I remember watching Right On, a political talk show with guests Norman Spectre, Mo Sihota, and hosted by Pia Shandel. It has since been cancelled.
Pia used to affectionately call Norman, "Uncle" Norman at the start of most shows. "Uncle" Norm. I thought, hmm. They're not related of course but they have known each other for a long time. I think of this in terms of national cultural relations.
Norman is a smart wise old guy, no doubt about that. He is keenly interested in issues that most of us aren't on a regular basis. One issue he knows more about than most Canadians combined is the Middle East. I remember a while back when Jean Chretien offered to resettle some Palestineans in Canada he was castigated for taking sides in this dispute, because if there are no Palestineans around, then it puts less pressure on Israel to make a settlement.
Chretien was simply saying what most Canadians thought, "Let us take you away from your troubles and let you live the good life in a rich land and not worry about ancient and difficult political problems." A little naive perhaps, but that is what I often think and many Canadians think when we see so much turmoil in the media. We are so rich and comfortable and much of the world is not.
That Spectre is Jewish is significant, he is part of an ancient nation on earth, and most Canadians aren't Jewish. Canada being a new country doesn't have the historic baggage related to the Middle East like England and France do. Canada does in a residual way being former colonies of these countries and part of the western world, but we are not a integrally involved in the history of the Middle East and don't want to be. We were not a crusader nation like England or France and no Canadian ever fought Saladin. What we seem to have is a "role" to play, walk on the stage and walk off.
So Uncle Norm informs us a bit on great historic issues like the Middle East and then we move on to other issues.
Pia used to affectionately call Norman, "Uncle" Norman at the start of most shows. "Uncle" Norm. I thought, hmm. They're not related of course but they have known each other for a long time. I think of this in terms of national cultural relations.
Norman is a smart wise old guy, no doubt about that. He is keenly interested in issues that most of us aren't on a regular basis. One issue he knows more about than most Canadians combined is the Middle East. I remember a while back when Jean Chretien offered to resettle some Palestineans in Canada he was castigated for taking sides in this dispute, because if there are no Palestineans around, then it puts less pressure on Israel to make a settlement.
Chretien was simply saying what most Canadians thought, "Let us take you away from your troubles and let you live the good life in a rich land and not worry about ancient and difficult political problems." A little naive perhaps, but that is what I often think and many Canadians think when we see so much turmoil in the media. We are so rich and comfortable and much of the world is not.
That Spectre is Jewish is significant, he is part of an ancient nation on earth, and most Canadians aren't Jewish. Canada being a new country doesn't have the historic baggage related to the Middle East like England and France do. Canada does in a residual way being former colonies of these countries and part of the western world, but we are not a integrally involved in the history of the Middle East and don't want to be. We were not a crusader nation like England or France and no Canadian ever fought Saladin. What we seem to have is a "role" to play, walk on the stage and walk off.
So Uncle Norm informs us a bit on great historic issues like the Middle East and then we move on to other issues.