We say goodbye to Canada’s Senate as we knew it,

As a ‘house of sober thought,’ Harper has blown it.

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The images of the G20 aren’t about to go away,

Disgraced by police and politicos who just may.

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It must be a generational thing. Did our grandparents ask the same question? Did they throw up their hands at our abysmal ignorance of the simplest questions? Were we so ill-equipped by our schooling to understand our society, how it functions and how we can make a contribution to it?

This is not to say these kids are dumb. Far from it! It is constantly amazing to see how they adapt so easily to the rapid advances in technology. The other day, I was interrupted in a meeting by a grandson just out of grade seven who was sending me my first text message. I thought that device was just a cell phone. He is always showing his grandparents new applications he acquires for the iPod he connects to the home wi-fi.

This is not about the marks the kids get in school. The concern is that the educators are not getting enough useful material into the curriculum. And who writes these curricula? For example, when are we teaching kids to tell time? You constantly see signs saying something is scheduled for 12 am or 12 pm. Half the kids you ask will tell you quite confidently that 12 am is noon and the other half will be just as confident that it is midnight. They simply do not know that there is no such thing as 12 am or 12 pm.

And what about spelling? Have all the teachers said that since we have spell checking on computers, we no longer need to teach students to spell? I politely forgot to mention the spelling in that text message I received. It was supposedly in English but it was some sort of phonetic version. Despite it being in a language, I have never learned, somehow, I understood his message. In teaching people to write decent letters and reports, I usually mention that the purpose of proper spelling and grammar is not to make life difficult for the sender but to make the communication more easily understood by the reader. To use the numeral ‘2,’ for example, to replace ‘to,’ ‘too’ and ‘two’ might save time and space but it does not always make it clear for the reader. Spell checkers and readers cannot understand your intend if you do not know the difference between ‘where’ and ‘wear.’

And what about life skills? Sure, I know I can trust my daughter and her husband to teach their kids about sex and looking after themselves but can we trust all parents? Too many kids are still learning about sex the old fashioned way: after school, in the garage or a friend’s house when the parents are out. And do the parents who think their kids are too young to learn about such things know what to do when their 10 or 11-year old brings home the latest sexually transmitted disease?

This is not a complaint to the people at Queen’s Park. The politicos have enough complaints these days. It is the professional educators who should be doing a better job. The most critical resource of the future is the children we entrust them to teach. Why do we share this feeling that they might not be doing the best job possible?

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Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]

It’s hot, we always complain when it’s not,

We’re never satisfied with what we’ve got.

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To report on royal visits, you have to be the gushy type,

The writing about the royal visits is a lot of bloody tripe.

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In a lengthy career as a writer, you write on an endless variety of subjects. From pies to politics, computers to condoms, from x-rays to xerography, a career in public relations and writing for newspapers, magazines as well as radio and television scripts, you go where the client, the editor, the mood or the whim sends you. You write for your audience. That is why feedback is encouraged.

But the one thing you know for sure is that what you write will not please, enthrall, bemuse, excite, interest or otherwise entertain all readers. It cannot be done.

Nor will there ever be 100 per cent agreement among readers that you know what you are writing about. There are always differing viewpoints. While we can bask in the brief adulation of sycophants, we know that there is likely to be strong disagreement just around the corner. It is ever thus.

We sometimes have to defend what we write as something that we believed to be so at the time of writing. Even the courts have accepted that as a defense from libel when there is no malicious intent or pecuniary advantage to be gained. What is a fact today is not necessarily a fact tomorrow.

The most difficult defense to mount is the one against those who criticize what you are about to write or publish. They are quick to condemn without taking the trouble to consider evidence. They assume what you will write or publish will be something with which they will disagree. And, in light of that attitude, you probably will.

But nobody has the right to tell you what you can or cannot write. If you write pornography or incite people to violently overthrow a legally constituted government, they might have a reason to object. If you only wish to stimulate intelligent conversation and discussion, you wonder what the problem is.

Over the past few months, there has been considerable editing done to the articles written in this blog under the key words: The Democracy Papers: Part II. The blogs were a discussion of the need for Canada to have a constitutional assembly to discuss our country’s political future. Some of the articles were dropped or combined with others. A few of the proposals were simplified. The language has been taken to a lower FOG Index to enable people with an average education to easily read and understand it. The concerns of a few Alpha test readers were addressed. Discussions will start soon on the need for a French-language version.

We all have a responsibility in life to leave this world better for the opportunities we were afforded. We who care must seek to improve, to help, to be of service to mankind.

Hopefully, The Babel Manifesto is just that. It will soon be available in print and on-line. It is an honest attempt to contribute to a process in which Canada flounders and fails. Instead of making it easier to achieve consensus, politicians have built barriers to agreement. They have created a vested interest in failure. Their self-importance is their problem. Only the selfless can gain ground.

If The Babel Manifesto is to be born in controversy: so be it.

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Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]

It’s not to criticize that I ask

Nor do I take Dalton to task,

But we already pay a gas tax,

Why do we pay HST on tax?

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There are those who boldly go,

And those who say to go slow,

If you go, they’ll give you woe.

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It’s Canada Day. We can celebrate. Even the Queen and her friend the Duke are here to share our day with us. Yes, Queen Elizabeth of England has graced our shores. When she landed in Halifax, she had the poor Governor General in a tizzy. The younger woman had to duck down under the hat to make sure she was addressing the Queen and not some woman-in-waiting. What happened after that was probably unimportant.

Whilst in Halifax, the Queen and the Duke (dressed as an admiral), reviewed the ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. Since our country’s navy is frightfully small and is spread over two oceans, the Danish navy and the American coast guard added ships to our line-up to bulk up the viewing.

From Halifax, the royals headed to Ottawa to celebrate Canada Day with the Harper’s. ‘Canadian Emperor entertains English Queen’ is the headline. If she is really honoured, Stephen will play the piano for her.

On Sunday, July 4 she is going to grace a horse race at Toronto’s Woodbine Race Track. Queen’s Plate Day is often a good day at Woodbine but not when royals are present. Society women go all giggly when royals are present. You should see them curtsy. It is the only scene that one can really laugh at.

You should also note that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair of G20 fame has special powers to arrest you if you laugh at the Queen’s hat at Woodbine. The hat for Plate Day will be the silliest one of the entire trip. If you have ever wondered why the Queen prefers long-legged horses and short-legged dogs to people, it is because of the people who come just to see her. She probably prefers the horses and dogs to the strange people who think being around a royal is important.

But you really do not need a Queen to celebrate Canada Day. The day belongs to our beautiful country and the people who share its opportunities and its bounty. It is a land of riches of the soil, pristine waters and under ever-changing weather from the gentle breezes of summer to the chill winds of winter. It is a land glorious in its color and grandeur from the outports of Newfoundland and Labrador to the wooded coves of Vancouver Island.

What the Queen misses is that Canada is not plaques and horse races and state dinners and walk-abouts. Canada is its people with their roots back to all parts of the world. Canada is the energy and innovation that builds a country. Canada is a civility and tolerance. Rather than be at Woodbine for the Queen’s Plate, the Queen and her friend the duke should be at the Gay Pride parade. She would learn more about Canada.

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If you wish to comment, start your own blog. If you wish to ask a sincere question, I would be happy to respond. Just send your question to [email protected]