concept is already almost completely transformed into a marketplace model. This transformation will continue and intensify.
Pretty soon if you're not a member of a solid, committed, self-funded, energetic, organized, incorporated group of like minded people you're going to be utterly on your own as far as government is concerned. You may as well not exist.
I'm quite glad I'm not going to have to live through what is coming toward us down the tunnel.
Future generations may find some way to forgive us but I doubt it very much. I'm not sure I could.
It' really tragic. This week, I read "The Vanishing Liberal" in Harper's and glimpsed the fate of Canadian liberals (in the American sense, everyone to the Left of Attila the Hun): a state of "learned helplessness" the American lib/left has been in for at least two decades.
ReplyDeleteAnd today, I read the idiot Paul Wells's too-clever-by half article declaring victory for social conservatism across Canada and just have to conclude that we are powerless to stop this kind of thing. Even a consumer boycott of the news media won't/can't stop this.
Agreed.
ReplyDeleteAnother of my pet fears is that with the passage of time our powerlessness is going to corrupt just as thoroughly as power. But while power corrupts toward gaining and using influence and wealth, powerlessness corrupts toward rejecting the tools that power uses.
In other words the more powerless we are right now the more powerless we choose to become.
Vicious.
Speaking of learned helplessness, here's Liberal stalwart Ted Betts agreeing with every piece of advice for Liberals Conservatives have to offer.
ReplyDeleteIt's like a reflex with him.