In particular, note what Mr Arar has to say about the importance of governance, of the checks and balances that up until recently used to differentiate our democracies from the dictatorships of Saddam's Iraq, North Korea, the junta in Burma and Mugabe's Zimbabwe, to name a few:
"I did not seek revenge. I want better institutions in Canada. That is what I
want. One way of ensuring this is we have to hold those people accountable."
That's what we've lost thanks to Howard and Ruddock. And we're meant to be supinely grateful for such courageous leadership? Puke.
Update: and here's another little insight into how the checks and balances slowly get chipped away by the truly unbalanced. Amongst all the things that get up my snout, efforts by believers in imaginary friends to get the rest of us down on our knees in fear and trembling really get up my snout.
Rare moment of reflection: would I get as righteously indignant if a left-ish government pulled some similar swifty that simply benefited its own members, not society as a whole? Well I'd like to think I would, in other words that my position is based on principles, but I guess we'll have to wait to test it. Mind you, it'll be a long time in hell before we - or anybody we know short of the Kiwis - get an even vaguely left-ish government. After Hawke was elected in 1983 and had started on economic reform, the old man proclaimed it "the best Liberal government we've ever had", and it's been all downhill since then.
No comments:
Post a Comment