The Scene and Herd

My hopes and dreams of the past two years have finally come true. I’m not sure I truly believed there would be another chance to watch Ignatieff come through. Not so soon, at least. And Warren Kinsella is supporting him. I can’t believe my luck. Last time Kinsella was involved I didn’t care about politics. I’ve never really witnessed him in action and now he’s backing my favorite living political personality. The next few months will be a dream! blogsblogsblogsblogs. 
What a glorious time to be essentially unemployed. This is all getting out of hand. I am giddy.

And I have been to seven delis in three days.
And I am going to my second Reel Asian Screening for free to tonight.
And I have a metro pass (which is a JOY, let me tell you).
And I just ate half a bowl of chocolate frosting with, so far, zero consequences (aside from the consequence of a sudden burst of optimism).

Later rant – the genuine and superficial merits of MI.
Thanks be to God.

I got caught up in the mania last night, severely wishing I was more attached to the event. Shots of crazed crowds around the US exuding pure political and historical joy had me re assessing my national identity again. I love Canada. Canada is weird and unsure, lovable in the same way as the smart but quiet kid from high school who appears on the local scene ten years after graduation. And now he’s really cute and makes horror films.
But I kept thinking of the scene two weeks ago when i was up alone at 1 am during the acceptance speeches as most of the nation fell softly asleep, unworried and uninspired. I’m so jealous of Americans (like the smart but quiet kid from high school). They’re totally allowed to be patriotic. They’re even allowed to get their flag tattooed on their body (I don’t want a flag tattoo but I’d like the option of it meaning more than I like to go camping at Algonquin). If you have an American flag tattoo it probably means you almost died, and don’t get you started on patriotism because you’ll either cry or split someone’s lip.
The United States was almost lost and now it’s found. Typical. Leave it to them to get everyone worked up again. They keep pushing and pushing and pushing international patience to the brink and then do something really great. I understand this caution, that Obama is a mere man and not the saviour of the world. But I think that whatever he is and however mortal, he’s a huge symbol that America is still not a real country. It gets away with everything because it’s a mythical figment of of our imaginations that embodies everything that’s ever happened from the creation of the world. I mean, wtf? A month ago we thought the country was doomed but today, redemption sweeps across the land. It’s so sudden. This can’t be reality. That’s why I love America, wish I could live in America, wish I was America. 
I’m one of the most critical people I know, but last night I felt all criticism seep out of my body. All I wanted to do was feel positive and hopeful and embrace this mythical thing. Because I recently noted that Canada is moderate. The whole country recently noted it (democratically). And I get choked up about it, and a rush of love and affection. But the idea that I would paint my face and dance in the street over anything that happens in this country in my life time is ridiculous. The hope and optimism I feel within Canadian Politics is systematic, intellectual, controlled and sarcastic.

Somehow at some point America became a projection of the whole world’s hopes and fears. Last night it came to light that I didn’t really understand the US political process. There was a vague feeling in the room that I should know. And it’s true. There is a sense that everyone in the world should know what’s going on in the USA. Our fates are attached to what happens there. The American myth affects me, even though I am not American. We perpetuate this bizarre global domination by loving them and hating them, celebrating in our streets their successes and failures and following their election more closely on TV then our own (on CNN and CBC, incidentally). It is not the best country in the world, but it’s definitely the most interesting and the most important because it exists outside of reality. If America ceases, the world must confront the impending end of the world. As long as it redeems itself (impossibly and suddenly), the impossible is still possible.
If Obama saves nothing else, he saved this outrageous narrative.

“Do you really want to find out” is the line that ends the last liberal ad i saw before election day!

a series of ads outlines everything stephen harper has done that might be interpreted as terrifying.  and the ads themselves, they are terrifying. there is a voice over and it is always very frantic (as one apt observer noted to my delight). he always speaks very quickly and firmly, and almost loudly.
but i have decided that being frantic is definitely not the way to win over a conservative. conservatives like to be calm and reasonable. they like plans – clear plans (beautiful beautiful plans). 

on thanksgiving monday i asked my dad why he was voting conservative and he said “because he lowered the gst and is letting me split my income with my wife.” and that was all my dad had to say and he was sort of laughing the whole time because he knew it would make me mad. then we got to my home in bramps and my next door neighbors, the raspberrys incidentally, had a conservative sign on their lawn (i almost thought it was on my parents’ lawn…i can’t believe the raspberrys did that…). 

so i really started thinking about why people vote conservative. because my dad is a really good person and he’s not greedy and he doesn’t like war that much. i also always thought warren raspberry was a good person.

the other night after the election i stayed up late because i wanted to hear harper address the nation. i like a victor’s speech. the best comes out in people when they are victorious, even when their politics are bad (don’t align with mine?). the thing is, i really liked his speech and i really liked harper while he was giving the speech. i even think, i think his mouth may have quivered when he stated that canada was the best country in the world. and he got a bit passionate at the end there when he said we were independent, strong and compassionate (or something – three very good adjectives). furthermore, i liked the way he ushered his children onto the stage. i think stephen harper might be a really good father. no one can get over that handshake but my friends and i have come at it from every angle and maybe they have this father-son-handshake ritual or maybe ben didn’t want to hug his dad in front of the cameras. maybe they discussed it beforehand or better yet, harper just knew and didnt make a big deal out of it. i think he looks pretty comfortable with his kids and vice versa. and also, elizabeth may said he was a good father.

and i liked him during the debates. jack layton was crazy and mean and the sweater joke was only funny the first time. dion was lovely and emotional and oh, i really like him and wish him some sort of peripheral political participation. steven harper was totally cool the whole time and i like the way he laughed at layton’s jabs. 

and i think that if you’re an artist you have to stand up for yourself, but cutting the arts, while very unfortunate, is not insane. it’s not even, like, mean. 
it’s just kind of boring. 
and responsible. 

and i’ve seen harper during question period and i think he’s witty.

there is nothing utterly hateful about stephen harper. canada is a moderate country. our conservatives are better – more articulate, educated and reasonable – than their conservatives. 

and our liberals are less exciting than their liberals (except for Trudeau). 

so while i sincerely regret the results, i kind of wish i could encourage harper somehow because maybe he could be a great leader.

i might lash out against artists too if i had the economy to worry about and they wouldn’t get off my ass anyways.

and if i were my dad (haha) and was about to settle into retirement,  had a kid with a loan, a sore back and a new grandson

i might vote for stephen harper too.