A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper
As I continued following the so-called Senate scandal unfolding in Ottawa in recent days, the title of an old album by the Avant garde rocker Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention band came to mind.
Weasels ripping at flesh on the Zappa album cover. Now we have them here, in Ottawa, and none of us who still give a damn about this country are the winners.
That album is called ‘Weasels Ripped My Flesh’ and I can’t help but conclude that this is what we are witnessing here – weasels ripping at each other’s flesh.
Forget about all of the armchair speculation about who is right and who is wrong, or who is telling the truth here – the prime minister’s office or the likes of Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin – who, as of the posting of this commentary – were still fighting against their expulsion from the Senate without pay
Watching all of this finger pointing and spitting and scratching at the eyes in our Canada’s national capital reminds me of that raft of movies Hollywood began cranking out in the 1960s and 70s – films like Bonnie and Clyde and the Wild Bunch – where there are no real heroes or good buys and bad guys. Where ever you turn the behaviour and the words coming out of the mouths of the characters are disturbing.
And I also believe that one of the things about this mess that should be most disturbing to all of us who live north of the 49th parallel is the amount of time and energy it is taking away from attending to the serious issues facing this country.
Just for starters, we’ve just received news from the Bank of Canada that the country’s economy appears to be slowing down. Our unemployment rate, particularly in regions of Canada like Niagara and Windsor that have been hit hard through the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs thanks, in no small spart, to “free trade” agreements signed in the past, remains chronically high. We have young people accumulating ridiculous amounts of debt for a post-secondary education that may not lead to a job in their field, and aging baby boomer who, if they are still fortunate enough to have a job, are afraid to retire.
There is also this trade agreement our Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, has latched on to with countries in Europe that, for better or worse, appears to be something that could impact on the lives and livelihoods of Canadians for generations to come. While we are consumed in the drama surrounding Duffy, Wallin, Harper and company over a Senate body that should have been thrown in the trash bin of history years ago, our so-called leaders in representatives in Ottawa are not giving these issues the attention they deserve. Nor are we, I suspect, paying as much attention as we should to what should be our business to pay attention to citizens as citizens of this country so many of us claim to love and care about.
How often do we point the finger to our good neighours across the border in the United States and say; ‘Look at all of the nonsense that is going on down there – the government shutdown, the idiotic antics of the Tea Party screwballs, and so on – that is keeping them from addressing the more serious challenges they face as a country’.
Well look at us at the moment. Where do we get off pointing fingers at them?
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
i find it interesting and instructive in terms of the nature of power. For ex. Harper’s style seems to fit this bill: (Wikipedia sourced):
Coercive power
Coercive power is the application of negative influences. It includes the ability to demote or to withhold other rewards. The desire for valued rewards or the fear of having them withheld ensures the obedience of those under power. Coercive power tends to be the most obvious but least effective form of power as it builds resentment and resistance from the people who experience it. Threats and punishment are common tools of coercion. Implying or threatening that someone will be fired, demoted, denied privileges, or given undesirable assignments – these are examples of using coercive power. Extensive use of coercive power is rarely appropriate in an organizational setting, and relying on these forms of power alone will result in a very cold, impoverished style of leadership.
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The problem is that all those MPs we send to Ottawa really don’t give a damn about what we taxpayers think!
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The Canadian system is flawed, the electorate is unengaged, this government is only magnifying a chronic problem that has been building up over decades. I think that NAFTA established the beginning of Canada’s “Americanization” and that CETA will wrap this up. The global economy experiment has robbed Canada of it’s ability to be distinct. This is what has led to the shenanigans in Ottawa.
…Despite all this jaded talk, it’s never too late to engage your local community, find time to volunteer, advocate for local ethical businesses, shop only at quality employers, sign a petition, write your MP’s, MPP’s, Councilors, Mayors and elected officials to remind them you are their boss, and for heaven’s sake, find someone younger than yourself and figure out how much help you are willing to give them, then go do it. 🙂
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