Shut Up And Listen 192

It's Not You, It's Me

Well, this week, Prime Minister Paul Martin kicked one of his MPs out of the Liberal caucus. Carolyn Parrish, a former Liberal MP from the Toronto area was kicked out for badmouthing the Liberals and Martin, but you'll probably hear it was for anti-American and anti-Bush statements.

Yeah, she's said anti-American statements ("Damn American, I hate the bastards", "coalition of the idiots"), but you think that would get her kicked out of her party's caucus? Fuck no. Those statements (along with others) did lead to the events that kicked her out. You see, whenever she said these things, her party would never stand by her, usually criticising her or trying to distance themselves from her, so this led to her eventually saying this week "I have absolutely no loyalty to this team--none." I can't blame her either. Why would she have loyalty to the Liberals?

Of course, the question that comes out of this: was she right to speak out as she did? Me, I say of course. Why not? Because it might offend the Americans? Who cares? It's not like she's not saying things that the majority of Canadians seem to agree with in one form or another. Isn't that what we want from politicians? Isn't that the goal of democracy? People talk about the appropriateness of these comments, and maybe it's because I'm me, but I think they're totally appropriate. Why shouldn't our elected officials voice their opinions? Seriously, I think it's pretty fucking stupid that we expected them to shut up when they're elected. The whole concept of private opinions versus public opinions just strikes me as odd. Maybe things would be better if we learned to reconcile the two.

Besides, this is exactly the right time for Canada to be distancing itself from America. Look at the two economies: one goes up, the other goes down. People were upset when the US wasn't allowing Canadian beef in, and while it hurt Canadian farmers in the short term, I think it was a good thing in the long-term. Canada is far too dependent on the US and anything that allows us to not be is a good thing. I'm not saying cut off all ties tomorrow or anything, but why should we try and strengthen the relationship when the two countries are obviously moving in two very different directions. Let's face it: Canada is a progressive country, while the US is a regressive one. Canada is obviously moving towards a nation that supports the equal rights of everyone, progressive drug laws, a more pacifist nature, a more long-term, global viewpoint when it comes to the environment and also an outlook on global politics that emphasises multilateralism. Anyone who's been paying attention knows that the US does not share these views really. Given the current political climate of the US, Canada should be working to make itself less and less dependent on the US.

But no one can say that for fear of pissing off the Americans, but what everyone seems to forget is: America is not going to cut ties with us or even do anything that harsh. America needs Canada--granted, not to the extent we need them currently--and isn't going to do anything that will weaken them. Besides, over the past four years, Canada has become much more powerful in the relationship. As I mentioned before, Canada's economy is growing pretty well right now, while the US' isn't doing so well. Hell, the Canadian dollar hasn't been worth this much in over a decade and it keeps growing stronger. Canada is different from the US and should remain as such. Hell, it should encourage and cultivate these differences.

I'm not saying Carolyn Parrish sees all of this, but she's got the right idea, and maybe if the Liberals had some balls, they'd see that. But what do you expect from a party built on trying not to annoy anyone?