As IF Times

As we’re now in the thick of election season in North America, including regionally in Canada, an old joke comes to mind which classically described the difference between Canadians and Americans.

It seems that someone was having a tour of a restaurant and in the kitchen he noticed two large pots of boiling water; one with a lid and the other without.  When asked, the restauranteur revealed that the pots contained lobsters.  When asked why one had a lid and not the other, the owner conveyed that the one with a lid contained American lobsters and the one without were the Canadian kind.  He explained that the Canadian ones didn’t need a lid because if one tried to climb out, the other ones would pull him back in.

This little anecdote was quite true for a long time, but really, it hasn’t aged very well.  With the passage of time, the stark difference in mindset reflected by that old anecdote has lost its edge.  When you look at the platforms and values propagated by the dominant political factions on both sides of the border, one side clearly favors the collective over the individual.  This may not be so surprising in Canada, but for this mindset to take root in the United States is astounding.

The very foundation of the US nation was premised upon the rights and liberties of the individual over the collective.  In fact, it was started by some brave individuals who decided that living under the arbitrary decrees of a detached monarch in England wasn’t for them.  So, they started the tradition of doing their own thing, which became a hallmark of being an American.  From this beginning, the greatest free civilization in history was born. To this day, this notion of freedom and independence is enshrined in the minds of most Americans and of course, in their constitution. This is true even in the minds of those who only think about the characteristics of Americans.  This legacy is quite different in Canada since it continued to be tied to the old empire for over a century after declaring itself a nation, thus Canadians don’t have that same reputation.

We can observe clearly that the fine edge of freedom and individualism has been blunted over successive generations in the U.S.  As we all know, rights and freedoms once considered sacrosanct have slowly but surely been chipped away by all kinds of interest groups so that now, rights and freedoms still exist….but only if you follow specific rules.  So the illusion exists, but not the reality.  It reminds me of accountants and dentists who ride Harley Davidsons in full outlaw gear.  They’re individual….in a me too kind of way.  These rough-hewn images are cultivated in popular films which depict the heroic struggle of individuals versus a societal machine.

It is only in American culture that this brand of rugged individualism is glorified and celebrated.  It is rare to find this kind of theme in the majority of foreign films ( at least in my experience ).  In America, not only is the protagonist in films a hero, he is often an anti-hero by imposing his strength of will and character upon an oppressive antagonist.  Oddly, even in despotic nations, films with this theme sell very well.  I seem to recall that Kim Jong Un is a big Rambo fan.

But the reality of the American experience has deviated substantially from the original plan.  The mythical rugged individual is fading into distant memory and nowadays, is often demonized.  For those that do any construction work, we know that measurements over long distances can be greatly impacted by only a small variance at the outset. Being off by only a few degrees over 3 feet can mean 3 inches over 20.

This is the case today.  Half of the dominant political parties actively push the notion of the collective versus the individual and they no longer feel the need to obscure their message.  Their platforms clearly state that the interests of the state supersede any individual initiative.  They require  citizens to conform to an ideal which only they are allowed to define.  This may sound familiar to those born 350 years ago.  Seemingly minor curbs on freedoms and activities have morphed into outright curtailment of all kinds of heretofore free movements, which extends even into the realm of thought. The allegorical piece of wood we’ve been cutting has deviated to become an 180 degree cut.

As bizarre as it appears, Marxist and leftist ideologies, anathema to the very core of the American experience, is widely embraced by a frighteningly large segment of the population.  While this may not be surprising in most other nations since few have the history that the Americans have of fighting an actual war of independence, to have this mindset creeping into mainstream American consciousness is shocking.  What’s particularly frightening is that, unlike those plucky individuals who gave the English king the finger and started their own country over 350 years ago, there aren’t too many places to go today to do the same thing.

And of course, the worst part of it may be that films that depict subjects conforming to the state dictates and edicts probably won’t do well at the box office.

It’s hard to believe that we’re embarking upon yet another bruising election season soon…although you’d be forgiven if you thought the last one was still going on.  The whining and bleating about the results of the last Presidential election held almost 3 years ago still echoes like the screech of vultures circling above picked over carrion.

As shown in the attached graphic,  venerable news outlet CNN just displayed the results of theoretical matchups between the declared Democratic candidates and the presumed opponent Donald Trump. Even hardcore leftists would take this graphic with a barrel of salt…I mean come on, it’s CNN.  In the meantime, many more presidential aspirants are popping up like mushrooms after a rainfall in a swampy forest including the biggest loon bag of all, Bill De Blasio.  At present, there are over 20 declared candidates who genuinely think that there are enough non institutionalized people out there that would subscribe to their version of reality.

The vast majority of the declared candidates are from the states that normally lean heavily Democratic and that’s not really a surprise.  California, New York, Massachusetts are known to be the fonts of unhinged logic and hence the preponderance of spiral eyed politicos emanate from those states. The majority of them are lawyers who have done nothing in their lives but pander to their constituencies with increasingly extreme rhetoric.  None have built a business or endured the hardships of running one.  The one contender that has, Howard Shultz, is shunned by the mainstream Democrats as being a spoiler since he chooses to run as an Independant.

You would think that mass delusion has taken hold of these candidates because there is not the remotest of chances that they would be embraced by any outside of their protected enclaves. To the degree that they’ve even articulated a view for America, those views are as appealing to the values of Americans as a skunk at a picnic.  Unfortunately, that is the source of their genius.  They don’t have to appeal to the majority of Americans.  They need only to corral the votes of those in their populous constituencies, since there may be enough seats there to tip the balance of the houses.  So it’s a about strategy and tactics not about ideology.

Some like De Blasio and Eric Swalwell don’t even try to hide their mental condition since their constituents are like minded as proven by their being voted into office.  Some like Biden have a long history of being useless, but apparently also not a disqualifier. Fortunately as time goes on, the various faults of the candidates will become glaringly obvious under the harsh light of policy revelations…especially since, like the infamous John Kerry,  many of them were for policy ‘X’ before they were against it. As noted, many (and most) aspirants to political office are lawyers.   By definition, lawyers are not beholden to principles since their education and vocation are to argue for their version of truth.  Clearly their value system is not rooted in absolutes but in relativity.

In the dawning years of America, such a notion had been considered when drawing up the basic structure of public governance.  David Dodge, an archival research expert,  discusses this in his research on the missing 13th amendment.  Essentially, the gist of it was that lawyers were to be prohibited from holding public office.  This may have been prescient on the part of the founders way back when, but it seems especially apt today when it appears that a law degree is common as cold sores at a frat party…and as easy to get.