The maple leaf is supposed to gleam
Upon the back of the white and red mage-ish robe
As the politicians of Canada traverse the globe
But a taint reeks from the ‘neath that paints what is not as it may seem
“Look at us,” does the Federal Government to the world bade
“We are the democracy!!”
Yet in truth there is nothing buy hypocracy
As evidenced in the ruin in the wake they have made
In 2005 Canadian muscle usurped Aristide who ruled
Replacing in Haiti a government of their own decide
Allowing afterwards only those to be elected who to Western interests abide
To protect the cheap labour connected to the poor and unschooled
By whose authority does Harper figure it his right
To tell women in countries of Canada’s other
“If you a pregnant – no matter the case – you will be a mother”?
To take away an option from their sight?
Where is it written that personal belief,
Which is counter to the supposed country of represent,
Should take precedence over another culture’s idealogical bent
Should it not be those in affect who choose the basis for their relief?
Blood soaks into the ground to make brackish mud
From the bombs and muzzle of Israeli rifle tip
As if a private shooting range is the promise of that Gaza Strip –
Though it would take only censorship to nip these actions in the bud
For Western governments to say “enough lives have been lost”:
To end Palestinian lives left to decompose into silt
To stop pandering to après-Hitler guilt
But alas, P.M. Harper says, “We’ll stand by Israel no matter the cost”
Yet just as Israel has
Libya ignores the UN call of a ceasefire,
However how opposite does Canada enter into the mire
And joins in attack of Libya in a Western en-masse.
A taint reeks from the ‘neath that paints what is not as it may seem
From the politicians of Canada who traverse the globe
For upon the back of the white and red mage-ish robe
The maple leaf is supposed to gleam
In way of explanation:
Normally I try to mask my political beliefs when in the artistic process; I prefer to think of art as possessing the capability of presenting opinion with each individual who reads/looks/feels the piece to take away from it what they will. This week, after months of being unable to focus on the political goings on around me because of personal higher priorities, I sat down and wrote a political opinion piece for Subversify.com as well as a Dr. Phal cartoon – which uncapped the frustration and disappointment that I’ve had for years with the Canadian federal government. I would have assumed that these feelings would have been expunged with these two items, however, Thursday there was a draft motion by the opposition parties for a “Contempt of Parliament” against the ruling government of Steven Harper and then on Saturday was the abnormally quick bombing run of Libya less than a couple hours after the delegates of the UN Security Council had met. Taking into the account of the actions both here in Canada and abroad, mixed with the theme for this week’s Poetry Potluck, well the result was that the anger resurfaced and this piece came to be.
While I make no apologies for my opinions, I just would like to state a few things just so that nothing gets mired into a political or moral debate. Firstly, yes, Gaddafi is a nut job; however, at this point in time what Libya is in is a civil war – there have been no attempt by the Gaddafi regime to carry this outwardly into the world at large (though with the bombing runs and the enforcement of the no fly zone, the sanctimonious leaders of the Western World may have opened that portal wide open). Secondly, I am not picking on Israel or any other anti-semitic claptrap – one of the points that British Prime Minister Cameron stated for the actions in Libya was that Gaddafi broke a ceasefire agreement and has to pay the consequences. Israel, on the Gaza strip, and previously in the Lebanon area, repeatedly broke ceasefires without any kind of retributionary action by Western nations, with the exception of a few limp finger waggles in their direction and a firm “tsk, tsk, naughty country”. Thirdly, the issue is not whether abortion is morally right or wrong; the issue is that Canadian Prime Minister Harper, in his ‘leadership role’ as the creator of the maternal health program for the United Nations has said that he will not allow funding for abortions in developing nations as it is against his beliefs. There is nothing wrong with having beliefs; I would worry if there was nothing a person could believe in, but in this specific case, Harper is not representing his ideals but those of Canada. In Canada, we technically have no abortion laws – they were struck down almost a decade ago as being unconstitutional, therefore it seems inappropriate as representing the ideals of Canada that he is taking away an option that may not be such a moral wrong in other cultures, specifically the developing world. Fourthly, a long time ago I wrote an article on the problems I had seen with the actions of Canadian government in Haiti – the former president, Aristide, after seven years, has returned to Haiti. On the news, the reports were recalling that Aristide fled Haiti amidst allegations of corruption; the truth of the matter is that he was told by the CIA that he was going and Canadian forces were responsible for the security of the American usurpation of power and the replacement of a more American and Canadian interest friendly candidate. Finally, thank you for letting me rant – it is very cathartic to get this out for I am so very much happier when I let my loins do the thinkin’ for me…
http://subversify.com/2011/03/18/the-canadian-angst-of-the-harperian-cancer/
http://subversify.com/2011/03/18/dr-phal-and-the-libyan-issue/
A.B. Thomas mutter fluka 