QUICK DISPATCH: NEO-PATRIOTISM AMONGST THE NEW LEFT
With her induction this week as Canada’s new
Governor General, Michaëlle Jean seems to have sent many hearts aflutter with her impassioned speech.
With phrases such as:
“Every Canadian woman, every Canadian man prizes that freedom and would defy anyone who tried to take it away – of that I have no doubt.”
And
“More than four centuries ago that spirit of adventure drove women and men to cross the ocean and discover a new world elsewhere.”
Many conservatives and hitherto non-believers were very much cast under her sway. She used the language they wanted to hear and they heard what she said. But what did she mean?
I have noticed, especially in the past few year’s amongst my New Left and liberal friends a resurgent patriotism with regards to Canada. Whereas during the nineties they would speak of Canada in derogatory terms and lump it with America as a great exploiter and capitalist nation, now they passionately defend it. They are almost….dare I say
American in their defense of it. Talk of Canada as a wealthy exploiter nation brings looks of derision; they want to understand our history and better yet, they want to export it.
Why the change? Why the language used in Michaëlle Jean’s speech?
Many have said that this was a true patriot’s speech. Many conservatives have allowed themselves to say that this was no
‘liberal’ speech and have applauded it.
My first question with regards to Jean's references to freedom is…free from whom?
All language is imbued with meaning. Words only have meaning with respect to context and morality. The right and left do not speak the same language anymore.
To a conservative, the word
terrorist conjures up an image of a member of Al Quaeda, chanting just before he straps a bomb to his body and goes running into a group of unarmed civilians.
To a New Left liberal, the word
terrorist conjures up an image of President Bush reading his bible before he is about to give a speech to the nation about the state of New Orleans that is about to be carried on FOX news.
Same word…different meaning. So again I ask Jean…free from whom?
I submit that the past two years have been an extraordinary time in Canadian history and the New Left knows it.
That the Liberals will come through ADSCAM unscathed shows them that they are the entrenched establishment and can exploit the populace
with its own consent.
The forced passage of same-sex marriage ensured that our Charter of Rights and Freedoms will now be interpreted through the prism of Marxist Oppression Theory and Feminist Gender Identity Theory.
The fact that a report last week stated that Canadian business’ are taxed at a level that is second only to communist China shows that our business community and entrepreneurial spirit will for the foreseeable future be curtailed by a government that can dictate what can and cannot be done at a level that no democracy should tolerate.
I do not know Michaëlle Jean. I do not know what is in her heart. I only know what I suspect. That she has been picked by the establishment because she is part of the establishment. That she refused to swear in on a bible yet had token
‘gospel’ singers at her party said much from a cultural vantage point.
The Canada Michaëlle Jean pledged alliance to in her speech was very much New Left…New Canada. It is not the Canada that fought Hitler in WWII and considers morality a bedrock of society.
“And that is how I am determined that the position I occupy as of today will be more than ever a place where citizens’ words will be heard, where the values of respect, tolerance, and sharing that are so essential to me and to all Canadians, will prevail.”
As she tells us, Jean’s Canada is the one of
tolerance and
sharing.
A Canada governed by human rights tribunals and hate crimes laws.
A Canada where one can have legal sex with a 14 year old but has to be afraid of imposing traditional morality on their children.
A Canada where the greatest perceived threat comes not from foreign weapons aimed at us but from our American friends to the south.
A Canada where the populace is not allowed to express itself freely and can only be what they are told…not who they are.
Jean’s speech said much. She is a true patriot. But before you say she represents all you hold dear and true, ask yourself a question.
Jean says we are a free country…but free from whom?
DOSSIER # 16: DO BLOGS MATTER?
This is the one question that everyone that does what we do must ultimately ask. Is what I am doing making a difference.
At my first job out of university I was friends with an older graphic designer who was just getting into the internet when it was in its infancy. He used to say that the internet was about people's obsessions. What else could drive a person to devote so much time to something that they are not getting paid for. Whether it is a website devoted to Britney Spears or a blog devoted to complex international politics, the one thing I do believe is that my friend was right. The internet is about people's obsessions.
But does it matter? Do blogs matter?
That is a complex question. Certainly across the world the relevence of blogs has accelerated at differing rates. In America, bloggers helped take down Dan Rather and regularly shame the American media but they also have people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham to assist them. In China they are still monitored. In Canada, I do not believe we are at the level of the States. We could be...but we need help.
For blogs to matter, they must be read and for them to be read they must be promoted. For them to be promoted the product itself must be good and desirable.
But in order for a blog to affect change, it can't just be read by the people who agree with its view; if that of course is the goal. With some it is not. If the goal is merely to blow off steam, point to an article and say 'Boy doesn't this suck' then I suppose that the purpose would be to find a sense of community with people who agree that said article 'sucked'.
In order to affect change one must reach people who do not agree with you or are at least on the fence. Alternately one can also affect change by reaching people who perhaps do agree with you but perhaps you can give them a better understanding of why they believe what they believe and let them know they are not alone.
Now, one cannot have a discussion of the blogosphere without discussing how it has been embraced by conservatives and the right. Of course there is a left-wing presence on the web also, but they have not made the splash that they desired. I believe it is because the conservative presence on the web came out of necessity. For the left it is a novelty as they still have the MSM to depend on.
Phase one for conservatives, Christians and Catholics on the internet was realizing that they were not alone.
For virtually four decades the West has had a left-leaning culture. Films, music, books and news all came from the moral vantage point of the
enlightened liberal. I remember as a child watching Robert Redford films where he would always cheer on some left-wing cause that I really had no attachment to, such as abortion. Of course, I cheered along with 'ole Bob because I didn't know any better.
I always called myself a liberal because, well, they were the good guys.
Conservatives were all wealthy, white men whose only purpose in life was to wring every last red cent out of the mouths of the poor's children and then hopefully make a profit on it as an investment.
And yet, something in me could not relate to the left. At university, even when people were being threatened and harassed by political correctness I still thought of myself as a liberal. But these people weren't like me I thought.
Then one night I stayed up late and saw a chubby, middle aged, bald headed man speaking into the camera from behind a desk. He said every single thing that had been going through my mind since my teen years. From hatred of political correctness to demanding better health care to having a rugged optimism about life and being sick of self-righteous snobs, he mouthed every thought I had. Vigorously. But he was no liberal.
He was of course, Rush Limbaugh.
Now Rush was taken off the air in Canada in the mid-nineties after one complaint to the CRTC. Yes, one. But he served a purpose. He taught me that I wasn't alone .
That is, I believe, the primary use of blogs. It is a forum where like minded people can comment on the news of the day and realize that they are not alone. That is the beginning of change and the reason why the MSM hates them so much. Once the hegemony of the mainstream media is broken that is when change can occur.
But for blogs to affect change-especially in Canada- and get respect they must evolve to much more than just the 'Hey this sucks' variety.
They must offer complex thoughts and explanations of a sort that cannot be found through other types of media. They also ultimately must have people writing them who are willing to go above and beyond and actually do investigative work. Some do and I especially enjoy reading them.
However, and I am about to say what every blogger who has ever posted a thought also believes...
Even if they are widely read, sooner or later if bloggers are to be truly effective they must get paid for what they do. Being paid means people understand your value and worth. It also means someone believes that what you are saying is worth being said to many. This also means that somewhere down the line the system must change.
It is not enough for conservative politicians and cultural types to rely on blogs to help them gratis. Conservative businesspeople must truly be pioneers and be willing to finance culture aimed at conservatives if there is to be any change in the culture.
Culture affects politics, politics does not affect culture.
Blogs matter in that they have proven to other conservatives and Christians that they are not alone and there is a community of people that they can depend on.
But they are not enough. Conservatives must now take the lead and keep entering the culture. Conservatives in power must also hire other conservatives. Even conservative friendly newspapers such as the
National Post and
The Toronto Sun still rely on journalism schools for their columnists/reporters and modern journalist schools are breeding grounds for the New Left.
Real power is never given...it is taken.
Bloggers who believe they will be nabbed up tomorrow by a traditional newspaper or media outlet are fooling themselves.
Conservative leaders who believe bloggers can lead the charge and change the culture without their help are fooling themselves.
Some of the best writing I have read in recent years has been on blogs, but until an equally revolutionary conservative finds a way to take the thoughts and ideas of Canadian conservatives and bloggers to the mainstream, too many of us will be screaming at the wind from the comfortable confines of our apartments.
For myself...that's not good enough.
QUICK DISPATCH: PRESTON MANNING GETS IT!
The losses to conservatism in Canada are cultural not political. Preston Manning’s roundtable discussion this weekend shows that he is forward thinking and understands this reality. He is looking at a twenty year time line at best.
The Leger poll this weekend with the Liberals at 40% should not shock anyone. It certainly did not shock us. This is not the fault of Stephen Harper and no other leader will save the party in the short run.
What there needs to be is a conserted movement among conservative thinkers to teach and finance academic and cultural institutions at a grass roots level. Many Canadian conservatives fool themselves into remembering the good ‘ole days of Brian Mulroney. Was Mulroney a conservative? Margaret Thatcher didn’t think so. She thought his
Progressive Conservative Party placed too much emphasis on the adjective and not enough on the noun. The problem with
progressive conservatives is that the only affect they really have is of slowing down the rate at which our society moves left.
When I was growing up in the 80’s the NDP were seen as the ‘wacko-nutter’ party and the Progressive Conservatives the place of serious minded adults. Now it is the opposite. The change is not within the parties itself…it is within the culture. Now that the New Left- the baby boomers- are of age they control the value system…not the wiser WWII generation.
We’ve said it before; any conservative candidate is not just running against Paul Martin or Jack Layton or John Kerry or Hillary Clinton. He/She is running against every blockbuster film that depicts an evil capitalist businessman…every vapid pop star that says the Pope is evil…every Marxist university professor that says Bush is a Nazi. They are running against a culture of John Lennon, Woodstock, Michael Moore and Madonna.
We live in unprecedented times.
The influence of media, academia, television, art, film and music influences people more than they know. Look at America. Bush was voted in because of his values. Has American culture changed? Everything in our culture skews left and has for almost 40 years progressively. By today’s standards, JFK-vehement anti-communist and purveyor of America’s military industrial complex-would be to the right of most conservatives.
Do not negate the influence that popular culture has had on Western political culture. Popular culture doesn’t just reflect the people…it forms and manipulates them.
The battle is fought there…not at the election booth. Be aware of what media you consume, how it affects you. We are constantly told what food affects our bodies; culture affects our minds and soul.
The good news…there is a slight shift. America knows this. Germany is beginning to know this. Preston Manning knows this. Listen to him. People are fed up with the New Left. Most people are fed up with political correctness, same-sex marriage, Hollywood preaching, bad healthcare in decrepit rooms, biased news and poor education. The New Left knows this. They know that they have awakened a sleeping giant in the West. That is why they are getting more and more hysterical. That is why they are flailing and allowing the Cindy Sheehan’s and Michael Moore's of the world to represent them.
As for Canada…don’t abandon your values. Don’t be afraid. This is the test. Remember…how people vote is one thing…what they value is another. On that level there are more on your side than you know. That is ultimately what matters. That is your ace.
The next election has already been fought and decided. Keep your eyes on the long term. Remember the Liberals never used to be as left and morally bankrupt as they now are…they changed and forced change within the culture. The NDP used to be a morally conservative Christian party that helped the poor and farmers…they changed.
The culture can change. Laws can change. People can change. That is the one thing that should comfort you. That is the one constant.
History teaches that.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES: CENSORSHIP & THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
This conversation took place at approximately 9:20 pm Tuesday, September 13th 2005. It was just outside of Roy Thomson Hall where The War Room’s 'agent in the field' code-named Starr was posing as a patron awaiting the North America Premiere of Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s Where the Truth Lies.
For the purposes of blending in, Agent Starr called herself Bella and adopted the persona of an ‘artsy’ film industry type. She also made sure that in addition to wearing the requisite garb of dark glasses and dark sweater; she carried a Dolce and Gabana bag that had an embroidered bead ‘peace symbol’ clearly showing. She sipped a Second Cup crème latte and read a thoroughly highlighted copy of The DaVinci Code.
She recorded her conversation with a stranger in the line named Cerise. Cerise claimed to be a PR Flack for a ‘major Toronto film company’ (although for the life of us we cannot think of one that qualifies as major). Cerise claimed to be in her late 30’s and alone for the evening. She was looking forward to meeting some industry types after the screening.Cerise: Wow! The new Egoyan. I am soooo jazzed.
Bella: They
say he’s the best Canada has to offer. Even if it stiffed at Cannes.
Cerise: This stiffed at Cannes? I thought Egoyan was like, king there?
Bella: Well, I guess Egoyan won’t be ‘goyan back to France anytime soon. ‘Cause they hated it. So did some American critics too. Said it was David Lynch wannabe poseur stuff.
Cerise: Americans. Pffft. Nazi’s. Apparently the MCAA is trying to censor it.
Bella: You mean the MPAA?
Cerise: Whatever. They say the three-way sex scene between Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and some actress means the film gets an NC-17 rating. They’re all a bunch of fascist, homophobic, mouth breathing trogle…troogle…trogela
Bella: Troglodytes?
Cerise: Yeah. Babykillers all.
Bella: But that’s not censorship. The MPAA is the film industry's self-regulating body that rates films. It doesn’t censor them. Only a government can censor.
Cerise: But like, Cronenberg even said that when Egoyan went before the MPAA to appeal there was like a priest and a pastor present. Don’t they have some children they’d rather be molesting instead of influencing our art? Inquisition, I tell you.
Bella: Well…they are supposed to represent community standards.
Cerise: A community of third world nation killing, environment destroying Hitleresque pigs perhaps; not my community! At least Canadians are more sophisticated than that.
Bella: Hmmm. I never thought of it in that nuanced a way before. So you believe that when a group such as the Christian community or conservatives try to influence what types of films we can see, that’s a form of censorship?
Cerise: Damn right!
Bella: Because
artistes such as Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg or say Rob Schneider shouldn’t be forced to put out the vision of any pressure group.
Cerise: Right. They’re
all artists.
Bella: What about PETA? Or howabout GLAAD?
Cerise: They do great work. I’m going to a party of theirs later.
Bella: But GLAAD influences and threatens the film industry in an effort to affect what can actually be produced. Such mainstream films as
Basic Instinct and
Braveheart both felt their wrath.
Cerise: (mumbling)
Braveheart. Pffffft. Nazi.
Bella: Even more to the point…after
Basic Instinct, they demanded and got the right to look at and comment on any studio script they ask to see. If the priest at the MPAA is censorship, wouldn’t you have to call
that censorship too? There is a reason why all of Hollywood vies for the GLAAD media awards every year y’know.
Cerise: You’re like, creeping me out. Whose side are you on anyway?
Bella: The side of free speech. If you cry ‘censorship’ anytime someone tries to influence which ideas are allowed to be said in the marketplace then the Egoyan types have had they’re say for over 4 decades.
Especially in Canada.
Cerise: You like, so have that wrong. Canadian artists are the most free, influencial and respected on the planet. Our films truly represent the wealth of diversity and multiculturalism of the planet of Toronto.
Bella: Then why will nobody see them?
Cerise: Sarah Polley says it’s because the fascist American’s take up all of our screens and if the government can regula…
Bella: Please. Name me one Canadian film in the past twenty years since the government started controlling the financing of our film industry that actually spoke to the average Canadian.
Cerise: Easy.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding. A love story
everyone could relate to.
Bella: Wrong. Nia Vardalos
is Canadian and it
is based on her life growing up in Canadian Greek Town but Tom Hanks produced it because Canadian producers wouldn’t front the cash.
Cerise: Okay, but we got the message. We then produced two mainstream romantic comedies
by Canadians and
for Canadians that everyone loved.
Bella:
Mambo Italiano and
Touch of Pink. One about a gay Italian relationship the other about a gay Hindu relationship. Both bombed. Hardly mainstream fare.
Cerise: Well what about Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, James Cameron and Kim Cattrall? HA!
Bella: Nada. HA! All Canadians who Canadians wouldn’t hire so they went to America where they made their name. Instead, we finance people with such ‘household names’ as Don McKellar, Daniel McIvor and Cynthia Dale. We mostly make films about S&M, incest and necrophilia.
Cerise: Like, you’re starting to
offend me.
Bella: Face it. Our film industry is about as multi-cultural and diverse as the KKK…but with designer hoods of course.
Cerise: That’s because David Miller says more minorities need help and funding to…
Bella: …to what? To take film jobs away from the hypocritical silk stocking socialists who are mostly white, gay, liberal, confused and should be allowing differing points of view in the first place?
A moment of awkward silence.
Cerise: The line is beginning to move. I think they’re letting us in.
Bella: I think I might leave…all of a sudden I don’t really wanna see this film.
Cerise: But…don’t you want to support
Canadian Film?
Bella: I
do. Every spring when I pay my taxes. Here’s my ticket. I wonder if
Revenge of the Sith is still playing anywhere?
End Transmission
QUICK DISPATCH: IT'S THE CULTURE, STUPID!
We just returned from our Honeymoon yesterday, somewhat reluctantly. I fell in love with Britain and even though there is an element of political correctness there, it has not permeated the culture the way it has defined Canada. We’ll deal more with it later but for now…
The issue about the four Quebec Conservatives (although I do not know if they are conservative) calling for Stephen Harper to resign is both angering and pathetic.
On CFRB this morning, Bill Caroll also called for Harper to resign and took calls. The so-called ‘conservatives’ that phoned in stunned me with their lack of intellect and understanding. Like Caroll, they merely parroted back the Liberal slander against Harper as though it was non-biased in the first place. Caroll at one point even said he would vote for Bob Rae if he headed the Liberals.
This is the same New Left Bob Rae that instituted the racial quotas in Ontario over a decade ago that kept me unemployed for a year out of university.
There also seems to be a real anti-Christian streak developing in the Red Tory strain of conservatism that I find disheartening. I encountered it a bit in Britain as well. As though it is Christians who are holding them back even though Christians usually make up the majority of most Conservative parties in the West.
The Red Tories will defend to the death the right of the New Left to allow a 12 year old girl to have an abortion without the consent of her parents if it makes them feel sophisticated at a Rosedale fundraiser but won’t raise a finger to help the starving in Africa. They also are the least curious people in the world when it comes to understanding how media, film and culture works. They think it’s the days of Edward R. Morrow, media is non-biased and priests really are the pedophiles depicted in most Hollywood films. They are the tools of the New Left and they do not realize it. If Hillary Clinton becomes the next leader of the planet you will in part have them to thank.
The truth is many Canadian conservatives don’t get it. They would vote for a communist government so long as it has the label of ‘Conservative’ on it and they won.
I’ll be honest, I do not think Stephen Harper will win the next election. But the answer is not another leader that the Liberals can slander. The answer is not a New Left leader under a ‘Conservative’ banner.
It’s the culture, stupid!
The west has been in a progressive leftward swing since post World War II. Now that the baby boomers are middle aged, they control our media, our corporations, our entertainment and values. Their defining experience was Vietnam. They are the politically correct. They are the New Left. Any ‘conservative’ who wants to merely accept their reasoning, morals, and culture just under the name of ‘conservative’ does not understand the culture nor the meaning of the word ‘conservative’.
President Ronald Reagan understood this. I’m sure his experience as an actor helped him. He did not accept that culture was constantly headed into a socialist, moral abyss and sought to change the culture…not just win elections.
Remember this: Culture defines politics, politics does not define culture.
Canadian Conservatives must take a note from their American cousins and not be ashamed of who they are, nor should they let the New Left define them. I am thoroughly disappointed in the anti-Christian streak running through many Canadian Conservatives. They seem to think that they can take the Christians for granted. They also believe the definitions of Christians as defined by the New Left culture. The Americans have realized this but it still remains to be seen whether President Bush is listening. Many conservatives who backed him are waiting to see how his Supreme Court goes…that will be his true legacy…even more than Iraq.
As for Canadian conservatives…
Dump Stephen Harper at your peril.
Dump the Christians at your peril.
You will end up with a spineless shill for big business and pressure groups who says “How High?” when the New Left says “Jump!” You will enjoy your country of undemocratic tribunals and lack of free speech; your country of junk art and no history; your CRTC and CBC; your increasing crime and lack of discussion; your decreasing birthrate and lack of morals.
Even if you win the election, you will still be in New Left Canada.
It will be called a different name but it will still smell the same.
As for The War Room…you won’t have won based on our vote. We seek real change. If we can’t get it with the Conservatives, we’ll just go elsewhere.
