As I do most Thursdays, I watched last night's At Issues Panel on the CBC's National News. As usual the panelists, Allan Gregg, Chantal Hebert, and Andrew Coyne had a lively but respectful discussion, this time on the many issues undermining the credibility of the Harper Government.
Allan Gregg made a disturbing suggestion; even though the issue of Harper's contempt for Parliamentary democracy has been especially manifest this week through House Speaker Miliken's two rulings, plus the fact that the Conservatives tabled demonstrably false cost estimates for the purchase of the F-35 fighter jets, he doubted that such will resonate with the public. He opined that the concept of Parliamentary democracy, so regularly violated by the Harper Government these past few years, may not mean much to the public, since nothing the Government does seems to be reflected in public opinion poll results.
That, plus the George Carlin video posted yesterday, got me thinking about the vital role that critical thinking plays in an informed and vital democracy. In the past I wrote fairly extensively on the topic, and if anyone is interested in either my thoughts or links on the subject, they can be found on my other blog, Education and Its Discontents.
Things aren't going to change until opposition supporters stop grousing about what's wrong with Harper and start putting their energies into sorting out something they can change, their own party. Something is very, deeply wrong with the opposition that even blunders and scandals don't stick to Harper. Stop blaming the disengaged public. It's the opposition's job to nail Harper's hide to the wall and they can't handle the job. They're useless. The Canadian people are telling them that, over and over, and they're simply refusing to listen. Harper should be easy meat but it's inedible to those who have no teeth.
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