My name is Axel and I approved this anti-political rant

I’m gonna rant a little here. I try not to engage in too much political mumbo jumbo on the page, but this is kind of important. If you want to ignore it, just skip ahead to the news on FURR coming out today in the SPELLS & SPIRITS BOX SET. Or go check out this tweet about Daniel Craig on Colbert.

Some of you may know that I am, in fact, Canadian.

We’ve just had something of a landmark election, one that seemed to bring out the worst in a lot of people, and the best in others. There’s been a lot of naysaying and complaining from the “Old Stock” Canadians as our former PM (and iron-fisted, race-baiting, conservative despot) liked to call them, as we approached the changeover from the Harper Government ™ to the new Liberal majority headed by Justin Trudeau (the guy with the hair in those foxy boxing photos you’ve seen all over MSN). I posted this on FB and got a pretty positive and widespread reaction. I thought I’d share it here, as a proud Canadian, and as a white dude who sees no reason to not share the responsibility of running the country with all of the different kinds of people who have to live together in it. Regardless of what they wear on their heads, or hide in their underpants. We have long been considered a country of optimists and tolerant, charitable, sensible citizens of the world. It’s about time we get back to that mind-set. We are not the lite-beer version of the U.S.A. (no offense, southern brothers and sisters). We are not fear-mongering racists, class-warfare misers, nor exclusionist xenophobes. We are the original melting-pot society – the place where French and English Empires came to an agreement, where displaced peoples of ALL nations were welcomed and cared for. We practically invented the social programs that “more enlightened” European and Scandinavian countries are now being lauded for.

In recent years our government seems to have become known for bullying women, marginalizing brown people, poking other nations with a stick, and yanking the underwear of scientists high enough to stuff in their mouths and squelch their warnings of danger, so the gang could fill up the ol’ 55 Bel Air and cruise for big-haired Christian trophy wives. We became a sad, comb-over, SNL, tea-party impersonation of the Canada we used to be.

This new guy, with the hair? He and his team might be the people to help us remember what we used to be, and what we can be again:

So before the right-wing naysayers begin with all of the whining about gender equality and diversity trumping “qualifications”, let me stop you before you begin. The Minister of Science is a science professor? How dare they? The Minister of Health is a doctor? Scandalous! The Minister of Defence was in the military? SHOCKING! What a disgusting and absolute disregard for WMCP’s (white male career politicians) everywhere!

Look man, our new Transport Minister was the first Canadian in SPACE. If you know of someone who has more travel experience than that, I’m sure the PM would love to hear about it.

These all seem like sensible, rational, and far LESS politically-motivated appointments than we’ve seen in, well, ever. So let’s just go with it and see how they do. Maybe… just maybe… the WMCP’s aren’t always the right white man for the job. In fact, the whole problem with the system in Canada, and the US, Britian, etc. etc etc. etc. is that the people that are running the governments aren’t people anymore. They’re not experts in their fields. They’re have no vested interest in their posts, or in the ramifications of their decisions. Most politicians in these cases are appointed based on how well they’ve served the party, or the big-money interests behind the party, not whether they have a better-than-fourth-grade grasp of basic science, or a handle on the history and philosophy that have brought us to this point in our evolution (or, in some cases, that they even have the brain-span to conceive of the possibility of evolution.)

These “politicians” are nothing more than poll jockeys. They’re demographic pleasure machines. Not-always-but-usually-white-male career politicians. “Politician” has become a career unto itself, and the job description seems to be “Are you willing to sell out anyone and everyone? Are you available for purchase? Are you willing to outwardly subvert any and all personal opinions, values, morals and obligations in the name of power, money and celebrity? IF SO: Sign up here!”

So, yes. I absolutely agree with our new PM and his crew. I think it’s bloody brilliant that someone had the sense to appoint people with relevant experience, rather than “political” experience. I think it’s about time that our leadership is more freely representative of our actual ethnic, gender and cultural make-up. I think we’re on a much better track, a much more positive and intelligent track, than we have been in most of my Lifetime. And I’m old as f*ck. So how about we give it a try and see if maybe we can change the course of this country, and this world, before it’s entirely too late. GO CANADA!

Now let’s get back to cat videos and Star Wars VII rumours, shall we?