Tag: Life

Ethics, Media2 Comments

“I Want To Be Let Alone”

Podritske

Greta Garbo was mimicked in a faux Swedish accent for saying “I vant to be alone”. Originally a line from one of her movies, observers noted that it fit her role in private life. She once clarified that attribution as false and a correct version was “I want to be let alone”. That made all the difference. I think Garbo’s point was that she was in control of her own life and didn’t want anybody’s advice or interference in living it. She retired from her film career partly because she would not compromise with an industry which compels its stars … Continue reading “I Want To Be Let Alone”

Canada, Ethics, Rights, SportsLeave a comment

Kiss Off

Podritske

There have been overtures made to me regarding the kissing couple featured in my last essay. It was pointed out by one commenter that viewed from the opposite perspective it seemed the young man was helping the young woman to resuscitate, she perhaps having lost her breath after being knocked down by the mob revellers. Another source has suggested to me that a parent of the young man in the photo actually recognized him and confirmed that yes; in fact he was trying diligently to revive the young woman. I would only ask that, especially of those among you who … Continue reading Kiss Off

Canada, Rights, Sports1 Comment

A Kiss Is Not Just A Kiss

Podritske

The picture of an amorous Vancouver couple, locked in a kiss following the home team loss in the Stanley Cup Final, has been widely described in positive terms. Against the backdrop of a destructive mob with a stoic riot cop in the foreground, the seemingly spatchcocked image of the couple has captured worldwide attention as perhaps the sole bit of sanity amidst the collective violence. Writers at national newspapers have opined that they would take kissing over the mob violence any day. My view is that this picture captures perfectly, in symbolic terms, a decline of individualism in ethics. I refer … Continue reading A Kiss Is Not Just A Kiss

Canada, Government, Politics3 Comments

Suffering Suffrage

Podritske

Canadians head to the polls May 2 for the fifth federal general election this century—more precisely, probably more than one-half of eligible voters will exercise their suffrage. The last election in 2008 was the first since confederation in which voter turnout dropped below 60 percent. Voter participation in Canada has usually been greater than that of its American neighbour, but with the unusually interesting 2008 campaign in the United States, even the Americans had a better turnout. Concern has risen over generally declining rates of voter participation in western democracies. Who is concerned? In most cases it appears to be … Continue reading Suffering Suffrage

Ethics, Government, Law1 Comment

Kafka and Kelley

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Kelley Williams-Bolar may not be familiar with the literary works of Franz Kafka, but her life recently has been a Kafkaesque nightmare. After serving 10 days in jail, convicted on a charge of falsifying residency documents, she faces 3 years probation and slave-duty to the State with 80 hours of “community service”. Why? She wanted her two daughters to attend a safer school than the one designated for her home in downtown Akron, Ohio. The area is riddled with crime mostly related to the illicit drug trade; police have recorded 12 break-ins at her residence. Kelley’s father, Edward Williams, lives … Continue reading Kafka and Kelley

Canada, Ethics, PoliticsLeave a comment

It’s Not About Faggots

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Last week a controversy arose in Canada after an individual in St. John’s, Newfoundland was offended. He was offended by the word “faggot” in the lyrics of “Money for Nothing,” a song by Dire Straits.  The offended one took his complaint to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) which ruled that the song be banned from broadcast on all Canadian radio stations unless edited. Comments and observations across media channels ranged from pleas for understanding the artistry of the songwriter to whether or not contemporary culture is more enlightened than that which existed in the 1980s. The song won a … Continue reading It’s Not About Faggots

Ethics, Government, RightsLeave a comment

What’s the Big Idea?

Podritske

The most significant development of 2010 was a life-affirming idea demonstrating the concept of spontaneous order and implying the cardinal virtue of independence of the individual. One frustrated individual, Rick Santelli, ranted on-air at CNBC on February 19, 2009 about certain oppressive interventionist actions of government and called for a new Tea Party. Some credit this rant as the start of the movement. Whether Mr. Santelli was the catalyst or not doesn’t matter. Despite broad media and political efforts to trivialize the phenomenon, Tea Partiers collected support across party lines, social classes and cultural subgroups. The influence of the Tea … Continue reading What’s the Big Idea?

Ethics, Media, Politics2 Comments

‘Cane in a Cave

Podritske

What should have been—in a rational culture—little more than a storm in a teacup, has unfortunately morphed from an insignificant symbolic gesture to an event possibly requiring tactical changes in the so-called War on Terror. Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida wants to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 act of war by Islamic jihadists by burning a few hundred copies of the jihadists’ military manual—the Koran. Stormy events emanating from Florida usually involve natural hurricanes or at least tropical storms, but the Cable News Network (CNN) and the rest of the … Continue reading ‘Cane in a Cave

Law, Media, Politics2 Comments

Score Another for Reality

Podritske

Thursday, 12 November 2009 As most of North American media representatives, politicians, and senior military brass (yes, even them,) publicly trip over each other in their efforts to appear inoffensive to Muslims when commenting on the terrorist-style attack at Fort Hood by “alleged” killer Major Nidal Malik Hasan, it’s refreshing to hear of a political figure who advances a different approach. Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has just issued a new guide for immigrants wishing to become Canadian citizens. It is available today. The primary purpose of the new study guide is to lend some substance to the … Continue reading Score Another for Reality

Ethics, Foreign Policy, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

Time and Tyranny

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The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is an opportunity to remind ourselves that reality will always prevail over those who would rationalize against it. Every regime constructed by men who seek to force their views on other men is doomed to failure. Sometimes failure takes centuries or as in the case of Ancient Egypt, millennia. In the context of our own brief lives, or a generation or two, it may seem to occur faster when history places us in such close proximity to a seminal event. The Berlin Wall construction began in August 1961. The Berlin Wall … Continue reading Time and Tyranny