The Wild West

I'm feeling quite tired now as I sit here on an uncomfortable chair trying to distill the effects of encroaching insanity that the western world has descended into. Today, I found myself nodding in agreement when I came across the hi-lights of a speech given by the British Tory leader about the decline of "core values in Britain" and the resultant culture of moral "neutralism," blame and entitlement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/08/davidcameron.glasgoweast
The success of Conservatives in exploiting this "achilles heel" of the left is because the left refuses to modify its position and to concede that there is some kernel of truth in the right's charge that maybe a good portion of the time individuals are responsible for their choices.
Obviously, the instinctive reaction by Cameron's critics would be to dismiss this as the usual, garden-variety, pandering politician rhetoric that is most of the time a well-deserved criticism. But, there are some rare moments when political leaders - from whatever end of the spectrum - reveal a little backbone with the knowledge that they might offend a segment of potential voters with an uncomfortable truth -- no matter how much it seems a calculated sound-bite lacking in rigourous academic substance. These comments, at least "appear" to be refreshingly honest for a political leader in a western liberal democracy. Anyone who is willing to brave the censorious wrath of the politically correct dogmatists deserves some respect.

There was a time when I would have been loathe to even remotely align myself with what might be considered more conservative views, so I have to wonder if this has snuck up on me and caught me unawares? Or is it a willingness to be more objective in my perspective and less rigidly fixed to one position?
I would hesitate to classify myself as drifting towards the right when it's more like I'm experiencing the effects of political relativity. I don't think I've changed by degrees, but on some issues I find myself landing firmly on either one side of the fence or the other. Hence my sudden realization that I have grown distant from some of my more previously quixotic notions as I've accumulated life experience. I think the west is sprouting fissures under the weight of too much moral relativism and the extremes of behaviour and mass psychosis that are accepted as the daily societal norm nowadays. I think this is as much a product of our society's rejection of moderation and both the cultural left and right are equally as guilty of contributing to this. A good friend of mine who is a student of the times, believes our descent into social anarchy stems from the "spoiled ethos of the baby boomer generation" and it's "religion of relativism" that no longer hold any beliefs to be in inherently valid or (invalid) any more than any others and thus, not surprisingly, a disconnected, spectating public indulges in blase narcissism. The tagline for this age could be the "it's all good age." Pass the bong or the pill or the remote control and disengage because after all, there is no set of beliefs to commit to anymore.

Of course, if you are foolish enough to be raw and exposed to all of this, you'll quickly realize that it "isn't all good" and this kind of facile, dismissive mentality is dangerous not just for its ignorance but for it's incapability to discern, evaluate or recognize consequences. With our disconnect from moral outcomes, we are permitting the continuous erosion of standards and with this, the inevitable sinking into barbarism. I still believe that western society has a foundation of liberalism and the rule of law that is the envy of the world and I know that this sentiment would not endear me to those who've been indoctrinated in cultural studies degrees who can only see through the revisionist lens - one that condemns the west as the exclusive perpetrator of colonial oppression and that this somehow negates the liberal, enlightenment traditions without which, we wouldn't have progressed enough to have this debate in the first place.

Ironically, this is a case of the snake eating its tail. We have evolved our institutions to the point where we are self-destructing. Some would cheer on our hasty demise, but I feel much more cautionary about this. Label me a reactionary, but I think this is a lazy, short-cut for people who don't want to examine their own issues and ideological positions for fear of conceding that the other side, just might have a point.

Canada Day (or Dark Night)

Amid the benign feel good cheer of Canada Day (July 1) here in Vancouver, a "police incident" snarled bridge traffic for six hours, preventing people from getting to their Canada Day destinations. I spent my Canada Day stuck on a sweaty, overcrowded bus for almost two hours while it slowly inched along in traffic to cross over the other main bridge where traffic was diverted. The inconvenience of being caught up in the sweltering gridlock on a holiday no less, aroused the ire and indignation of many -- and I belonged to those ranks.

I usually make a weekly pilgrimage across the water to visit my father who is in a care home with the late stages of Parkinson's and dementia. My objective was to get over to see him in time to feed him his dinner - knowing how special this day was to him in better times. What occurred to me after the fact was how selfish and apathetic we are as a nation. Although the reasons that would compel a person to hurl themselves over a bridge are manifold, and my heart goes out to someone who is in so much pain that they would attempt this, the distraught "would be suicide" victim inadvertently made a resoundingly selfish statement by choosing such a day to threaten to end it all. Maybe that was the point -- to piss off as many strangers as possible in order to defiantly tell the world to "screw itself." I don't think that it was that calculated though. As much as I surprised myself at feeling more anger than sympathy, I think that my reserves of compassion weren't as tapped out as those of others judging from the blogsopheres I visited afterwards.

I read alot of threads about the bridge closure incident and most of the people who posted their two-cents worth proudly indulged in the most callous and mean-spirited remarks about the "jumper." While I initially found myself drifting towards the consensus, I soon after realized that I had become an eager, sadistic participant in this spectacle of the jeering, resentful mob.

The anger at the delay was legitimate, but the comments on various blogs after the fact revealed a sick and cruel public mentality that has unfortunately become the norm here in Canada. It revealed the increasingly hostile and ugly interior that hides beneath the celebratory exterior of our national holiday.

The spate of tasteless and offensive comments about the would-be suicide jumper is yet another wearying testament to the brute insensitivity that is pervading our public discourse (if we can even call it "discourse"). It seems the web technology is the modern day bathroom stall --- where anyone can anonymously scrawl the most hateful garbage and get away with it. I realize I have a tendency to avoid the rose coloured glasses syndrome, but I sincerely sense that Canadians are not the enlightened, pleasant, tolerant people that we brag about being. We are in fact, becoming crass, short-sighted, amoral and self-centered. Another perfect example of this mass psychosis is the public's outrage at having to pay the carbon tax here. Some SUV-driving, smug-asshole feels violated by having to pay a bit extra at the pumps in order to offset the CO2 that his guzzling hulk emits and he gets all up in arms and cries foul. We don't want to sacrifice anything in order to do what's necessary for the long term. We are a nation of spoiled, impatient, self-interested whiners with an arrogant sense of entitlement and an addiction to the quick-fix.

It is no surprise that the people who were legitimately celebrating Canada Day --- who really embodied the meaning and tradition of this country -- were the new Canadians who were out in full force, proudly waving their flags, humble and hopeful.