Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Revisiting The Diplomad
Stephen Harper's election victory will prompt a rash of media stories chronicling his rise to power. I am more interested in the nature of the Canada that Stephen Harper will inherit, and what Stephen Harper the Prime Minister is going to do, because that matters far more right now than anything having to do with Stephen Harper the man. Canadians should be focusing on what to do for Canada. All of which leads me to the legendary Diplomad.
How I loved reading The Diplomad. He offered everything I wanted to know about the American mindset as it operated in the international diplomatic community. Diplomad offered insight by recounting the daily experiences that shaped his world view. It was informed and fascinating reading, and very entertaining, giving me the feeling that I was in the mix both at the embassy soiree and down in the pits with the opposing team's grunts.
I especially appreciated his takedowns of today's Canada. They are respectful of her history but honestly critical of what she has become, and I concur with his views.
Canada was once a great country, a proud member of the Defense of the West League. On a per capita basis Canada, along with New Zealand, had among the highest casualties of any ally in WWI and WWII. It played key roles in NORAD and NATO, and in the shadowy intel battles of the Cold War. It was, in word and deed, a true ally. That said, we would be hard put to describe the Canada of today or of the past 10 or so years as an ally. Its government has become among the most politically correct and feminized in the world, turning Canada into a haven for global terrorists and criminals, and for some of the most irresponsible and "out there" politicians, academics and journalists found anywhere on the planet. It has dismantled its once proud military establishment, turning it into a second-rate Keystone Cops police force at the beck and call of Kofi "Oil-for-Money" Annan. It is now a country with no sense of national interest or purpose, no appreciation for its true friends or for its own history. Canadian politicians and academics have become -- at best -- mischievous little school boys, trying to play pranks on the aloof but kindly school headmaster, secure in the knowledge that at most they'll get an avuncular lecture, that never will they have to pay any serious consequences, and that the headmaster will always in the end protect them from the school bullies and street toughs.
***
Canada has become for all intents and purposes a Third World country: Egypt with snow. It whines; it cries; it takes the UN seriously; it hopes that the terrorists will leave them alone, in other words that Moloch will eat them last. All symptoms of a country torn apart by insecurity and not really sure that 10-15 years from now Canada will still exist.
That's the Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper has inherited. I say we give him time to set things right.
How I loved reading The Diplomad. He offered everything I wanted to know about the American mindset as it operated in the international diplomatic community. Diplomad offered insight by recounting the daily experiences that shaped his world view. It was informed and fascinating reading, and very entertaining, giving me the feeling that I was in the mix both at the embassy soiree and down in the pits with the opposing team's grunts.
I especially appreciated his takedowns of today's Canada. They are respectful of her history but honestly critical of what she has become, and I concur with his views.
Canada was once a great country, a proud member of the Defense of the West League. On a per capita basis Canada, along with New Zealand, had among the highest casualties of any ally in WWI and WWII. It played key roles in NORAD and NATO, and in the shadowy intel battles of the Cold War. It was, in word and deed, a true ally. That said, we would be hard put to describe the Canada of today or of the past 10 or so years as an ally. Its government has become among the most politically correct and feminized in the world, turning Canada into a haven for global terrorists and criminals, and for some of the most irresponsible and "out there" politicians, academics and journalists found anywhere on the planet. It has dismantled its once proud military establishment, turning it into a second-rate Keystone Cops police force at the beck and call of Kofi "Oil-for-Money" Annan. It is now a country with no sense of national interest or purpose, no appreciation for its true friends or for its own history. Canadian politicians and academics have become -- at best -- mischievous little school boys, trying to play pranks on the aloof but kindly school headmaster, secure in the knowledge that at most they'll get an avuncular lecture, that never will they have to pay any serious consequences, and that the headmaster will always in the end protect them from the school bullies and street toughs.
***
Canada has become for all intents and purposes a Third World country: Egypt with snow. It whines; it cries; it takes the UN seriously; it hopes that the terrorists will leave them alone, in other words that Moloch will eat them last. All symptoms of a country torn apart by insecurity and not really sure that 10-15 years from now Canada will still exist.
That's the Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper has inherited. I say we give him time to set things right.
