Saturday, July 14, 2007
If you want to know what Stephen Harper's like, read this article by Yann Martel. Considering what Atwood was saying about our current gov's attitude to the arts, well, it figures. Seems Yann has taken it upon himself to to send Harper a spiritual/literary book every two weeks, on the off chance that our Prime Minister will pick one up and develop his inner "stillness". You can see Yann's book selection (so far) here. Wind and waves have been known to wear away rocks... problem is, it can take thousands of years.
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5 comments:
Sending books to Stephen Harper is a dangerous business. I mean, a copy of 'Bonjour Tristesse' by Françoise Sagan might be misconstrued as child pornography, and result in one being formally charged and subsequently skewered by the right-leaning, low-cultured morons responsible for CanWest- Global news broadcasts.
Then again, former Justice Minister Vic Toews has been known to read 'The Sheltering Sky' by Paul Bowles, and we all know how big a sexually repressed prick Toews appears to be, given the antiquated legislation (re. 'child porn', legal ages, prostitution, etc.) he has introduced without foresight.
(Actually, if you ask me, the vast majority of these extreme-right/social conservative 'family values' politicians and their most ardent supporters are nothing but a bunch of implicitly envious pretenders and closet-case you-name-its. Every now and then, one of them--e.g., Jack Ramsey, Mark Foley, Pastor Ted Haggard--will reveal their true stripes. Quite often, these true stripes are so large, complex and tigeresque, they make us 'perverts' look like tabby cats in comparison.)
I cannot even imagine sending W. a book every two weeks. Where to start? Curious George?
Rob: Yes, much of what you say is so true & and supremely eloquent to boot, although I think the way you simultaneously elevate those guys and smash them down (a la fois at their feet/a their throats) says a lot about you. I love those images of the complex, tigeresque stripes vs. tabby cats. What a cute way to end a diatribe!
Andrew: I guess you mean GWB.
Maybe Yann should send Harper the Bible. Both Harper and Bush could benefit from a close reading of certain passages in that obscure tome. (Hmmm...I wonder if they've actually read it?)
I suspect that Bush has done the rather selective reading of the Bible that is typical of American "believers" in this day and age.
Me, I'm an atheist, but I can honestly say I have read the whole thing, even those deadly dull letters in the middle of the New T. Things pick up again in the last book. :-)
Sending any politician Animal Farm for their birthday is hard to take as anything but a political gesture. Not surprisingly, he hasn't received a reply since then. :)
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