Friday, December 26, 2014

No More Harper dot CA

Boxed in by Boxing Day? 
I was able to enjoy some beautiful detached reflection this morning. There is ,imo, much to be said for a moment or two of non confused time. BY THAT I MEAN: TO BE ABLE TO SIT QUIETLY AND CONTEMPLATE. It can be further defined as a interlude of time free from guilt, judgment, sadness, even joy and euphoria. This spot could be a point in space/time which seems to hang forever if you know how to enjoy it. Unless you've done some serious psychedelics, you won't have a clue about what I mean by that. I don't mean to promote anything, we are all different. Each of us brings their "life" with them into every moment of it to be further molded by that moment. You might be encouraged to chart your own course through life's moments. But in that encouragement there must come a realization. In order to be able to do so within the widest parameters of freedom, we must stand up for the rights of all to seek any path which they choose as long as they hurt no one else (or their property.) 

This is where criminal law comes in. There are many dangerous things that we humans can do to harm each other. The difference  between what the law presides over and what each of us carries is one of priorities and judgment which must be shouldered by the risk taker primarily. We don't understand the real dangers involved in our most mundane activities. For instance: driving. The risk to ourselves and others is quite low even though many people die in vehicle accidents per year at first glance. Although, when one looks closer, or, as a soaring pilot I think of gaining perspective, we can see that the accumulative effects of billions of hormone high human primates all zipping around in complex, resource invested machines. All of them being seriously addicted to the uncontrolled use of fossil fuels which can be much more dangerous to our species future.

The damages done by drugs other than alcohol and tobacco is negligible compared to everyday things we do, yet thousands of lying politicians are elected every year on propaganda installed three generations ago. Mostly these lies are designed to trigger emotional responses to things that your parents and grandparents were told were harmful. These "facts" have never been updated with science based on impartial information. This disinformation can be counted on by savvy politicos to garner a standard emotional response on average. If you listen to Alex Carey and study Edward Bernays you might begin to grasp how much we are influenced by the subtle and blatant manipulation we are subjected to on a moment to moment basis in our daily lives. This obscures individual reason and makes the most dangerous things in modern society hard to recognize. 

Sam Harris, has of late touted evidence that via MRI science has detected that we have already made up our minds on a decision some seconds before we believe we have. To me this means things have been decided for us. It strongly supports my theory, as well as the knowledge around marketing and human behavior, that humans are not the masters of their own destiny as individuals, or, even collectively. It seems to me that coercion and manipulation rule the day and that there is very little free will, if any, available to anyone in today's society. The trick is to seize the rare opportunities that may occur when it is available to us.   

Now, this may all seem irrelevant and a long way of getting round to Mr. Harper to you, unless you are a deep thinker. There are few of us who can supersede the deluge of disinformation designed to "inform" us. Much of it is paid for by us to subject us to it. For too many it is irresistible. Research is tedious work. The likes of Mr. Harper, a man who can save us work in a smooth linear explanation, keeping us from getting bored by the complexity, is a godsend for many. Trust and emotional appeal are what gets people elected. To elicit this response from the electorate in Canada, it helps to be in a position of power. Pragmatically speaking, as we have witnessed in the past, the party in power gets to stay there, because they have access to the tools they wield while in power. Also, Canadians have been conditioned, via generations of Colonial rule, to accept continued authority from somewhere else. Even today our elected members are forced to pledge their allegiance to a foreign monarch, not their own constituents or constitution. 

In many ways ours is an acceptable form of "Democracy" in the reason challenged, ambivalent, society we live in. This form of government provides stability in appearance, although it is likely to be actually riddled with corruption. There is nowhere a level of accountability unless through scandal it is forced upon the governmentTo form my opinion of the man I do not listen to what he or any of the Party candidates say. Rather I see with whom he "hangs." I judge him by the "fruit he bears". 

Well if the other Party leaders are untrustworthy too, you may ask of me, then wouldn't the devil you know be the least dangerous option? Not the way I see it. If I want a more democratic, more responsive to me government, then my strategy would be to show any would be prime minister that they need my vote to stay in power. I would show any government the door should it become autocratic, or even, didactic, who is the boss. the Quebecers are a mature society in this respect. The voters are said to volatile. Imo, this is a catch phrase whose subtitle means: intelligently effective. 

For this reason I support the Leadnow initiative in my neighborhood. In Surrey Central, my riding, it will take place on Wednesday 14, January 2015. The Spark meeting is held by Vicki Moulder of SFU in room 120 at 6:30 pm. 

I was at the last one, the second Wed of December. There were more than twenty attending and some were very interesting speakers. All had wisdom and experience galore caught within and amalgam of different life experiences. This was only my third conventional political meeting in recent times.There was one "youngster" aged 25. More than a few were older than me. I am sixty four, as well as a "younger" teacher. The host, Vicki Moulder is a Political Science PhD candidate and new at this game as well. I believe in life there is a constant learning curve to be surmounted.



Since that meting my personal goals have been reached or surpassed. I have mostly been able to put up my own websites including an online shopping place. A talented graphic artist has helped create some wonderful T-shirt art for everyone. I have product on hand in less than a month.  These decisions were not mine to make. I am glad I could follow up on them!

What I hope will be "our campaign" against Harper, "no more Harper dot ca," at least my slice of it, is under way. There is much yet to do, but like my graphic art designer told me, there is a lot of time consuming things, involved. Even though I believe all my choices are predestined, the illusion of having/making a choice is very time consuming, stress inducing, and frequently wrought with terminal indecision. And I do mean that literally. there is much to be said for flying by the seat of your pants and going with intuition, especially if you know what you are doing.
  
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