The Poetry of War

On my way home on the bus last night I came across these two stanza’s from Where Are the War Poets? quoted in Ronald Eyre’s National Service.

Where are the War Poets?
They who in folly or mere greed
Enslaved religion, markets, laws,
Borrow our language now and bid
Us to speak up in freedom’s cause.

It is the logic of our times,
No subject for immortal verse –
That we who lived by honest dreams
Defend the bad against the worse.

Cecil Day-Lewis- Where are the War Poets? - 1943

As the body of Trooper Darryl Caswell, the latest fatality from the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan, was being laid to rest news came of three more deaths. Though the numbers on the Canadian casualty list is insignificant compared to Afghani or American deaths it is disproportionate to the number of combatants taking part in what was sold to the Canadian Public as a Peace Mission.

The purpose of the mission has changed in the past two years but despite the hollow rhetoric calling for the support of our troops, Canada’s New Government is still sending soldiers out badly equipped and in unprotected vehicles. According to old Snake Eyes because I don’t support our involvement in Afghanistan I don’t support our forces; seems to me that his Government’s support should go beyond speeches and sound bytes.

Further Out of Apathy

This past week our beloved Prime Minster Stephen Harper, continued his "I'm more a patriot and more Canadian than you are" grandstanding. According to old Snake Eyes - come on now look at those eyes and tell me those don't remind you of the stars of Snakes On A Plane - if you haven't served in the military then you can't criticize his Minister of Defence. Also if you've lived and worked outside Canada you're not a patriotic Canadian. And he equates support of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan with loyalty to Canada and support of our Military. I can't imagine where he picked the idea up? Any suggestions from my American friends?

Well I question his Minister of Defense when the families of soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan are not reimbursed the cost of funerals. And I lived and worked overseas for the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Embassy when I was a diplomatic spouse in Poland. And I have difficulty with our current role in Afghanistan - though I fully support the women and men of our under-paid, under-equipped and under-staffed Armed Forces.

So according to Mr. Harper's standards I am both un-patriotic and un-Canadian. My only response to Snake Eyes would have to be the old Pierre Elliott Trudeau one-fingered salute.

Notice once again I did not provide a link to any biographical information for Mr Harper - the Wikipdia entry is obviously the work of a Conservative Party PR firm. Now if they can only rewrite the history books the same way things will be Right - excuse the pun.

Out Of Apathy

I don't normally post anything on political matters. It's not that I'm not a political animal it's just that after all of these years I've become disillusioned with politics or more particularly politicians. However one more week like this past one on Parliament Hill and I may be dragged out of my apathy and turned into a raving political activist.

Though I won't go as far as to say the current Conservative minority government is a swindling bunch of crooks any more than their predecessors where or that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a cold calculating bastard with a hidden agenda, those thoughts have been popping into my head unbidden.

This week alone we have seen some interesting example of our "New Government" at work :

• A conservative member of Parliament [MP] strode across the floor, a parliamentary no-no, and shoved a liberal MP - a real big parliamentary no-no. And where the hell were the Sargeant-at-Arms and Speaker during all this?


• Non government organizations who depend on federal funding to employ summer students have found that funding cut or refused. The minister in charge says he has a list of worthy organizations that will receive funding but refuses to release it.


• The Executive Assistant of the Conservative leader in the Senate leaked false information accusing opposition Senators of cheating on travel expenses. Both the Senator and the EA have refused to apologize and the EA has been given a promotion.


• A 200 page handbook detailing how to stall parliamentary committees and filibuster during debate has been distributed to select Conservative MPs. Its instructions have been followed on at least three occasions this past week causing parliamentary gridlock. All the while the "New Government" - and they insist on being called that even though they've been in power for over a year - has been blaming the opposition for the situation.


• The Prime Minister is using parliamentary privilege to indefinitely delay giving a deposition in a defamation suit launched by a longtime Conservative party member.

So much for "Canada's New Government" and its commitment to openness, transparency and high ethical and moral behavior. O Canada - who stands on guard for thee? Damn if this keeps up it may have to be me.

Some of this may sound familiar to my American friends - Mr Harper has expressed his undying admiration for George W. Enough said.

The Education of S*t*e*p*h*e*n H*a*r*p*e*r

No one will ever accuse Stephen Harper, our current Prime Minister, of being an intellectual. Come to think of it, you'd have to go as far back as Pierre Elliott Trudeau before you can find a Prime Minister guilty of that sin!

In an effort to expand the cultural horizons of the Honorable Overlord of the Conservative Party and Master of the Cold Stare, one of Canada's better known authors is sending the PM a book every second week for the rest of his shaky mandate. Yann Martel, author of The Life of Pi, maintains he is not trying to "educated" the PM, only to make suggestions for a way to fill moments of "stillness" and maybe bring him some, much needed, cultural awareness.

And Martel is tracking his project at What Is Stephen Harper Reading: the book title, his accompanying letter explaining the reason for the choice and - maybe - Mr. Harper's response. Though it has been over a week since the first book was sent and not a word of thanks from the recipient as yet. Mind you he is a busy man and normally doesn't pay too much attention to those tramps and vagabonds that people the Canadian Arts Scene anyway.

I have to admit that Martel's rationale for sending Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych had me make a detour on the way home tonight to my local bookstore. Let's hope it generates the same curiosity in our PM. Though I won't be counting on it.

You may notice that I didn't include a link to the Wikpedia entry for Mr. Harper. They indicate that the entry is written as an advertisment. Since he's already getting the Canadian tax payer to foot the bill for his election-campaign-designed-as-government-policy ads, I'll be damned if I'll give him advertising time on my blog.