O O Ø O O O O
Half-Assed
It takes a trip away to give you perspective on these kinds of things. For me, it was a recent trip to the USA. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but down south, they’re gearing up for an election, and from what I can see, they take these things seriously.
Of course, we’re gearing up for an election here, too, but our political leaders just don’t seem committed to the idea of being electable.
Take, for instance, Stephen Harper’s hair. I’m certainly not going to go as far as to say that Stephen Harper is a fashionista—in fact, he seems to have the uncanny ability to make everything he wears look as if he borrowed it from his older brother—but his hair takes “I don’t care” to a whole new level. I’m not saying he needs to go all Javier Bardem to win the election, but he could at least make an effort.
Actually, the Javier Bardem hairdo might actually work.
In fact, the conservatives have a long history of failing to commit to things—metrification comes to mind here. Though we canadians claim to employ the metric system, this illusion is quickly dispelled by asking our height, buying our groceries, or renovating our homes. We half-assed it, like we half-ass everything.
So, the next time you kick back to enjoy a beer, sit back and think about all the half-assedness that is surrounding you. And, if you’re out of beer, wander to your de-regulated-point-of-sale-yet-still-wholesaled-by-the-government-and-not-allowed-in-grocery-stores Alberta beer seller and stock up. Sure, it’s not as convenient as buying beer south of the border, but going with full deregulation would be decidedly committal, and hence totally un-canadian.
I’ll drink to that.
Kjell Wooding
February 27, 2008
OOØOOOODCCCLXII
February 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
If you want to see some people in the US taking the upcoming (and yet still oh-so-far-away) elections seriously, sign up for the MoveOn.org mailing list. These people have absolutely no sense of humor, and their utter conviction about whatever it is they’re supporting (read: everything that even sounds like it might be liberal in nature) is astounding.