Author: Shawn Whatley

Politics by Polling – Elxn44

Justin Trudeau on a pandemic mission for majority

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s magic mirror must have given the wrong answer. Who really is the fairest in the land?

Or perhaps Trudeau could not forget 230,000 more Canadians voted for Scheer in 2019. Maybe he worried management of the pandemic would overshadow the rest of his term.

Or maybe Justin wanted a majority … bad enough to call an election in a pandemic … after only 18 months in office … in which he got everything he ever asked for from parliament … in the midst of a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan … with no real policy issue to debate …

Plebeians will never know.

No matter who wins, healthcare can expect the biggest influx of cash in fifty years. Each party promises to double competitors’ spending.  And they guarantee better management. After all, this is the Canadian way: do not change anything, just spend more. The status quo should remain intact for another few years.

Politics by Polling

A friend told me to listen to Maxime Bernier on Jordon Peterson’s podcast.

I know very little about either of them. They each seem somewhat tragic figures who stick to their principles and ignore personal cost. They produce more content than I can consume. And (I hate to admit) they often make me feel uncomfortable. If only I had half their courage.

But I listened … Continue reading “Politics by Polling – Elxn44”

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion — Is EDI Unquestionable?

A perfect (underaged) board of directors?

In 2020, the American EDI movement exploded into Canada. EDI is the latest fad every modern organization must reflect.

At a glance, EDI seems unquestionably true. It simply stands against unfairness, group think, and hatred of outsiders.

But it is not so simple.

Humanities professors have written about EDI for fifty years. Articles grew out of the 1960’s American civil rights movement and created a new area of expertise. Today, high-priced consultants retrain bureaucracies by expunging bad thinking and replacing it with new ideas.

According to EDI, an ideal board of directors should look like a middle-aged Benetton ad. Equity means equality of outcome. The consultants will say this is wrong and far too simple, but they will love the ad.

The Ontario Medial Association and Canadian Medical Association take great pains to prove they are on the cutting edge of EDI. No one need question their passion.

Is EDI New?

Unquestioned truth—especially when it fuels a social movement—should give pause.

EDI has rebranded ideas as old as Plato. However, EDI experts insist all thought prior to their own enlightenment suffers from unconscious bias (unless they say otherwise). EDI is truly new under the sun.

Equity is just the same old equality agenda. “Equality” risks someone saying everyone should get an equal chance to try out for the team. That is not good enough for equalitarians. Everyone should be on the team.

In The Republic, Plato presents a utopian society built on equality.

Children should be taken from their parents and put into a state home. Kids need an equal start, equal training, equal nutrition, and equal exercise.

Parents should also participate in their own group exercise classes, in the nude.

Some assume Plato was joking. Others disagree—he simply offered a solution which takes the problem of equality with proper seriousness.

The pursuit of equal outcomes is an ancient idea.

Rousseau: the First Radical

EDI also repackages Rousseau’s work from the 18th century.

Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains.

Rousseau said social institutions condemn people to suffer lives of unfair treatment. Today for example, boards choose people using systems which lead to unfair (unequal) outcomes. Continue reading “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion — Is EDI Unquestionable?”

Celebration Without Politics – A Canada Day Post

Since 1982, July 1 is Canada Day. It was Dominion Day 1867-1982

Celebration of anything or anyone requires one of two mindsets.

The first mindset is make-believe. We pretend something is what it is not. We sing, dance, and light fireworks in false celebration.

Eulogies about abusive drunks being great family men call us to false celebration. We pretend the bad did not exist, and we focus on the good … or make it up.

The second mindset requires gratitude and humility. Gratitude directs our mind to the good, humility to the bad.

We take a principled stance of thankfulness — principled because it requires more than emotion. Principled thankfulness chooses to remember the good, even when the bad creates emotions which make thankfulness almost impossible.

True humility comes in knowing the full extent of our failure and that it could have been worse. We know our current failure is not anywhere close to demonstrating how badly we could screw things up if we try.

Enthusiasm

Healthy, mature minds hold two or more things in tension, all the time. Children and certain personality disorders hold only one thing in mind at any time. They are having The Best Day Ever! or the worst day of their lives. Everything splits into all good or all bad, and at full emotional intensity.

When an immature mind adopts a mindset of make-believe celebration, it abandons reality. It uses a vision of false purity to create unfounded enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm is like starter fluid. It makes everything light up. Enthusiasm works equally well for celebration and penance.

Celebration becomes ecstatic and intolerant of any balance. Getting together is not good enough—it must be wild! Continue reading “Celebration Without Politics – A Canada Day Post”