Every Sunday I look forward to the editorials of Frank Rich in the NYT. If you ever want to spend a few hours with excellent insightful reading about American life, albeit from a rather political and "left" (it's the NYT we're talking about) perspective, try him out. Though his topics are at times less than bearing on my own life, I love his writing and read it greedily each week. Today's offering is as worth reading as ever. Talks about how despite the great economic crisis ongoing and world wide, at its epicenter - the fabled, be-suited Wall Street - it's essentially business as usual, to use a predictable, well-worn cliche. Rich points out that so far, the only real change going on is rebranding. Here's a gem from within its bounty: "The revolving door between the government and Wall Street is as greasy as ever in this White House." That the John Galt culture of Wall Street wizards "isn’t changing so much as frantically rebranding," makes me sad, makes me want to emblazon my neck with an alarming tattoo so to convey to any and all my boundless disgust and suspicion towards The Man.
The "economic crisis" is as critical as ever but it's hard bordering on impossible to pay attention to such an enormous and amorphous problem, therefore I don't. If I might take some wisdom from Mr. Rich, it's all still a joke - "as greasy as ever" - and as I'm trying to get in shape, I stay away from grease. And so the invisible eyelids of apathy descend over my eyes and I am sated in my ignorance. Hopefully someone in a suit will do the right thing, because their clothing denotes a seriousness and dedication I'm not able to muster. Up here in sleepy Canada, our parliament yawns soporifically, rubs its eyes like a tired toddler and pulls the blankets tight. What are our hard-working politicians up to regarding the crisis, other than patting themselves on the backs for having something to do with our sleepy, that is to say just moderately sullied, banking system? Hooray for risk-aversion and tougher regulation, Canada's totally amazing.
Is there a bottom to the depth of irrelevance in Canadian politics? Canada's political culture is one of the great chasms, lonely and dark, driving down, down to the cold and alien center of the earth. No one wants to go there, because what's there? A few disgusting tubules venting heat? Some ridiculous scavenging creature built to vacuum up equally ridiculous bacteria? Oh wait, what are the big issues in Canadian politics? Presently they appear to be isotopes, EI reform, another possible, maybe, could it be, election. Dear god, choke me to death David Carradine, I can't take the boredom. Canadian politics are perchance the only example on earth of contemporary events giving off that strange quality of irrelevance that is usually found in history books about dead people and places. It's just too boring for words. Only a political science professor has the stomach to pay attention. Remember that awe-inspiring ne'er before seen coalition a few months back? Me neither.
Canada's foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, has said that Canada will be watching how Iranian authorities treat the impassioned protesters who daily fill the streets shouting God is Great and throw rocks. Watch out mullahs and your minions, Canada's watching you. Of course, Canada's noble intention to serve as human rights angel (for certain peoples and places only) predictably feeds into Iran's well-worn habit of blaming foreigners for internal tensions. It's a norm in developing countries: If there's any sort of disorder, obvious and hidden authorities rush to blame foreign meddlers for conspiring to agitate conflict. Doesn't the Canadian government have anyone to read a wikipedia page or two about it? Whatever, Canada is a comfortable place to live, but our government and political culture is a feeble thing. Whatever to the max.
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