Blogging at Politicususa

I'm glad to belatedly announce that I'll be blogging regularly at Politicususa, concentrating on ethics and the consequences of being led by and living next to those who lack them.

I've already got a few posts up covering political, religious and media ethics.

It's not difficult to find something to write about these days, the difficulty is not slitting one's wrists while doing the background research. But there's something even MORE difficult.

Keeping it under a thousand words; THAT is hard!

I have not been asked to moderate my viewpoint, and I'm a devoutly anti-authoritarian pragmatist. I'll admit to being nearly reflexively anti-authoritarian, but in large part that has come from a lifetime of seeing simplistic, authoritarian responses to complex social and economic issues - and seeing them fail catastrophically - from the Right AND the Left. That, and a few hundred less political and more personal examples led me to believe that you can't change what people are; you can only help them be whoever they are better. 

In Canada - we pay lip service to authoritarians, often trying out such approaches - but then quietly and without much fanfare, simply adjusting our course toward the centre and to the benefit of the vast majority of Canadians. This is why our banks are properly regulated, our halt and lame are well-cared for and still considered valued members of our communities, and both of these things mean that we have a secure middle class, for they are less at risk from being robbed by the rich or the poor.

Of course, the thing about being genuinely nice and smug people is that it takes work. You really have to invest in the things you wish to be smug about. We like being known of as a decent, inoffensive people. God help you if you mess with that, we will fuck you up.


You Yanks - maybe you ought to think on what you wish others to see you as.


For, well, most of you ARE terribly concerned about "what people might think," but paradoxically, completely oblivious to what other people who are not actually subscribing to the same websites and attending the same churches really DO think of you. 


It is neither complementary, nor is it without cause.