It's a hard news day, really, despite supposedly being a "day off". The bad news is, ironically, the surge by the NDP that threatens to hand over a majority to the Conservatives by splitting the vote in otherwise Liberal-leaning ridings. Do we really want to vote NDP where our lost Liberal vote will let the Tories coast by and claim a seat?
More bad news comes in the form of the Canada Free Press--a tabloid-style online right-wing rag, having more in common with the Communist and Marxist-Leninist papers of years gone by in their toxic spewing of ideology, and on the hustings now to promote Sun News Network, aka Fox News North. If ever there was any doubt that Harper has the knives out for the CBC, it should be dispelled here. Don't look for any meaningful political discourse, just diatribes and stink bombs. If people read this pernicious tripe and set any store by it, well, God help us all.
Which brings me to the themes of the day--crucifixion, today being Good Friday; the Jewish escape from slavery celebrated in the Passover; and, ultimately, the resurrection of Easter. From both a religious and a secular perspective, these themes have resonance, I think. Canada is undergoing its own form of enslavement under Harper, from the suppression of dissent to the quieting of information and the inflammation of partisan rhetoric. The landscape is being crucified both literally through the environmental degradation that is encouraged to flourish and metaphorically through fear-mongering and shameless abuses of democracy.
I can only hope--and pray--that May 2 brings deliverance to this beautiful country and its people so that a resurrection may begin.
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