We could be so wrong about Stephen Harper. He might not be the devil incarnate. He could be just a sweet, lovable family guy with a toupee who likes to take his little boy to his hockey games. And, if we let him, he will forever change the nature of our country. It will be a Canada we might not like.
People worry about his conservative social agenda but that is, hopefully, not the problem. He has clearly indicated that he wants to stay out of arguments about capital punishment, abortion, same sex marriage and other social issues. They are not his thing. He panders to the religious right because he needs their votes but knows that bringing up social concerns will just inflame passions on both sides of the issues. And when have you seen him passionate about anything?
Stephen Harper is an economic conservative. He has more empathy with the Libertarians in his party than with the social extremists. He believes in a government reduced in size, restrained from interfering with business, puts property rights ahead of human rights, the rich ahead of the poor and would rather incarcerate malefactors than reform them.
While our Prime Minister basks in the approbation of the G20 countries, he is turning the world against Canada where his foreign affairs approach is bruising our reputation for fairness and for peace keeping. He reflects the American right-wing’s distain for the United Nations and, to please the religious extremists, denies third-world countries birth-control assistance and the support they need against AIDS.
His most invidious act to-date has been the denial of the taxpayer support for Canadian political parties. This funding was established by the Chrétien government to try to bring some balance to the political scene and end corruption. By closing this avenue of support, Harper is trying to silence his opponents’ ability to respond to his attack advertising.
He would prefer the American situation where the Republican Congress has opened the doors wide to corporations to fund the politicians and third parties that do what they want. The political corruption in America has created a sharply divided and vicious political climate that sets no limits on the extremists. The American Tea Party, for example, is a Looney Tunes faction that feeds on hatred and we will hear more from them in the current American political quagmire.
Harper is so dishonest that he claims those nasty foreign environmentalists are trying to stop Canadian tar-sands oil from reaching the west coast from where the crude oil can be shipped to China. At the same time, he ignores all the native bands, fighting desperately to stop the pipeline from potentially destroying their traditional lands.
This man does not care for people. He proves that every day. He does not care what Canadians think. He is an ideologue. And that is the devil of it.
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Copyright 2012 © Peter Lowry
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