Jeffrey Simpson wrote last week that the present Government of Canada defines itself by the enemies it makes:
By identifying enemies or hostile institutions, or by picking fights with individuals or institutions, Mr. Harper can better galvanize his supporters. The idea of appealing to as many people as possible in the search for maximizing votes is not how he governs. Instead, he looks to his party’s core vote, tries to energize it as often as possible, then finds slices of the electorate to add to the core.
And certainly one man near the top of the prime minister's Enemies List is David Suzuki, who appeared this week on Moyers and Company. This clip is nearly twenty-five minutes long. But, as usual, time spent with Suzuki is time well spent.
If Barack Obama has not approved the Keystone XL Pipeline, perhaps it is because -- among other things -- he has been listening to David Suzuki.
This entry is cross posted at The Moderate Voice.
6 comments:
Owen, Moyers and Company is probably the most powerful show on broadcast television today! Readers should check out the website to see the diversity of topics that he has tackled with some of the greatest minds since 2008. He devoted TWO shows to interviewing Suzuki (the one you referenced for May 16 and also on May 9).
While I agree with Simpson that Harper is using his "attacks" on groups, individuals and organizations who do not agree with his policies to speak to his base of support, I disagree that this is a "strategy". Harper has been awarded an aura of strategic brilliance from the beginning of his rise that seems to have been based on hapless opposition, luck and his unwillingness to communicate in anything but talking points. He has NEVER debated any of his policies -they are produced as fiat, usually in OMNIBUS legislation. He has tried to manipulate an agenda through threat and obfuscation, much like the wizard behind the curtain. Surely we have reached a point in this charade where citizens have to call his bluff on this hateful, damaging form of government no matter where they sit on the political spectrum. As Chantal Herbert noted, at least Lyin' Brian Mulroney took time to explain his policies!!
If there is a strategy for Harper, Asking, it's "Never Explain, And Never Apologize." It's a policy meant to support a man with no people skills.
What is truly surprising and tragic is that a man with such limited gifts has been elected Prime Minister of Canada.
I watched the interview on TV, Owen, and have seen Suzuki twice in person; I wish every Canadian could take a little time out of their busy schedules to watch this piece. I defy them not to moved by his humanity, his humility, and his deep love for this planet.
I was struck, Lorne, by what Suzuki told Moyers at the end of the interview. Even though all the indicators are headed south, his respect for Nature leads him to hope that Nature herself might give us a break.
He loves the planet too much to arrogantly assume that he has all the answers.
I've watched many of Suzuki's specials-
I liked those he did with his daughter.
Sun News devotes whole episodes- publicizing filthy canards about this man, his work, and the people who do listen to him.
Of course, that is their mandate.
(LawyersGuns&Money.blog also has material on the PBS site, related to the Labour Movement and the many who died for the precious rights now being eroded.)
The Right has its hired guns, Loving It. And Suzuki is well aware that he is one of their favourite targets.
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