From the Classic 1967 Movie Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman.
I am speaking of course about the Freedom Convoy and its likely last days.
Communication ...aka Negotiation has been sorely lacking.
What We've Got Here are thousands of ordinary Canadians leaving house and home and travelling thousands of miles to their Capital City ...in the dead of Winter and one would think they were the Plague. Pathetic.
Our Esteemed Prime Minister - supposed Leader of all Canadians has shown nothing but contempt for them. Our Premier has imposed Emergency Measures as has our Mayor...none of them nor even the Police have made any attempt to negotiate a settlement which would save face for the Protestors and allow things to get back to some state of normal. The Media by and large has been biased by projecting its Progressive / Woke Commentary. Makes one embarrassed to be Canadian.
John Diefenbaker famously said...everyone is against me but the people ...how apropos to today.
I keep saying in these Blogs that this is not about Covid Mandates though the straw that broke the camel's back was admittedly tied to this issue. After 2 years of allowing Truckers to pass freely into Canada without proof of being vaccinated our petulant and scheming Prime Minister invoked this requirement. He knew, like everyone else, that these are the dying days of Covid but His motivation was to one more time place a wedge between His Government and the Conservatives... the Truckers were simply a convenient vehicle to use.
Fortunately, it backfired spectacularly on Him to such an extent that his Prime Ministership is in real jeopardy of being lost. And He has once again proven how unfit He is for office.
So if not the Mandates ..what are the real reasons for the discontent. Well 2 years of Covid alone has taken its toll and that admittedly is not the fault of the Politicians or anyone else for that matter. It is a once in a century occurrence that we are getting through the best we can and quite frankly we have done a fairly good job of dealing with it. The Irony in this though is that our Truckers, until quite recently, were hailed as Heroes in that they were key in our collective efforts to get through this.
So the Plague cannot be blamed on the Politicians nor on their Health Advisors but their indecision, miscues and holier than thou attitudes have turned many off and have literally bankrupted the service industry. All the while they continue to get spectacular salaries - with raises, benefits and pensions...and then have the nerve to profess that We are all in this together...
In fact the underlying reasons go back over 50 years when Trudeau Senior pirouetted through the Halls of Parliament. His Leadership...like His Son's, can best be summed up as being Divisive. He too distained the West. He too became the Sole Centre of Power...even declaring that a Member of Parliament was simply a "no-body 50 feet off Parliament Hill". In the years since, this can still be applied to all Members of Parliament including Cabinet Ministers but now even while they are on the Hill.
The Prime Minister's Opinion is the only one that matters with the only exception being when the Court and its unelected and unaccountable 9 Justices... in their finite wisdom... make the law rather than interpret it as they are too often inclined to do.
And sadly, this is not peculiar just to Canada, throughout the World Democracy is in decline and its Pillars teetering. The Rise of Dictatorships has been pronounced and the Freedoms we once so readily enjoyed are being taken from us by an ever growing Progressive Left which is all for Free Speech if the Speaker agrees with their Woke Position.
Time / space precludes me from dealing with this in more detail but to end with this...
If we collectively as Canadians do not have room in our hearts for our Country's Blue Collar Workers...if we allow our Politicians / the Media / and the Progressives to denigrate them and call them names such as racist, misogynists, uneducated...we do not deserve the country our forefathers fought and spilled their blood for .... Better to let it go which is what appears is happening.
The Truckers need to call it quits now ..go back to their homes. The Conservatives need to take up their Cause and See the Return of Democracy to our once proud country. Members of Parliament must return to representing their constituents...and not be simply a mouth piece for their Party's Leader. Parliamentary Committees must be separate from the Prime Minister's Office and exercise real power. The Courts need to get back to interpreting rather than making the law and every time they attempt to do the latter...invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.
And of course, we desperately need the Triple 'E' Senate...Equal, Elected, and Effective if we are ever going to get rid of 1 Man or 1 Woman Prime Ministerial Rule.
Finally, if the Conservatives are not up to the Challenge which is likely, then we need to return to the Reform Days but this time with a Real McCoy Reform Party and not the namby-pamby Reformers under Preston ...Same Old...Manning turned out to be.
Anyway, I could go on and on but you get the idea ...as the Freedom Convoyers so proudly state ..We Need To Take Back Canada before there is nothing left to take back.
As I See It...
'K.D. Galagher'
