Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Justin Trudeau and the Politics of Fear



The other day I wrote a post where I asked, or begged our progressive leaders to elevate their game. To go big or go home.

And make the struggle to defeat the Harper Cons a larger struggle to save Canada and its values.

And I have to say that last night in Toronto, Justin Trudeau did deliver. 

Justin Trudeau accuses Stephen Harper and the Conservatives of “stoking anxiety and fomenting fear” in a diverse Canada and calls their politics “corrosive.”

“Mr. Harper and I disagree fundamentally about many things. None perhaps more so than this: leading this country should mean you bring Canadians together. You do not divide them against one another,” Trudeau told the audience at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.


Because it was an excellent speech and some things needed to be said.

“Fear is a dangerous thing. Once it is sanctioned by the state there is no telling where it might lead. It is always a short path to walk from being suspicious of our fellow citizens to taking actions to restrict their liberty.’’

And what impressed me the most was that it was also a brave speech. Because standing up for a Muslim woman's right to wear a niqab, in a country bubbling with the bigotry Stephen Harper has stirred up, could cost him votes.

But this also did need to be said:



Trudeau said that in a free country like Canada, individuals have the right to dislike the niqab, hold it up as a symbol of oppression, or even try to convince fellow citizens not to wear it. 

But he hastened to add that those who would use the state’s power to restrict women’s religious freedom and freedom of expression “indulge the very same repressive impulse that they profess to condemn.

Stephen Harper has been playing a dirty game...



So he deserves to be condemned in the strongest possible way. 

And we will never defeat him unless we make our vision of Canada and its values better than his. So good for Trudeau.

Now I know what some of my orange and green friends, are going to say:

"You see I told you, I TOLD you. Simon is for Justin !!#@#!!!"

So I'll probably have even more bruises by tonight than I have now, after my last disastrous hockey game, and nine years of living in Harperland. 

But this is what I'll probably tell them. After reminding them that I'm the one with the black belt. And the explosive temper.

Yes I'm for Justin, just as I am for Tom Mulcair and his message on the politics of fear...



And just as I am for Elizabeth May who could also be my Prime Minister...



Because all of them are better, more decent, and more Canadian leaders than the hog we have now...



And all I would ask of them is that they make the struggle to defeat him as big as the country itself. 

Make the vision of a better Harper-free country something to get excited about. Make it more like a movement to save our Canada, and its values. So more Canadians will be inspired to vote in the next election, since so much will depend on that.

And to my red, orange, and green friends I would just say this:


Do what you must to defeat that monstrous Con hog and his depraved regime. 

And let's all take our Canada back...



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26 comments:

Marmalade said...

I listened to Justin last night and he made me feel PROUD to be a CANADIAN! When voting in the next Election, CANADIANS have to look at the BIG PICTURE and decide for themselves what kind of government they want. We are all in this TOGETHER!

The present government is all about 'Divide and Conquer'! If you can't see this, then you have your head in the sand.

Anonymous said...

I think they are all decent people too. Really decent people. I watched Paul Martin with Steve Paikin and though I am a committed social democrat I could have cried at what Canadians could have had if he had been our PM for all these years because he is a decent man too. .

Anonymous said...

Wow! BIG cudos to J.T. for finally getting off the fence. THAT sounds like a Canadian leader for a change instead of some lily-livered, closeted (pun and double entendre intended) warrior wannabe coward.
That guy I just might be able to see running the show and doing a pretty good job of it. Just need to teach him the word "no" when it comes to exorbitant tax give-aways and corporate welfare cheques at our expense.

Anonymous said...

I want a coalition of Green NDP and Liberal and wash ourselves of this Harper-con scum I hope they are listening because united we stand divided we fail.

Cheers Simon,
Mogs

mizdarlin said...

Okay, Simon, good for Trudeau, and I guess the masses who adore him won't notice that he made a fundamental (pardon the pun) mistake with equating the ability to wear the niqab with "religious freedom'...a mistake many make..there is nothing religious about a niqab, or any other repression of women, it is a male-driven secular control device, and if no one believes me, then have a look, at this>
ww.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/mar/06/afghan-men-burqas-womens-rights-march-kabul-international-womens-day-video?CMP=share_btn_fb

Bill said...

Thanks for this Simon - well said. Ifmore and more citizens put Harper and his fear in the penalty box... we can throw the Con party out of government.

Rural Roots said...

Like you, I have close friends, associates and family that share progressive thoughts and political beliefs amongst the LPC, NDP and Greens. My boomer colleagues share your position on Justin's impressive speech in Toronto last night and we welcome his insights on our liberties and freedoms and are proud of his efforts thus far in the approach that must be taken to bring us back to a sensible and caring country - our calls for stepping up to the plate are being met and there is reason now for us to be optimistic for our country and fellow citizens.

Grant G said...

Add the Vancouver Sun`s Ian Mulgrew to to anti-Harper anti false flag tactics of the RCMP to the list of telling the straight Goods.

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/Mulgrew+Bomb+plot+couple+needed+addiction+counselling/10875320/story.html

And a double header for the Vancouver Sun...Pete McMartin...A lively article about C-51, and how Canadians are now in fear of their own Government.

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/Pete+McMartin+Drawing+line+between+protest+terrorism/10875332/story.html

A rightwing newspaper, something big is going on, I believe,.....I believe because of the fact Christy Clark`s LNG fantasy died a swift death, the province of BC is thinking longterm, we need more guaranteed federal healthcare funding for an aging population, more federal infrastructure dollars, bridges, transit and the like....

BC Liberals are a rightwing government, a rightwing government with plans on staying in power, thus they need a federal Liberal or federal NDP Government to help pay for needed services, believe it or not...A subtle anti-Harper campaign is under way, led by a rightwing government, will wonders ever cease!

Anonymous said...

Thank you JT for saying what needed to be said. Harper's one act "fear-a-thon" needed a good swift kick in the nuts and you did it well. Keep it up and while you're at it, ask our closet dwelling rectum how the economy's going.

Norm said...

I can't find any links to Trudeau,s speech are there any. Simon you where there and were impressed , a UTube link may "inspire" the rest of us who missed it.
TOGETHER WE CAN
Norm

Norm said...

Simon I found it lo and behold on the Fed Lib site. Duh
Norm

Norm said...

I had read your post, some of the news articles but none beats listening to Trudeau,s words. Thanks for your part Simon. Maybe it's a start to satisfy your plea to be 'Inspired"

http://www.liberal.ca/canadian-liberty-and-the-politics-of-fear/

Norm


John B. said...

There has been at least one curly-lipped snivelling shit like Harper on every job I've ever worked on. More often than not there has also been a golden boy like Justin. The snivelling shits are easier to spot.

Simon said...

hi Kathleen...yes Justin did well last night, and let's hope all our leaders rise to the occasion, for now is the time...

Simon said...

hi anon...I have my disagreements with all the progressive parties, but at this time in our history all I care is that they share my Canadian values that Harper seems so determined to destroy. And all I care about is that the Cons be defeated and our country saved...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes it was good to see somebody stand up and call a spade a spade, or a bigot a bigot. And yes as I said above I have my disagreements with the Liberals, I am probably quite a bit to the left of the NDP. But when Justin does something good I will encourage him to do that and more. As I will encourage any other progressive leaders, to do the same thing and help save Canada...

Simon said...

hi Mogs...I would LOVE to see a progressive coalition, and see progressives working together. Because when we work together nothing can defeat us, and Liberal/NDP coalitions in the past have produced some of Canada's finest governments...

Simon said...

hi mizdarlin...as you already know I am no fan of the burka or the niqab, as I am not a fan of many other religious practices of all religions. But this is not the time to begin a discussion about niqabs, for it would only play into the hands of Stephen Harper, who is using it to fan the flames of bigotry. You and I can oppose the idea of the niqab for all the right reasons, and without being accused of being bigots. But others in this country clearly can't and it threatens to rip the social fabric of this country, and take us to a very bad place. Don't allow Harper to distract you. It's a question of one struggle at a time, and for the sake of Canada you need to choose the right one...

Simon said...

hi Bill...you're welcome. Coming so soon after I begged our progressive leaders to inspire us more, this was definitely a good start. But now I'm spoiled and I want more... ;)

Simon said...

hi Rural Roots...that's good news, we have to keep those boomers honest ;) But yes we also have to speak up for our Canadian values, both loudly and proudly. Because they are what made us great in the past, and they will help make us great again...

Simon said...

hi Grant...well that is very encouraging, and we do need to think long term, something the Harper Cons have never done. We have no industrial strategy, we have no proper plans to cope with a flood of older patients into our hospitals, and no proper pension system to keep millions from sliding into poverty. The Con record couldn't be more disastrously incompetent, and we really can't afford the luxury of having them rule any longer...

Simon said...

hi anon...yes that should be our strategy: expose his hollow war on terror, and hit him where it hurts by focusing on his disastrous economic performance. As well as his authoritarian tendencies and his never-ending attempts to muzzle his critics and turn us into a police state...

Simon said...

hi Norm...thanks for sharing the link. I was thinking of including a transcript when I started writing the post, but then I got too sleepy and I forgot. Duh...;)

Simon said...

hi John...I have worked with some pretty awful people but never with anyone as twisted as Harper. Which is just as well because I probably wouldn't have lasted very long on the job... ;)

mizdarlin said...

It would have been nice if you had tried the link I provided...and deciding that the population is too stupid to know the difference between a religious practice and a cultural one is playing right into the Con's hands...the point of the link was to show that there in men in the Middle East who are out there supporting women, and satirizing the wearing of the niqab by doing so themselves, in a public demo..this is a revolutionary thing for these men, and could get them in lots of trouble...the least I can do is support their efforts by trying (no matter how long it takes) to show the West that this sort of thing (forced covering of women) is not in fact a religious construct, but a male one..it's important, since wearing the niqab here in Canada should be voluntary for all the right reasons..it is Harper who is trying to present a bigoted argument, and taints all of Islam with his filthy brush.

Anonymous said...

who cares what you wear on your head..... It does nothing to detract from identifying her. Most Canadians, that I know from coast to coast to coast could really care less. Maintaining our rights and freedoms is the real issue. who cares if its religious or choice... I really don't care. The current govt is creating a police state, something our parents and grand parents fought to stop in other parts of the world, yet here we are seeing the beginning of losing the very ideals that made Canada the proud example of rights and freedoms of a mixed culture society.