Rather than the dirty-money playground for torture state princelings this country has become, Canada could be a champion for the brave and the righteous of the earth.
Terry, I hate to repeat myself ad infinitum but I must. Your work is always outstanding and this is no different.
I read your column today and was depressed but then I realized that, yes, all this bad news is "temporary;" that is it will not last forever but it will last well beyond the lifetime of many, many of those worthy folks that you enumerate.
So, on the one hand, "today" is bad but, on the other hand, "tomorrow" will be better. In the meantime, accept the bullet in your head in the knowledge that times will improve, even if you aren't around to enjoy them. Even if your children aren't around to enjoy them ......
That way of looking at things is just, is just, is just ......
I truly don't know how you keep going on, but thank you for your perseverance.
Yes, Sir, indeed life has to be made worth living.
Now, not to put a downer on it, I (and you, for that matter) live in a pretty easy circumstance compared to so many people in the world, not the least of whom are the folks that you write about.
On the one hand [Don't wonder how many hands really have when we start that way?] I am glad to live in that circumstance but on the other hand, I cannot help but feel an element of guilt for my comfort. Oh, don't think that I believe that I did anything wrong but, really, what did I do to "deserve" my life style other than to pick my parents well?
So, Sir, again, thank you for pulling me up short and making me think - to the very modest extent of my abilities, that is.
The mistake is to believe that there is some cosmic sense of "desert." If you believe in cosmic justice, you might think "deserve" your genetic endowment - but that's nonsense, of course. Desert, in its only useful form, is human-institution-specific. You only "deserve" an outcome if you advance the interests or goals or purpose of the institution you are participating in. You deserve a gold medal if you win the race, because the organizers established the race to determine the fastest runner. You deserve the solo part in a choral performance if you are the best-suited for the part, because the purpose of the choir is to make great music. You deserve wealth if you have created something that shifts resources from lower-valued uses to higher-valued uses, because that is the purpose of the institution of a market. You deserve a Pulitzer Prize if you are a great journalist, because that is what the prize is aimed at promoting.
Do you know what the French do? They protest. Right now we see other countries doing that as well. Canadians don't do that, except for the Freedom Convoy whom most people I know (not I) consider to be a bunch of hooligans . At best we complain big time then wait to vote, hoping things will go our way. In the US, they form hundreds of citizens' groups to make noise and put pressure on politicians. Like Mother's Against Drunk Driving started in Canada back in the day.
A big thanks, Terry for giving us the facts we need to make decisions.
I'm not a big fan of protesting - I'm a four-eyed academic nerd - but the freedom convoy was music to my ears. I lived within earshot of the Alberta Legislature in February 2022; to me, the honking was the equivalent of the trumpet blast in Handle's Messiah: "The Trumpets Shall Sound!" So uplifting, so cheerful, so rousing.
Sorry Ken, but the news isn't as optimistic as you suggest. Today is bad, and tomorrow will be even worse. Canada is a long way from the bottom - but we are headed in that direction. At the rate freedom is degenerating in Canada, it will take another generation or two to get where China and Russia are today. How many generations it will take to rebound from that is anyone's guess. You can vote your way into subservience, but only bullets will get you out of it. The bad news is that nobody is putting on the brakes yet.
Grant, my use of "tomorrow" was metaphorical, as in, somewhere in the next one thousand years sort of thing. Well, perhaps one thousand years is a shade extreme (only a shade), but you get the drift, I am certain.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you that things are going to get worse here. How much worse and for how long? I really don't know but I do believe that the rabble will impose their will upon the rest before our successors (I will be long dead, I am certain) do ultimately wise up and deal with the awfulness that currently surrounds so many people and threatens the country in which we live. So, my thesis remains, today is awful but "tomorrow" (whenever that be) it will be better.
Apr 16, 2023·edited Apr 16, 2023Liked by Terry Glavin
Terry,
I’m a late comer to this piece but I could not say it any better that all of these fine people. You are one of the true ramparts of this fragile democracy. Thank you for your vitality and conviction to the cause. Also, Triumphs Forever man!!
This was an amazing piece Terry. A good jolt for me, as I pondered all day in my own distress, of the direction of this country. With thoughts of what creates a true democracy, how do we nurture ours, and how do we ensure it remains intact. It seems that dirty politics, politicians, lies, secrecy, censorship, and the punishing of political decent is on the rise in Canada. That our Government and bureaucrats now decide what truth is, who is allowed to report on that truth through corporate /government accreditation, who must be silenced, and who can be heard with in the public square. That many Canadians refuse to see where we are heading and champion the silencing of those they disagree with, as well as their persecution, frightens me even more. The pandemic, the response from our Governments and medical experts was a serious eye opener on just how quickly you can lose everything at the whim of an appointed or elected bureaucrat. How swift the punishments, if you dare disagree, and how dark power can make some people. Done in the name of “for the good of all”. Freedom is not given, it is fought for. Those who fought for our freedoms, died as hero’s. We have become complacent, lazy, and spoiled, in ensuring that what they fought and died for remains. Thank you for writing about “hero’s” who fight every day to win what we take for granted. It has put my perspective back on doing something about it, rather than just contemplating and complaining about it. God bless and thank you for this reminder of what is important for all humanity.
There are heroes in Myanmar too. Two years ago this past February, Tatmadaw, the Military promised to restore democracy. They’re still in control and Aung San Suu Kyi faces the rest of her life in prison.
If there is one thing that progressives just can't abide, it is leaving people alone. Minding one's own business is not a valid proposition when everything is your business. Progressives have to be aggressively in everyone else's grill, all the time about everything. Because if someone isn't exactly in sync with their own ideals, there's something wrong. Individual freedom scales well; equality only works in a small group of like-interested: families, choirs, beehives...
I, too, have to congratulate you for your straight talk and clear opinions. Thanks. We could be a champion, but the men and women at the controls see no advantage to it.
All evil authoritarianism seems to grow out of well-intentioned consequentialist thinking and its evil sister, central planning and control. The greatest villainy of humanity arises from the certainty of how others must exist and act “for their own good”
In “On War”, Carl von Clausewitz says the following:
“A conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would like to make his entry into our state unopposed...”
The late great Prussian strategist was of course referring to Napoleon Bonaparte’s France, but his observation is applies just as well to Xi Jinping’s China. Conquering does not always require military confrontation. It can be accomplished through economic coercion, or political intimidation. But the most destructive, and the most subtle, is psychological pressure, which causes one side to accept the will of the conquerer based on fear of a negative response.
The Canada-China relationship, under the Trudeau government, has increasingly harmed Canadian national interests and undermined Canadian values, including our beliefs in democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
So, the big question is whether the political will exists in Washington, Tokyo, Seoul, Canberra, Delhi, the European capitals, and elsewhere to execute a concerted, consistent, and calibrated strategy of counter-pressure against Chinese aggression. It is clear that the political will to resist China does not exist in Ottawa.
Well composed wish’s for freedom from both Xu and Vladimir..
Vladimir for his black and white hope for clarity.. and Xu for a democracy and a just society .. where 👉Judges are no longer the “knife handle” with which the privileged to concentrate power, but the guardian of justice.
A good reminder that we need to heed what is so hard to achieve and so easy to loose or bury in regulatory BS ..
Terry, I hate to repeat myself ad infinitum but I must. Your work is always outstanding and this is no different.
I read your column today and was depressed but then I realized that, yes, all this bad news is "temporary;" that is it will not last forever but it will last well beyond the lifetime of many, many of those worthy folks that you enumerate.
So, on the one hand, "today" is bad but, on the other hand, "tomorrow" will be better. In the meantime, accept the bullet in your head in the knowledge that times will improve, even if you aren't around to enjoy them. Even if your children aren't around to enjoy them ......
That way of looking at things is just, is just, is just ......
I truly don't know how you keep going on, but thank you for your perseverance.
Thanks pal. Life has got to be made worth living somehow.
Yes, Sir, indeed life has to be made worth living.
Now, not to put a downer on it, I (and you, for that matter) live in a pretty easy circumstance compared to so many people in the world, not the least of whom are the folks that you write about.
On the one hand [Don't wonder how many hands really have when we start that way?] I am glad to live in that circumstance but on the other hand, I cannot help but feel an element of guilt for my comfort. Oh, don't think that I believe that I did anything wrong but, really, what did I do to "deserve" my life style other than to pick my parents well?
So, Sir, again, thank you for pulling me up short and making me think - to the very modest extent of my abilities, that is.
"What did I do to "deserve" my life style other than to pick my parents well."
Thought occurs to me a;; the time.
The mistake is to believe that there is some cosmic sense of "desert." If you believe in cosmic justice, you might think "deserve" your genetic endowment - but that's nonsense, of course. Desert, in its only useful form, is human-institution-specific. You only "deserve" an outcome if you advance the interests or goals or purpose of the institution you are participating in. You deserve a gold medal if you win the race, because the organizers established the race to determine the fastest runner. You deserve the solo part in a choral performance if you are the best-suited for the part, because the purpose of the choir is to make great music. You deserve wealth if you have created something that shifts resources from lower-valued uses to higher-valued uses, because that is the purpose of the institution of a market. You deserve a Pulitzer Prize if you are a great journalist, because that is what the prize is aimed at promoting.
Do you know what the French do? They protest. Right now we see other countries doing that as well. Canadians don't do that, except for the Freedom Convoy whom most people I know (not I) consider to be a bunch of hooligans . At best we complain big time then wait to vote, hoping things will go our way. In the US, they form hundreds of citizens' groups to make noise and put pressure on politicians. Like Mother's Against Drunk Driving started in Canada back in the day.
A big thanks, Terry for giving us the facts we need to make decisions.
I'm not a big fan of protesting - I'm a four-eyed academic nerd - but the freedom convoy was music to my ears. I lived within earshot of the Alberta Legislature in February 2022; to me, the honking was the equivalent of the trumpet blast in Handle's Messiah: "The Trumpets Shall Sound!" So uplifting, so cheerful, so rousing.
Pol Pot, Mao, Ho Chi Minh and Lenin were all academic nerds were they not?
but not four-eyed ones! LOL
Sorry Ken, but the news isn't as optimistic as you suggest. Today is bad, and tomorrow will be even worse. Canada is a long way from the bottom - but we are headed in that direction. At the rate freedom is degenerating in Canada, it will take another generation or two to get where China and Russia are today. How many generations it will take to rebound from that is anyone's guess. You can vote your way into subservience, but only bullets will get you out of it. The bad news is that nobody is putting on the brakes yet.
Grant, my use of "tomorrow" was metaphorical, as in, somewhere in the next one thousand years sort of thing. Well, perhaps one thousand years is a shade extreme (only a shade), but you get the drift, I am certain.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you that things are going to get worse here. How much worse and for how long? I really don't know but I do believe that the rabble will impose their will upon the rest before our successors (I will be long dead, I am certain) do ultimately wise up and deal with the awfulness that currently surrounds so many people and threatens the country in which we live. So, my thesis remains, today is awful but "tomorrow" (whenever that be) it will be better.
Terry,
I’m a late comer to this piece but I could not say it any better that all of these fine people. You are one of the true ramparts of this fragile democracy. Thank you for your vitality and conviction to the cause. Also, Triumphs Forever man!!
Thanks? You ride?
Me? Kinda, and almost always when I have lunch with you,…..🤓
Oh, THAT John.
Sorry to disappoint. Haha
This was an amazing piece Terry. A good jolt for me, as I pondered all day in my own distress, of the direction of this country. With thoughts of what creates a true democracy, how do we nurture ours, and how do we ensure it remains intact. It seems that dirty politics, politicians, lies, secrecy, censorship, and the punishing of political decent is on the rise in Canada. That our Government and bureaucrats now decide what truth is, who is allowed to report on that truth through corporate /government accreditation, who must be silenced, and who can be heard with in the public square. That many Canadians refuse to see where we are heading and champion the silencing of those they disagree with, as well as their persecution, frightens me even more. The pandemic, the response from our Governments and medical experts was a serious eye opener on just how quickly you can lose everything at the whim of an appointed or elected bureaucrat. How swift the punishments, if you dare disagree, and how dark power can make some people. Done in the name of “for the good of all”. Freedom is not given, it is fought for. Those who fought for our freedoms, died as hero’s. We have become complacent, lazy, and spoiled, in ensuring that what they fought and died for remains. Thank you for writing about “hero’s” who fight every day to win what we take for granted. It has put my perspective back on doing something about it, rather than just contemplating and complaining about it. God bless and thank you for this reminder of what is important for all humanity.
Canadians are too pusillanimous to be heroes like Vladimir Kara-Murza or Albert Ho.
Hong Kong was my favourite city on this planet before the Beijing regime cracked down.
And now we have esteemed Canadians like Beverley McLachin giving legitimacy to the Chinese torture state.
The Canadian elite are, almost uniformly, a disgrace.
Wild. I remember that salmon article.....didn’t connect it to Gershkovich. Thx for a shot of perspective. Do Israel next...:)
If I were to do Israel the lazy way would be to just link to State of Tel Aviv. You've got it covered!
There are heroes in Myanmar too. Two years ago this past February, Tatmadaw, the Military promised to restore democracy. They’re still in control and Aung San Suu Kyi faces the rest of her life in prison.
I simply cannot imagine the courage it takes to risk all to stand up for what is good and right. Thanks for profiling these real heroes.
If there is one thing that progressives just can't abide, it is leaving people alone. Minding one's own business is not a valid proposition when everything is your business. Progressives have to be aggressively in everyone else's grill, all the time about everything. Because if someone isn't exactly in sync with their own ideals, there's something wrong. Individual freedom scales well; equality only works in a small group of like-interested: families, choirs, beehives...
I, too, have to congratulate you for your straight talk and clear opinions. Thanks. We could be a champion, but the men and women at the controls see no advantage to it.
All evil authoritarianism seems to grow out of well-intentioned consequentialist thinking and its evil sister, central planning and control. The greatest villainy of humanity arises from the certainty of how others must exist and act “for their own good”
In “On War”, Carl von Clausewitz says the following:
“A conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would like to make his entry into our state unopposed...”
The late great Prussian strategist was of course referring to Napoleon Bonaparte’s France, but his observation is applies just as well to Xi Jinping’s China. Conquering does not always require military confrontation. It can be accomplished through economic coercion, or political intimidation. But the most destructive, and the most subtle, is psychological pressure, which causes one side to accept the will of the conquerer based on fear of a negative response.
The Canada-China relationship, under the Trudeau government, has increasingly harmed Canadian national interests and undermined Canadian values, including our beliefs in democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
So, the big question is whether the political will exists in Washington, Tokyo, Seoul, Canberra, Delhi, the European capitals, and elsewhere to execute a concerted, consistent, and calibrated strategy of counter-pressure against Chinese aggression. It is clear that the political will to resist China does not exist in Ottawa.
That's pretty much correct. After all, it was the Trudeau Liberals' foundational policy to welcome Chinese corporate influence with open arms.
It’s been their ideology & policy since Pierre
Terry, thank you so much for shining a clear beacon of light into the murk. And please stay safe. Canada needs you, now more than ever before.
Sir
Love your balls !!
Terry
your links are gems ..
Well composed wish’s for freedom from both Xu and Vladimir..
Vladimir for his black and white hope for clarity.. and Xu for a democracy and a just society .. where 👉Judges are no longer the “knife handle” with which the privileged to concentrate power, but the guardian of justice.
A good reminder that we need to heed what is so hard to achieve and so easy to loose or bury in regulatory BS ..
thanks
Thanks Howie. Kind of you.