Tony Clements - Another Not Too Bright Politician

One can understand how an adolescent, in that ongoing quest to - if not to be popular, to be at least accepted, might be convinced to send a risqué picture of themselves via the internet. We can talk all we want to as adults about how inappropriate it is and what the risks are, but for some young people the potential rewards of being loved and wanted overwhelm any parent's warning. While there is frequent discussion on the news media as to the consequences of sending deeply personal pictures can be - it is a sad reality that relatively few young people follow any mainstream news. There is also the public perception that many young people are highly skilled in using computers/cell phones and that they know how to be safe. However, it is my experience that many young people, while they may be prolific users of social media and gaming apps - know almost nothing about computers and unfortunately understand no more than I do about how the internet really works. We, as adults, need to be aware of the dangers and to constantly remind the young people in our lives that they need to be cautious about what they circulate in the netherworld of the internet. Equally as important, we also must to become far clearer in our condemnation of those people regardless of their age, who use those pictures to embarrass, bully or manipulate the sender.

However, for the life of me I cannot understand how a seasoned politician - Tony Clements - could even consider that it was okay for him to send pictures of himself to people who he clearly did not know anywhere near well enough. We, of course, would like to believe that our politicians are as pure as the driven snow, that they never take even small gifts/bribes nor do they ever stray from their partners. That, of course, is asking far too much. Politicians are human and they will make mistakes; some will, on occasion do or say things that in hindsight should not have been done or said. More often or not those lapses in judgement are not a reflection of their capacity to do their job for which they are elected.

But to not once, but twice engage in risky behaviour that opened himself up to blackmail shows that Tony Clements lacks the capacity to, if nothing else learn from his mistakes. I quite frankly do not care if he had an affair with someone else (although it does, in my mind, show a lack of moral character and because of that I could never vote for him - but then I would never vote for a conservative anyway). I do not care that he tried to get involved in some sort of perhaps unusual behaviours - he is an adult and as long as he does not hurt anyone else - what he does is his business. However he is not an ordinary citizen. He has placed himself in a position of power, with access to national secrets . He has been part of the government, actively involved with the running of our country. The fact that he cannot recognize that his behaviour, for whatever reason or compulsion, is risky is rather scary. Was he not aware of the risks, was he not bright enough to understand the risks or did he just not care?

Adults, whether or not we want to be, are role models. For those who put themselves forward as leaders - I expect them to be good role models. Mr. Clements, in spite of contacting the police (twice!!) and writing a credible letter of apology to his constituents, has failed in perhaps his most important job.

Is it little wonder that so many do not trust politicians?

Vicarious Pleasure

There, I must confess, was a wee bit of vicarious pleasure in watching the early returns of the US election. I think it fits mine (and many other Canadians) sense of smugness over how absurd the USA's politics are when we see an election that was so full of vindictiveness, lies and absurdities. Almost any developed country looks sane and rational as compared to the US in mid election. If nothing else, watching the zoo next door allows us to ignore our own political problems.

As I much as I fantasized that the much discussed "blue wave" would sweep the country and dispose of every supporter of Trump - I knew it could never happen. However, the final results were a tad disappointing. It is inconceivable to me anyone with a political intelligence greater than Easter the pig's would vote for anyone who was a supporter of Trump. However, while it appears as if the Democrats "won" the popular vote - at least 43% of Americans voted for a Republican senator. Clearly having an economy that is doing well and rewarding those with money (as well as suggesting that eventually, sometime in the future , everyone may do as well) and promising that no one will ever threaten those privileges is a more powerful election promise than suggesting that everyone should have at least some access to the benefits of a vibrant economy. Clearly using Ester's political intelligence as a standard was setting the bar too high.


On the other hand, if the Democrats had won the election in both the House and the Senate, and if all of the states had elected Democratic governors, how boring our news would be. Trump would be impeached, silly and /or inflammatory tweets would no longer sent out from the White House and then what would we talk about? And who would we blame for the problems of the world? How would we as Canadians justify our smugness?

It is so much easier to criticize our neighbours than to see what we need to do to make this world a better place for all.