tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post1089287757820126602..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: It's In The Hands Of The YoungOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-85328830949073774752013-07-29T14:00:14.455-04:002013-07-29T14:00:14.455-04:00Agreed, Mound. The young -- who will inherit a wor...Agreed, Mound. The young -- who will inherit a world dominated by the selfish and the self righteous -- may, indeed, turn bad quickly.<br /><br />Some would argue that that process forms the arc of human history. But -- for the sake of the planet -- let's hope the next generation doesn't follow that arc.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-77299052443628313412013-07-29T13:44:10.384-04:002013-07-29T13:44:10.384-04:00I think a poll of youth taken today cannot be pred...I think a poll of youth taken today cannot be predictive of how they will act in the future when they, presumably, inherit the reins of power. The future that they will face when it is their turn to dominate the decision-making processes at governmental, economic and individual levels, is nearly completely unknowable to us today.<br /><br />How will their opinions and conscience be informed by environmental, social and security changes that will almost certainly befall them over the next 20 years?<br /><br />In difficult circumstances exploited by disaster capitalists and their ilk, compassionate, generous people can turn hard and good people turn bad rather quickly.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-31241359697964549812013-07-29T12:35:53.503-04:002013-07-29T12:35:53.503-04:00Your father's generation learned from hard and...Your father's generation learned from hard and bitter experience, John.<br /><br />Your generation is enduring the same hard and bitter experience. And, if enough of you identify the cause, you will send Mr. Harper back to Calgary or Leaside -- although it will be a difficult task.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-82627180403798902782013-07-29T12:30:12.800-04:002013-07-29T12:30:12.800-04:00It's hard to get people to vote if they believ...It's hard to get people to vote if they believe their vote doesn't count, Lorne.<br /><br />And given our first past the post system -- and the way the Conservatives have suppressed votes -- the challenge will be to convince the young to trust hope over experience.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-31885679958017719812013-07-29T12:26:59.431-04:002013-07-29T12:26:59.431-04:00I'm sure that's part of the Liberals' ...I'm sure that's part of the Liberals' calculations, Anon. But, clearly, Trudeau will have to be where the country is to succeed.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-90833698873619415792013-07-29T12:24:56.627-04:002013-07-29T12:24:56.627-04:00What tendency in attitudes towards government shou...What tendency in attitudes towards government should one expect to find among younger people given the example with which Harper has provided them? I’m a baby boomer who isn’t the least bit surprised by the absence of political engagement and diminishing support for active government that have taken hold on this generation and on many citizens within my own.<br /><br />We must take the responsibility for our failure to identify and address the risks involved in turning over stewardship of the country’s fortunes to the cult of market libertarianism. We’ve had forty years and countless opportunities to expose and draw attention to the lies and hypocrisies of its preachers. We could have put the cult into check before any of the disturbed teenagers of the 1970s and '80s who are now running the country had read the first page of Atlas Shrugged. But most of us continue to be content to allow the project to proceed unmolested until we become personally affected. I’m grateful that my father’s generation was more attentive and by its experiences better equipped to identify nonsense and deception.<br />John B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-74108715380061650572013-07-29T11:33:46.331-04:002013-07-29T11:33:46.331-04:00Ck, I have to challenge your assertion that all ba...Ck, I have to challenge your assertion that all baby boomers vote for Harper. While this may fit the stereotype of the angry old white guys, I don't think it is an accurate reflection of reality. <br /><br />Perhaps there is a measure of self-selection here, but almost no one in my baby boon circle has even a niggling respect for what Harper has done and is doing to this country.<br /><br />I think the greater challenge is to try to find ways to motivate young people to vote. Perhaps, as has been suggested by others, allowing on-line voting (if a secure system can be found) will be part of the solution.<br /><br />Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-35682945962875140562013-07-29T11:33:25.973-04:002013-07-29T11:33:25.973-04:00I know several baby boomers, that will never vote ...I know several baby boomers, that will never vote for Harper. I know people who once voted for Harper, will not do so again.<br /><br />I too know young people that refuse to vote. They detest Harper, his corruption, thefts and cheating to win. There is no point in their voting because,votes are tampered with. They too say, Harper is a Dictator and, no-one can trust a Dictator.<br /><br />I had thought perhaps, Trudeau would pick up votes from the younger generation?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-62213751664494178692013-07-29T09:42:58.943-04:002013-07-29T09:42:58.943-04:00It's all pretty cynical, ck. I'm one baby ...It's all pretty cynical, ck. I'm one baby boomer who hasn't -- and who won't -- vote for Harper.<br /><br />But, unfortunately, my generation has forgotten about the next generation.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-17590126520546771232013-07-29T09:39:31.860-04:002013-07-29T09:39:31.860-04:00How will the youth of the future respond? Sadly si...How will the youth of the future respond? Sadly simple. They don't vote. Politicians know this. <br /><br />Another thing the Harpercons know all too well is that the baby boomers all vote and when they do, it's always for them. <br /><br />Another thing to be remembered, the median age in Canada is over 40. Proof positive, we're an old country. Ckhttp://sistersagesmusings.canoreply@blogger.com