joemacdawson
joemacdawson's JournalQuestion From An Empathetic Foreigner
I’m A middle-aged Canadian. A white male. My first memory of American politics was of Nixon waving good-bye from the airplane ramp in the early-mid-seventies. In grade six, we had a mock election between Ford and Carter and Ford won because none of us had ever heard of Carter. I recall the Reagan Tear Down The Wall speech. I knew the first Bush was a CIA guy and while likely bright, he wasn’t charismatic and was a good liar, given his background. I thought Clinton was smart but flawed. I think everyone in the world knew W was a doofus. I don’t really know of any Obama flaws besides some ill-conceived bombings. We all know about Trump’s criminality. And while I think Biden is an honourable man with exceptional credentials, his age and health are a factor.
So let me ask you this. Who was the last Republican president you trusted. Even for a day or a week. Was it Bush after 9/11? Was it Reagan with the Soviet Union? I’d doubt it was Nixon. Would it have to go back to Eisenhower?
I’m left-centrist up here. But traditionally, in Canada, our right-wingers would be deemed centrists in your home. But they’re moving further right every week.
I’m sure there may have been honourable congresspersons or senators over the years who had an R behind their names. Mayors and state reps. McCain seemed honourable until Palin was unleashed.
Is the Republican Party so far gone from sanity and sensibility? Is DeSantis really going to be the next leader of the free world? Will Trump get what he deserves?
I’d guess only you would know talking to your friends and family, neighbours and co-workers. Canadians want to know. Because we’re cousins. And we care about family. But I’d guess Canadian tourism to Florida will likely decline in the coming couple of dozen months. Most of us would rather be cold than feel frozen.
Thanks for your input.
Stupidity Knows No Borders
Today in Ottawa, trucker convoy protestors have draped the American flag on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at our National War Memorial. It’s about the most sacred spot in town. They’ve also bought an old and historical Catholic Church under the guise of providing an unjudgmental gathering place. Fundraising in the name of restitution for Indigenous peoples who were put in something called Residential Schools by the very same church, to erase their culture.
But really they are just fund-raising for their insurrectionist endeavours. They are our January 6thers.
Americans and Canadians are cousins. With close historical ties. But soldiers up here died for a flag that didn’t have Stars and Stripes on it. That gesture was a nod to the the invaders of Washington. Those who contradict all that was meaningful in fighting fascism more than seventy-five years ago.
Lest you feel alone beneath the longest undefended border in the world, just remember that all across the world, sanity is battling insanity everyday.
Question from a Canadian
I’ve followed this website for years but have only recently joined as a member. So I have a question or two that has piqued my curiosity. Not stuff that can really be answered in American media but perhaps by those on the ground.
Has America ever been more partisan in your lifetimes? Is there a twenty percent in the middle who are persuadable by reason? Or are most Americans so solidly in their political camps that elections are swung only by gerrymandering and not even by criminality and impeachments.
In Canada, with a parliamentary system and about five national parties who hold seats, governments can fall at any time. Literally any day. So compromise is essential.
There are similar right-left differences up here. Mostly regionalized. Alberta is like Texas. Because of oil and frontier mentalities.
Have you ever voted for a Republican because you thought they were a better candidate? Was Eisenhower the last decent Republican president? We don’t learn much American history in schools up here. And it would likely have a different political slant than in your hometowns.
Do you think there are a lot of Democrats who are NRA members and gun rights advocates? Religion is a very personal thing but I’d guess that most Democrats advocate the philosophy of Separation of Church and State.
If you felt the need to leave home, where would you want to go? To a blue state? To another country?
Just curious how some of you DUers are feeling these days. We have our own crazies in Canada too, who want to overthrow a duly elected government by force. But few of us but farmers and hunters have guns. We don’t generally elect preachers. And our media is fairly balanced, though it generally leans right except for the CBC. And in a month or two, everyone will be watching hockey anyway. Unless the Jays turn it around.
Thanks for your input.
The Scorpion And The Frog
Lest you be surprised by any endeavour or misdeed of the previous president, there’s a wisdom in this fable, as told in the movie The Crying Game.
It’s in his nature.
Emmett Till Song
Recently, well over sixty years after the fact, a woman was finally held to account for accessory to a 1955 murder. The murder of a youngster named Emmett Till. A brutal racially-motivated murder in Mississippi.
A few years ago, I wrote and recorded a song about it, as an independent and largely unsuccessful musician. Partly because even though it was so long ago, I didn’t recall any other songs written about the incident. An incident that some historians feel was a jumping-off point for the civil rights movement. Though I likely just missed them. Anyhow, here is the song, FWIW. And I don’t know if this is the right forum for such a thing.
https://joemacdonald.bandcamp.com/track/emmett-till
A Canadian Perspective
Hi. I just said hello but I’d like to give a little more detailed background.
I live within walking distance of our federal government building. Working in restaurants, I’ve served every Prime Minister since the late sixties.
I am a semi-professional musician who has shared the stage with some classic acts. From the Bay City Rollers to the cast of the Commitments movie to the guy who made the song Hair a hit.
I love baseball and miss the Expos but I also love basketball (invented by a McGill prof in Montreal, BTW).
Canadian political divide used to be largely a French/English thing but now it’s more like an East/West thing and there’s actually a “Wexit” movement led by federal politicians.
I’ve made records with people who have appeared on Letterman. If you wanna find some gems of Canadian music that you may not have heard of, let me know. I can probably help with that.
I’ve gone on long enough so I’ll leave it at that for now. Thanks for the many welcomes.
Hello
I’m a middle-aged Canadian fellow who has been following this board for many years. I never had an inclination to join, being a foreigner, but in these insane times, it seems to me that our citizenships should almost likely be determined by our sanity rather than our birthplaces.
I’ve just been enabled to post and it seems the protocol is to post in the lounge first. So that’s what I’m doing. Just saying hello and feeling grateful to be able to participate in discussions with sane people. We have our insane up in Canada too, don’t forget. Our Trucker “Freedom Convoy” storming our parliament just a few blocks from where I live, is proof of that. Thanks for having me.
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Member since: Tue Jul 5, 2022, 02:16 AMNumber of posts: 61
