Ron Dart has got it right ...
http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=15713
And that is why so many of us real Canadian conservatives do not like Harper and the CPC.
posted by Aeneas the Younger @ 1:18 pm
48 Comments
Aeneas the Younger
"One cannot understand the Conservatism of Canada without thinking of Disraeli." (George Parkin Grant)
Sunday, August 20, 2006
http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=15713
And that is why so many of us real Canadian conservatives do not like Harper and the CPC.
About Me
- Name: Aeneas the Younger
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
A Red Tory lost in the arid seas of Alberta. A devotee of Macdonald's traditional Conservatism - standing foursquare against the dark forces of Harper's neoconservatism.
48 Comments:
Aeneas -- Then does it not stand to reason that this "new" conservative party will, with its internal differing ideologies, eventually implode? It is what I hope for and indeed believe will occur.
Thanks for the article. Excellent read.
Omar:
No - and that IS the problem. The American-style language that many Canadians have bought into as part of our post-Anglo-Canadian culture means that the terms of reference have changed, so that liberalism in its most classical form becomes, as in the USA, the common language and focal point for public debate.
The anti-state Left, as Ron Dart points out, is just as dangerous to traditional Canadian political discourse as the anti-state Right.
Hostility to the state and any notion of a collectivity is the hallmark of liberalism.
Tories and Socialists do not fit, and Nay, are not even allowed into such milieu.
I think you’ve got an impossible battle ahead of you here with this one because the language has already been hopelessly skewed along the lines of the American paradigm of left and right as it’s conventionally portrayed in the media. Nuanced positions such as “Red Tory” are increasingly irrelevant in today’s polarized climate. Many Canadians don’t even know how to frame things in terms of Canadian politics anymore, but use more familiar American corollaries such as Democrats and Republicans. Our own political language has atrophied and withered on the vine. Another casualty of American mass media.
RT:
Yes, I agree to a great extent, but I cannot submit on the principle - hence the quotation on my masthead. If this be my siren call, then I guess at least I go down with Honour.
Hmmm, so the only true Tory is a red Tory? I'll have to mull that one over...
For myself, I suspect the older definitions were simplistic and reflected the less complicated ideologies of the time but that could just be false nostalgia on my part.
Joe Who Clark, during his early years, advocated for decriminalization of marihuana. Does that mean he was a classic liberal in the 70s? Can we fix a period which truly marked the change-over?
Can we truly point the finger at the Excited States for this change? Have the definitions changed in Britian as well? Was Maggie Thatcher not a Conservative?
Mac:
Margaret Thatcher was, in the parlance of British politics, known as a "liberal-Conservative". In the 1970's Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher were both considered to be from what is called in Britain, the "neo-liberal" wing of the Tory party.
This was the section of the party that had adopted the individualist and market-centric legacy of Joseph Chamberlain. When these Liberal-Unionists left the British Liberal party in 1886 to join forcs with the Tories over the issue of Home Rule, they grafted their social and economic views onto the Tory party. This liberal disposition has always been a part of the 20th Century Tory party, but was never fully ascendant until Thatcher became leader in 1976. Up until then, toryism was the major ideological disposition with the British Conservative party (and it has been making a comeback as of late.)
The current CPC in Canada has a few remaining tory elements, but is overwhlelmingly "classically liberal" in the American sense - Individualism, Free-Trade, Market-Centric, Provincial Rights, Term Limits. These are "American conservative" policies.
And if you KNOW ANY CANADIAN HISTORY AT ALL, you will recognise these as identical to Liberal Party policies of the 19th Century - a la Alexander Mackenzie, Oliver Mowat, Wilfrid Laurier, and Mackenzie-King. There is nothing inherently "conservative" (in the Canadian sense) about them.
Joe Clark was kind of a Red Tory in that he allied himself with Ontario and Eastern tories, but being from Alberta, the American influences on his upbringing were too great (Provincial Rights) and to a very large extent (as in Drug reform) he was more a child of his times (1960's).
If you want to challenge me then fine, but be warned: I spent 10 years as an insider within the PC party, and made a degree in Modern Greats as well as a Master's in Political Economy. I think I know of what I speak.
The Americans are not responsible for changing the parameters of the Canadian political language and terms of reference - but Canadians are, in that they failed to realise that Mass Communications from the USA in the form of Television and Printed Media needed to be contolled on this side of the border. Once upon a time we used to do that. The FTA (which caused me to leave the PC party ...) exacerbated this, by facilitating the American takeover of over 10,000 Canadian companies since 1990.
How you ask? Well consider this: everyone of us who works for American ownership now receives training manuals, legal compliance training, and a work environment rife with American references. This changes our daily language, and alters our perception of meaning within the realm of language. Our references become American.
A quick example: I worked for an American-based coporation in Canada and was once counselled to start using American spelling in my e-mails, as it was felt that I was confusing my co-workers and/or making an unwelcome political statement at work, which was felt to be inappropriate. ALL I WAS DOING WAS SPEAKING AND WRITING IN CANADIAN ENGLISH!!!
Imagine my surprise when people dared correct my pronunciation for the words "schedule" and "zed."
And you don't think such subtle and long-term influences alters our traditional Canadian comprehension of language and domestic terms of reference?
That would be Pretty naive on your part. It has already happened.
I'm not challeging; I'm trying to engage your ideas into my perspective. I always considered changes of language to be reflective of changes in society, not vice versa.
Mac:
Ah Yes, the eternal question:
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
Consider this, when controls on American media imported into Canada were made more lax in the 1960's just how much conscious choice did the consumer have?
In my lifetime, I have seen Canadian cultural industries suffer huge losses in Market Share simply because they could not match the US Cultural Industries in EoS, which has led to them be less able to innovate the same kind of production and print values as the Americans. This led the Canadian consumer to a preference for foreign culture not by design, but by conscious and unconscious choice.
Only by undertanding and valuing our own roots and culture could we have avoided this. The divide between Canadian academe and the mass of the population is due in large part because the acadmic community understands those roots and culture in a very Anglo-Canadian way. The mass does not.
The mass prefers Maxim and FHM to Maclean's and The Walrus, thus reducing our common ability to ensure our cultural independence as a Nation.
There's a few flaws with your argument; Maclean's still exists and is doing very well... although I had to google the Walrus (since I'm not part of the academe) it appears to be hale & healthy as well. Quite a number of the top stars, directors and producers in Hollyweird are Canadians. We've infused as much of our culture into their industry as they have to ours which, given the huge differences between our populations, isn't a bad trick.
On the homefront, my favorite hobby magazine (Canadian Classics & Performance) is Canadian. My favorite non-hobby magazine (Saltscapes) is Canadian.
Given the huge changes in our demographics caused by immigration as well as the cultural influence of the US, is it any wonder Canada get confused about it's cultural identity? Who are we? Well, first and foremost, we're not Americans...
How am I doing for an evil right-winger?
Mac:
Macleans does okay, and The Walrus lives month-to-month. But there are a lot less Canadian publications then there used to be. I don't know how old you are, but the amount of domestic media and media ownership is down dramatically since the 1970's.
The fact the some Canadians have dome well in Hollywood is not an indicator of anything, as Canadians have always been part of the American popular culture going back to at least Mary Pickford.
As for being a right-winger, well so am I (to be honest), but I am not a liberal right-winger, I am a Tory right-winger, which places me economically on the centre-left of the scale.
What separates me from CPC members is my Canadian Nationalism. I put Canada and the Commonwealth first. Relations with the USA, while important, are not a paramount value as they appear to be with Harper. I found it instructive that Harper met with Bush PRIOR to meeting with his own Sovereign - The Queen. Diefenbaker would not have done this, nor even considered if - not for one moment.
The Softwood Lumber deal is sub-par by-the-way. A desparate attempt to be seen doing something and all the more dangerous in that it does not press our much-vindicated case. So much for Free-Trade ...
There is one saving grace hovever, and this happens once in while, when Canadians demonstrate a memory for our differences and act accordingly, as in the Iraq War. This misguided conflict has served to remind Canadians that aping all things American is not a way to conduct our lives. How long this will last is beyond predicting, but it is a good sign.
My only worry is that Canadians have confused the Iraq debacle with the necessary War in Afghanistan. Which they have.
Your right about Canadian cultural confusion by-the-way, and we have Pearson and Trudeau to thank for that ...
Don't even get me started on those two classical liberals!
I always loved this quote:
"What would happen in Canada if full sovereignty were invoked and the southern border were sealed tight against American mass culture - if the airwaves were jammed, if all our comic books were embargoed, if only the purest and most uplifting of American culture were allowed entry? Native industries would take over, obviously. Cut off from American junk, Canada would have to produce her own."
Richard H.Rovere, MacLeans, Nov.5, 1960
Mordecai Richler used it to open, "The Incomparable Atuk".
I'll take our Junk over theirs anyday !
Remember "Captain Canuck?"
I have issues 1-3 from 1975.
Maybe some of what you are railing against, Aeneas, can be taken back yet another generation. In that article you linked to, the writer suggested that change "involves the hard work of rediscovering our own history and remembering... the very basis of Canada’s distinct political culture" - and I almost cried.
When I was growing up in Southern Ontario in the 40s and 50s, we were taught almost no Canadian history at all!! I remember unthinkingly colouring in mimeographed maps of the USA and getting tested on the names of the 48 states and their capitals. Did anyone mention 1812, Louis Riel, Laura Secord, the railway....? Nope!!
The only reason for this that I can think of, was that it was easier and cheaper to use American currcicula than to write our own.
But as a result, my generation could not pass on our so-called Canadian values to their children at the very time when TV was taking off.
WWII?? John Wayne. The Battle of 1812? Johnny Horton. Forget The Plains of Abraham, the Northwest Mounted Police and the Hudson's Bay Co. We grew up with American heroes, not Canadian!!
Tradition has never seemed to be as valued in our country as in the US - e.g. the flag, the constant re-wording of the National Anthem, once we'd decided it wasn't "God Save the Queen" - and many of us need a voyage of discovery of our history and distinct political culture, not re-discovery!
BTW, when I was kid, the Liberals were Roman Catholics who stayed home during WWII and made money, while the good Conservative (Protestant) lads went overseas to save the world from Nazism.
Later on, Liberals were the people who spent the taxpayers money on socialist programmes like medical care - arrogating to themselves the CCF platform along with the CFF voters - while Conservatives were fiscally much more responsible!! J/K!!!
(I grew up in a politically active Tory home...)
There was no talk back then of "Red" or Blue Tories. Almost everyone was socially progressive, opposed to the death penalty and so forth; the real differences revolved around how much personal responsibility people should take for their futures, and how much the government ought to pay for.
Thus, under the Diefenbaker Tories, people had medical coverage via private plans; under the Grits, medical coverage became a national programmme, even though health is a provincial responsibility, and national medicare opened up a big can of worms!
Bla bla bla.
Anyway, in my own effort to promote CDN values, I never ask a waiter for "the check". I insist on spelling every damn word I can think of the British/CDN way, just to make a point. After all, as far as I can tell, all the other English speaking nations of the world use the same spelling we used to. The only people in the world who say "sked-yuwel" and "zee", and spell the word honour without a "u", are Americans.
Good article Aeneas!!
Penny:
I also grew up in Ontario, but in Toronto. In Toronto in those days we sang "O Canada" in the morning, recited the Lord's Prayer, and sang "God Save the Queen" at assemblies. Different school boards eh? My Wife is from Kitchener and she cannot relate to my childhood, as she too came under the SWO inclination to save money via American texts. Sad really ...
I was a child of the late-60's and 1970's and so benefitted from the focus on Nationalism and Canadian history that exploded in the wake of EXPO '67. So we learned Canadian history, although in High School you could elect to take American history, which always shocked me - because you could not elect to British history. Again, a problem with text book cost I am sure.
However, I did have older parents (for the day) and they raised my with many of the Anglo-Canadian values of the 1930's, which were politically conservative and socially progressive (how one could live through the Depression without appreciating and seeking remediation from the natural vagaries of Capitalism is beyond me ...).
In my house as well, Conservative boys fought Fascism, Liberals were RCs and new immigrants, and Mackenzie-King was the devil incarnate. It changed somewhat in the 1970's when I met lots of friends of darker hue. But they were friends first. I tried their food and met their parents. I guess it is the (Imperially aware) Anglican in me ...
My Brother on the other hand .... was 12 years older, raised when my parents were younger and had their hands full with other children and unfortunate pregnancies, and he became an Americanophile.
His was the first generation to live with television and his heroes were all the Actors and Rock Stars of the 1950's and '60s. He rebelled against the old Canadian ways, becaue they were boring to him as a Teenager. He never got over this illness.
My Sister was born in 1956, but she has been a Monarchist all her life (but not publicly as it was not "cool" in her day) and I think she suffers from a fear of seeming non-conformist. Ah ... the '60s generation (apologies to you in advance)!
I on the other hand revel in my non-conformist traditionalism. Iconoclasts Ho !
Thanks for stopping by ...
A pleasure stopping by, Aeneas!
I think the one thing that keeps me getting up in the morning - OK closer to noon! - with a smile on my wrinkled face, is that I still feel like a child. (Older people will all tell you this!! Even bent-over 90yr olds! What we see in the mirror, if we can see at all, is a mistake. It must be!!)
For me (born 1943), what has kept me current was that very education that I realised was so out of touch with my surroundings.
That and flunking out of U of T!!! I was so ashamed of being stuck out in Banff skiing, while all my friends were learning great things, that I made a point of always trying to keep up with what's going on!
My Grandfather raised the Union Jack every day of his life at the cottage. He thought the Red Ensign was a piece of crap. Yet I will never forget how stirred I was when that Maple Leaf flag was first raised in February 1965. I was out in Banff and watched it go up above the dark evergreens and outshine even the fresh snow we'd had overnight!!
Heck, I still feel chills thinking about it!!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post!
It's the little changes that will make the greatest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
My web-site ... Social Bookmark
Nice blog here! Also your site loads up fast! What host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish
my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
Feel free to surf to my site ... league of legends download
Excellent post. I am dealing with some of these issues as well.
.
My webpage; Forex Trading System
I know this if off topic but I'm looking into starting my own blog and was curious what all is needed to get setup? I'm
assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny?
I'm not very internet savvy so I'm not 100% sure. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
Look at my web-site; www.Youtube.com
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought
this post was good. I don't know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already ;) Cheers!
my blog post - How To lose Belly fat
Nice blog here! Also your site loads up very fast! What host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish
my site loaded up as fast as yours lol
Here is my web blog ... free codes for microsoft points
I comment when I especially enjoy a article on a site or if I have something to contribute to the
conversation. It is triggered by the passion communicated in the article I looked
at. And on this post Untitled. I was moved enough to leave a leave
a responsea response :-P I actually do have 2 questions for you if
it's okay. Could it be just me or do a few of these comments come across like written by brain dead people? :-P And, if you are posting on other online social sites, I would like to follow you. Could you list all of your communal sites like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
Check out my web-site: unknown
Hi there, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam responses?
If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
I get so much lately it's driving me crazy so any support is very much appreciated.
Feel free to surf to my blog ... daniellathorn.healthkicker.com
This blog was... how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me.
Thanks a lot!
my page - Stretch Marks
Thanks in support of sharing such a pleasant idea, post is fastidious, thats why i have read
it entirely
Have a look at my site - Dragonvale Cheats
My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net
from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the
expenses. But he's tryiong none the less. I've been using Movable-type on numerous websites for about a year and am nervous
about switching to another platform. I have heard
good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way
I can import all my wordpress posts into it?
Any help would be really appreciated!
My blog post: Unknown
Hello my loved one! I want to say that this article is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important
infos. I'd like to peer more posts like this .
Also visit my website; Blogs.Albawaba.Com
I got this website from my buddy who informed me about this website and now this time I am browsing this
site and reading very informative posts here.
Feel free to visit my webpage ... psn code generator
This site was... how do I say it? Relevant!
! Finally I've found something that helped me. Thank you!
My web blog; recycling facts
This site was... how do I say it? Relevant!!
Finally I have found something that helped me. Thanks!
Feel free to surf to my web-site; Bestcoconutoilforhair.Com
This is my first time go to see at here and i am really impressed
to read everthing at alone place.
My blog post - generateur de Code psn
Hello there, You've done a great job. I will definitely digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they'll be benefited from this site.
Look at my page - aleishaherr.Livejournal.com
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post.
Many thanks for providing this info.
Feel free to visit my site: Unknown
For newest information you have to visit world wide web and on the web I found this site as a finest site for most up-to-date updates.
my website ... candice0207.er-webs.com
certainly like your web site however you need to check the spelling on several of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it
very bothersome to tell the reality on the other
hand I will certainly come back again.
Review my web blog ... world of tanks hack
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around
on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I've been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you
Here is my site; PS3 Jailbreak 4.41
Hi there everyone, it's my first pay a visit at this website, and piece of writing is in fact fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these articles or reviews.
Also visit my web blog Eco Sanctuary
I'm not sure why but this weblog is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I'll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
Check out my weblog ... The interlace
When some one searches for his essential thing,
thus he/she wishes to be available that in detail,
therefore that thing is maintained over here.
My web blog ... Dragon City Cheat Engine
Hello to every single one, it's in fact a good for me to pay a visit this web site, it consists of useful Information.
my weblog - candy Crush saga hack
Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I've been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thanks
My site ... Apeter.Com
Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is wonderful, as well as
the content!
Look at my web-site ... Psn Code Generator
This is my first time visit at here and i am really pleassant to read all at one place.
my blog post Dailymotion.com
Awesome post.
My website :: download 7zip []
Informative article, exactly what I was looking for.
Feel free to visit my web blog - Psn Code Generator
I just like the valuable info you supply for your articles.
I will bookmark your blog and take a look at again right here frequently.
I'm fairly certain I will be told many new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the next!
Feel free to surf to my webpage: Code Psn Gratuit
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long)
so I guess I'll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I'm still new to everything. Do you have any points for newbie blog writers? I'd genuinely appreciate it.
Here is my page :: Free Psn Codes
Fine way of explaining, and good post to
take information on the topic of my presentation topic,
which i am going to deliver in academy.
Also visit my web blog Minecraft Crack ()
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home