Name-Calling is not Argumentation

Bravo Richard Gwyn (Sir John A. wasn't a racist, Toronto Star, Feb 7). The term "racism" must be limited to the true ideologue whom Gwyn defines. He speaks out against an overly-developed sense of righteousness and political correctness. 

A comment or disagreement too often results in one being labelled  a racist, homophobe, bigot, prejudiced etc. Such compartmentalized thinking stifles free expression. It ignores the possibility that the other person may have a valid point, however disagreeable. Name-calling is not argumentation.

Democracy demands the right to disagree even to the point of offence and insult. Only the Criminal Code can set the standard when expression becomes harmful.

Criminal Code versus Bible

Letter to the national Post. Published February 19, 2014

"Protecting children everyone's job, jury says," (Feb 15). The jury in the Jeffrey Baldwin case is indulging in wishful thinking. There is no law that demands I throw a life jacket from the bridge on which I am standing to the drowning person below me. There is no law that demands I call the fire department should I see my neighbour's house on fire. Love of neighbour and parable of the Good Samaritan are in the Bible, not the Criminal Code.

Care and Feeding of Surveys

We once received a questionnaire about the cost of our telephone service. It was acceptable, we answered. Then the key question whether we were happy with the local and long-distant rates. We mistakenly answered we thought them quite good. Others must have replied likewise. Several months later, all rates were increased.

Recently, Netflix conducted a similar survey. Almost ninety per cent of Netflix users answered that the eight-dollar monthly subscription fee was "excellent" or "good value for the money." Guess what is about to happen to Netflix fees?

When such a question if asked, the best response is that one's interest is marginal and that a fee increase will likely trigger a cancellation of the service.

Unwarranted Apologies

Letter in the Toronto Star, January 21, 2014

By declaring John A. MacDonald as "racist," the writers of an op ed have fallen into the error of "presentism" -- judging the past by today's standards. Some today may consider the actions of Sir John A. racist. We do not know if that was the case 150 years ago.

In her book, The Uses and Abuses of History, historian Margaret MacMillan asks, "Is it healthy for societies to apologize for things that were done in different centuries and under different sets of belief?"

She cautions, "It is all too easy to rummage through the past and find nothing but a list of grievances."

Sir John was a person of his time. Judge him only by the standards of that time.

* * *

"One should not demand that past epochs conform to current prejudices, and thus commit the sin of excessive 'present-mindedness,' distorting the past by forcing it into a mould of recent construction."
     Roland N. Stromberg
     European Intellectual History since 1789

* * *

Was it necessary 2007 for a tribe in Papua New Guinea to apologize for eating missionaries in the 19th century?

Crusades Mythology

Letter to the Catholic register published January 19, 2014:

There is much mythology surrounding the so-called Crusades. Fr. Ron Rolheiser alludes to this when he speaks of the faults of the "many saints who supported the Crusades" (The blindness in misguided loyalties, Jan 12).

To clear away historical debris: the Crusades were so named years after this series of wars occurred. Their numbering was also a later embellishment. Muslim historians named them after the nation of the invading force. No one has numbered Muslim invasions of Europe and once-Christian Middle Eats and North Africa.

The objectives of these wars varied. Originally intended to make the Holy Land safe for pilgrims, they deteriorated, as wars do, into campaigns of looting and atrocity. In one case, the invading Christians plundered Christian Constantinople. 

The attacked lands were once Christian. Muslims have no cause of complaint for European attempts to recapture them. It wasn't misguided loyalty that inspired Christians to support the expulsion of Muslims from France, Spain and the Balkan peninsula, 

Nor need Muslims apologize for their failed attempts to conquer Malta and Vienna. In the 1529 siege of Vienna, so great was the fear of Muslim expansion into the heart of Europe that Martin Luther urged Protestants to help defend the Catholic city. All of which is history with no current application and no need of apology or explanation.

A Geography Lesson in the New York Times

It's always fun to tweak the nose of New York Times editors. Their latest foray into chasing their own intellectual tail appeared in an editorial "Pesticides in French Wine (Jan 12, 2014). \

The offending  sentence: "Despite this progress, France is still the third largest user of pesticides in the world after the United States and Japan, and the highest user in Europe..."

If France is the third largest user in the world, then obviously it is the largest user in Europe. The writer felt it necessary to inform the reader that neither the United States nor Japan is in Europe. Worthy instruction,

Practical Restaurant Operation versus Ephemeral Human Rights

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has once again muddied the waters of reason in awarding $100,000 to disgruntled employees (December 18, 2013).

This award was based in part on the dismissal of an employee for refusing to taste the food he had made. The food pork, the employee Muslim.

An employer cannot refuse to hire due to one's religion.  What if the prospective employee's beliefs render him unqualified for the job?  Is it unreasonable to expect the head chef to taste the food from his own kitchen?  Does this conviction give prospective employees the right to be hired along with the right to set the menu?

To accommodate the chef's beliefs, say, the employer appoints a non-Muslim taster.  Should the latter prove wrong, who is reprimanded, the taster or the chef responsible for the meal's creation?

At human rights trials, the accused is presumed guilty and must prove innocence.  He must pay for his defence, while the costs of the accuser are borne by the taxpayer.  If awards were paid into general revenue, rather than being a cash cow for for the disgruntled, tribunal workloads would decline dramatically.

An e-mail of December 20, 2013 to the Toronto Star expressing these view was not published.

Animals are not Humans

"Cousin, we need to talk."  So begins a full page advertisement in local newspapers, under a photograph of a chimpanzee.  The chimp continues, "It's been seven million years since we shared a mother, but we still share almost 99% of our DNA. Since we're family, I'm asking for your help."  This is a well-intentioned request for funds for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.

Unfortunately, the attitude inherent in this advertisement contributes to the current campaign to demean the human species.  The incentive to de-humanize humans, or humanize animals, has a long history. In his 1975 book, Animal Liberation, Princeton professor Peter Singer argued that highly aware animals, such as the chimp, are owed more respect and protection that mentally-challenged humans, more than babies unaware of their existence.

Animals and their environment deserve protection, as the well-intentioned ad advocates, but not at the cost of equating animals to human beings.

The Little Guy Fights Back

Wounded marines booed and hissed John Wayne when he visited them a hospital ward in Hawaii during the Second World War. Wayne, who never served in the military, wore a fancy cowboy outfit that included spurs and pistols. The marines grasped the manipulation and deceit of celebrity culture.
                                                  --- Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges

At Easter in the year 2010, a few months after the earthquake, Haiti received a grand gift from Monsanto: sixty thousand bags of seed produced by the chemical industry. Farmers gathered to receive the offering, and proceeded to burn every sack in an immense bonfire.
                                               
                                                     --- Children of the Days by Eduardo Galeano

To End All Crime

On December 10, 2013, the Romanian parliament considered "super-immunity" to parliamentarians, the president, and to more than 100 mayors, their convictions for corruption notwithstanding. The parliament relieved them of their crimes by abolishing the the law that declared them corrupt. Parliament is also considering decriminalizing conflict of interest laws. The goodies continue, Also on the agenda is amnesty and pardon for politicians already in prison.

Here's the lesson for the world at large. To abolish all crime, simply declare void all laws that define crimes. No matter what one does, no crime can be committed.

Thank you, Romanian parliament.

http://euobserver.com/justice/122424

 Legally corrupt: Romanian politicians chase 'super-immunity’

New York Times, Dec, 27, 2017.  In Romania, the governing Social Democrats have revived efforts to decriminalize some corruption offences amid a series of measures that critics say undermine the rule of law

Endless Happiness etc.

I am being overwhelmed with the prospect of happiness, fun and joy.

Coca-Cola invites me to "open happiness". All I need do is lift the cap off one of their products and wonderful things will gush into my life.  

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) proclaims itself the "sponsor of fun," fun that can be mine by simply buying a lottery ticket. 

Indigo Shops (formerly book stores) offer office supplies that will help me wish "bye bye to boring," and "hello to happy." 

The Ford Motor Company promises "Endless Joy" motoring in their latest product.

When next I sip on a Coke of happiness, fantasy on my lottery ticket, deploy those boredom-destroying Indigo office supplies, and have endless joy in my Ford, I'll express due gratitude to their providers.  If only I could still my beating heart.

Democracy not for Everyone

Unpublished letter to the Toronto Star:

The clamour about Justin Trudeau's comment of Chinese success is misplaced (Rookie mistakes still hamper Trudeau's chances, Nov. 14). The complaint is based on the belief that democracy is the best form of government for all people everywhere and at all times.

Does anyone believe that, if China were a democracy, so many millions of its citizens would have been pulled out of poverty, and so quickly? To achieve such success in so short a time, those in charge had to be ruthless. (Thomas Hobbes would agree.) China is the envy of Western democracies because it is a tyranny, a tyranny with which those same defenders of democracy are most anxious to do business.

The noise extends to Trudeau’s admiration for Cuba’s American-inflicted struggling to get out of its economic and political past. Complainers object to the torture perpetrated on that island. Yes there is torture, but it is done by the American military in Guantanamo naval base. Does that mean one cannot express admiration for the United States?

Rogers Uncommunications Ltd.

Exactly what is Rogers Communications communicating?

A recent promotion brochure shows a young couple snuggling, well, sort of. Why are they are not looking at each other? Each is on their own smartphone, their thoughts elsewhere. Why they are smiling? Is it because they need not communicate with each other? Or prefer to talk to someone else? They are alone together.

The relevant website tells us that smartphones help"turn down time into data time." Rogers considers being together as down time?  "Data," whatever that may encompass, is more important than talking to the person beside you? Rather than communicate with the person in front of you, the website suggests the user "socialize on Facebook" or "invite a buddy to the new bar".

This promotion was followed by others which promised: "Share your data like never before (BF mine). And "Discover like never before."" Again the question, What is data? Like what you had for breakfast? Like that your dog is sick? Like what is there is to discover?

The Internet has led to "the death of distance," proclaimed British economist Frances Cairncross. In  the Rogers promotion, technology has created distance between people in the same room.

A recent issue of The Atlantic correctly observed, "Social networking has alienated us." Like yea Rogers?

Alienation is not what Marshall McLuhan had in mind for his Global Village. With contemporary technology, the more we connect, the less connected we are, the lonelier we become.

To the Rogers promotion, I suggest a caption: "I am never so lonely like as when I am with you."

Should you phone Rogers, you will be put on a 15-minute waiting priority. This is the multi-billion-dollar company that brags about its speed of communication.

Speculation is not journalism

An unacknowledged note to the Editor of the Toronto Star:

Your report of September 13 "Court decision could reveal gang links to Ford" is questionable journalism. The word "could" equally means "could not."  This same sentence begins "If the judge ..." You do not state what would happen "if the judge does not."

You insist on regurgitating that hoary item about the video that "appear to show ..." It may or may not. Let's wait and see.

This is not news but self-serving speculation given the over-wrought Punch and Judy show (or is it vaudeville?) between you and Mayor Rob Ford.

*     *     *

It is not my mission in life to be picking on the Star, but the editors do have a way of provoking negative reaction. (Actually, too many journalists do that, not only at the Star.) The September 19 issue featured an invitation to "make this column come alive."  To do so, simply wave one of those electronic devices over the indicated item.

By coincidence, I am on the Star's survey list. They asked my reaction to this innovation. I replied that good writing does not require a mechanical instrument to make the story come alive. Good writing makes the words jump off the page.

Nor do I expect an acknowledgement of this message.

Come As You Are From Quebec

 "Come as you are" Ontarians should scream to the soon-to-be-oppressed minorities of Quebec. Under the guise of Quebec Values, the separatist government of Pauline Marois will soon outlaw anyone in a government-funded organization wearing any clothing or symbol of a religious nature. That includes the Muslim head scarf, the Jewish kippah, Sikh headdress, "conspicuous" crosses of Christians, and so on.

The province is already well known for its language police. Make way for the religious police

Premier Marois should be having second thoughts about this ill-founded initiative. Already one Ontario hospital has invited Muslim women doctors to join their staff. The hospital's advertisement reads, "We don't care what's on your head. We care what's in it."

The premier dismisses any objection as "opinion."

The campaign should be Ontario-wide. We should invite devout people of any religion to join the exodus that began several years back. Fearing an independent Quebec, large corporations left that financially uncertain province, and moved to Toronto. Up to that time, Montreal was Canada's largest city, since then, Toronto.

It doesn't register on Marois supporters that their policy of a Quebec separate from Canada will doom their people to third-world status. A French-only nation of some six million in an English-speaking continent of 360 million is a non-starter.

Note how well supports of an independent Quebec speak English. They can afford to send their children to out-of-province English universities. At the same time, they restrict the teaching of English at home. Ultimately, this policy will produce a impoverished unilingual population at the mercy of their bilingual masters.

Do they really believe the new Quebec can use Canadian currency and have a say in the decisions of the Bank of Canada? The Quebec peso will be accepted only in exchange for Canadian Tire money, but at a discount.

Come one, come all. Welcome to Ontario. And yes, come as you are.

An e-mail to the same effect was not published by the  censorship-prone Toronto Star.

Environmental destruction

Unpublished letter to the Toronto Star, Sept 3, 2013

The reclamation of the Sydney tar ponds at public expense illustrates a weakness in the law (Sydney tar ponds site gets 'dramatic transformation', Aug 31).  

When a company in the course of business damages the environment, it should be made liable to repair that damage. The company should not be allowed to disappear and hang the restoration cost on the taxpayer. 

The oil companies in Alberta, for example, must be ordered to create a fund sufficient to restore to their original state the waters and lands they are at this moment desecrating.

Is the media gay-obsessed?

Letter to the Toronto Star, May 2, 2013 

Only someone on politically correct steroids would object to someone else favouring the traditional family (Realtor under fire for anti-gay brochure, May 2). Shame on the Star for claiming such expression as "anti-gay."

One may differ from the many reports that prove the superiority of the traditional family. To declare them hateful or anti-anybody is an attempt to suppress opinions with which one may disagree. Unfortunately, the media, less than unbiased in this matter, refuse to defend free speech, preferring to indulge in name-calling.

 * * *

Letter to The Globe and Mail, August 8, 2013

The Globe editorial about the press conference aboard the pope's aircraft claimed that Francis's statement "made history" when he said, "A gay person who is seeking God, who is of goodwill, well, who am I to judge?" It  made history only to those who haven't been listening. The pope said nothing new.

The basis of this common media error is the idee fixe that promotion of the traditional family is anti-gay. 

Recent pro-family protests in Paris were described as anti-gay. The legislation that provoked the protest was deemed an attack on the traditional family in a nation that values the family more than we do. Thus, the protest. 

A report in the Toronto papers told of a tenant in public housing. He posted a pro-family sign in his window, just pro, not attacking anyone. Someone complained. He was threatened with eviction. No one in the media defended his freedom of expression.

That Hated Monsanto Company

From Children of the Days by Eduardo Galeano: 

Suicide Seeds

For about three hundred and sixty million years, plants have been producing fertile seeds that generate new plants and new seeds, and never have they ever charged anyone for the favor.

But in 1998 a patent gave its blessing to the company Delta and Pine to produce and sell sterile seeds, which meant new seeds had to be purchased for every planting. In the  middle of August 2006, Monsanto, blessed be thy name, bought out Delta and Pine and its patent.

Thus Monsanto consolidated its universal power: sterile seeds, known as "suicide seeds" or "terminator seeds," form part of a very lucrative line that also obliges farmers to buy herbicides, pesticides and other poisons from the genetically modified pharmacy.

At Easter in the year 2010, a few months after the earthquake, Haiti received a grand gift from Monsanto: sixty thousand bags of seed produced by the chemical industry. Farmers gathered to receive the offering, and proceeded to burn every sack in an immense bonfire.

For more on the Monsanto Company, read Monsanto's Harvest of Fear, Vanity Fair, May 2008.

Outsiders Beware

Before the courts of Ontario, there is an application to exempt certain citizenship applicants because they object to the nature of the required oath. My letter to The National Post.

Re 'Repulsive' oath to Queen assailed, Jul 13:

Three non-Canadians complain about our laws. Common among them is their insistence on imposing their values on us.  One of them admits to an unresolved distaste of things British.  Immigrants must not seek to impose their values. The Jamaican applicant's religious values cause her to describe our head of state as "the queen of Babylon." Canadians don't need that kind of talk, especially from an outsider.

These people have accepted the invitation to our house. But will enter only on condition that we tune our television to programs they prefer, only if we say things they want to hear, only if we change our laws to suit them.

I trust our courts will refuse this brazen imposition of outsiders' conditions on our way of life. Conditions of entry are established by Canadians, not by wannabes.

Should one day, the oath to the Queen be dropped, it will be done by Canadians, not by those at the gates.

Big Oil Must Ante Up

The people of Alberta recently suffered the worst floods in their history. My June 26, 2013 letter to The Globe and Mail, unpublished. 

The great presence in this time of crisis for Alberta is Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.  Alberta Premier Alison Redford will be major player in the province's recovery. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a cameo appearance prior to, we trust, a massive infusion of federal aid.

Missing from this scenario are Stephen Harper's supporters in the oil patch. Over the years, oil companies have sucked billions from Alberta's soil. If the province can offer one billion dollars in aid, Harper should be able to cajole his oil friends to commit at least that amount. It's pay-back time.