International relations as high school cliques
What we call the adult world is often just an extension of high school. In the political order, especially, high school cliques persist.
The United States is the jock: Confident, swaggering, ready for anything; simultaneously brauny and friendly.
The Islamist terrorists are the gangs: Amoral, unpredictable, vicious; only hang out with like-minded crazies.
Canada is the geek (formerly called the nerd): Shy, slightly out of sorts, brainy, ardently wishes the jock would be nicer to the gang members, aspires to be artsy (see Europe).
Europe is the artsy crowd: Painfully fashionable, gossipy, and -- under the guise of individuality -- prone to resembling all the other individualist rebels; hopes against hope that the gangs will just go away.
posted by Patrick at 8:14 AM
4 Comments:
I recently returned from a pilgrimage to St. Anne de Beaupre. I was there ten years ago. I am shocked by the changes I could see in Canadian society, especially the characterization of any comments about same-sex marriage as hate speech. What has happened to Canada?
Renatus
7:58 PM
I'm not sure where you're from, Renatus, but I think it's called hacking off all the Christian roots from which Canada sprouted. Quebec is the most depressing of all, since it fell from the farther heights. 1960 was the beginning of the secular slide we're now seeing. Montreal today might as well be Sodom: Porn splashed all over main streets named after saints; absolutely gorgeous churches that sit empty when not being used as jazz halls; Quebeckers contracepting and aborting themselves out of existence. Mark my words, Arabic will one day be the dominant language in la belle province.
I'm taking a wild geuss here, but I somehow doubt this is what the Canadian Martyrs had in mind when they underwent torture and death to spread the Faith in Canada.
And where are the bishops....?
10:35 PM
I agree with you, Patrick, and even though I am from Texas I love Canada, especially the Canadian Rockies. Do you see a cultural connection between what is happening in Quebec and what has happened in France? As far as the bishops are concerned I agree that some of them are far too liberal, but there are some good, conservative, orthodox bishops in Canada. Renatus
7:44 AM
Yes, the connections are there. Anglo-Canada longs to be like its European mother, England, blind to all its multicultural nightmares now coming true. And Franco-Canada is a wannabe France. The funny thing is, Quebeckers are generally not respected in France. Quebecois French sounds to a Parisian like the speech of a drunk Bronx cabbie.
Are there good, strong bishops who are orthodox in Canada? Yes. Too bad I can count them all on one hand: Fabbro of London, Marchand of Timmins, Henry of Calgary, Prendergast of Halifax. Very few others boldly preach the faith, I regret to say.
I despise random bishop bashing, but it's simply true that most Canadian bishops are cowards, either in the pocket of the feminist lobby or gay friendly or tied ideologically to leftist political assumptions.
10:52 AM
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