Moral Superiority Condition - a blog, in 1000 Words or Less
I was joined by a second individual in an elevator the other day, and after the two of us scuttled to diagonally opposite corners, he asked me: “Do you like guns?”
In the United States a question like that would generally be met with an odd look and a surprised, “Yes, of course.”
In Canada there’s way more to unpack, starting with the admirable nerve it took for a complete stranger to ask that question of another in an elevator. There’s elevator etiquette, after all. It dictates two people never do more than exchange the barest of pleasantries as the doors close, after which they stare at the floor and refuse to acknowledge someone is standing beside them. When that social convention is breached, something is obviously amiss. When a Canadian does it, and uses the word “gun” at the same time, it’s safe to assume the man needs to make a point. He’s got something to say and he’s damn well going to say it! I mean, a guy doesn’t generally come in hot while riding an elevator. He starts with a benign subject such as the day’s weather or the hotel’s impressive breakfast buffet. He doesn’t open with one of Canada’s most polarizing subjects.
Anyway, guns are not what this post is about. It’s about a random stranger in an elevator who asked if I liked them. With no idea how the conversation started (but with a pretty good idea where it was going), I answered, “Pardon me?”
He pointed at my T-shirt. In a louder, more accusatory tone he said, “Your shirt. Do you like guns?”
I said, “That’s not what this shirt is about.”
You see, I was wearing one of my Star Wars T-shirts. Yes, plural; I have more than one. Written on my shirt in stylized script that resembles an Empire Strikes Back movie poster, are the words, “Han Shot First.” If you’re a Star Wars fan, as I have been since May of 1977 (even though there’s only been three good movies out of eleven and the last two were unmitigated garbage), you’ll understand the reference and probably have a laugh. If you’re not a Star Wars geek, then the shirt doesn’t make much sense and is basically pointless…
…except to the holier-than-thou. Then it’s not pointless. Then, rather than a meaningless graphic, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate high-minded virtue and in doing so, point out my malignant awfulness.
The entire encounter was strange. It only lasted a few seconds but to my mind, it perfectly summed up where we are as a society...a time in which questioning the popular narrative means a morally superior segment of the population happily labels you a denier,
a conspiracy theorist,
a cynic,
a right-wing gun nut,
etcetera.
Last August the temperature in my backyard hit 42C, (felt like 47C). Fires covered great swaths of BC’s interior. Smoke reached the east coast. The climate change zealots had a field day; “Abnormal temperatures prove climate change is real!”
Ridiculous, of course. How does a few days of abnormally high temperatures or excessive rain or vast accumulations of snow in a localized area prove anything? “Climate” refers to weather around the entire planet. Unfortunately, a logical question such as this demands a fact-based answer, but it’s far easier for the morally superior to look upon me with derision and say, “The science is settled,” which it most definitely isn’t. For every article claiming human behaviour is accelerating climate change, there’s another claiming the contrary. Undoubtedly, the earth’s climate is changing. That’s what climate does. It’s a dynamic thing. To what extent human behaviour affects the change is the real problem, but because I dare question the popular narrative, I’m a denier.
The Covid conversation morphed into a pro / con argument about vaccines. People lost their jobs because they refused to get vaccinated, believing the vaccines unsafe. That's doubtful, but I do wonder how effective they are when a booster shot is required after only eight months and then, after four months (for those over sixty-five), another booster is recommended. That being the case, when do they stop? After booster shot ten? Will they become an annual thing?
We were told, “My mask protects you, yours protects me.” Does it, though? Disposable masks get reused, cloth masks don’t get washed, most people handle them excessively, they go in and out of pockets, they don’t provide a strong seal unless you're wearing an N95 siliconed to your face… It doesn’t take an epidemiologist to conclude that masks might be helpful but definitely aren’t the panacea Theresa Tam wants them to be. They look good in airports though, as if we’re all doing our part to, “...combat the spread of Covid 19.”
I don’t know the answers to any of the Covid questions, least of all why Canadians are still being forced to wear masks on airplanes…
…but I’m a conspiracy theorist because I don’t entirely buy the CBC / Justin narrative that dictates how excessively virulent and dangerous every new variant is and therefore how masks remain essential…in federally controlled environments but for some reason, nowhere else.
Incidentally, does anyone else wonder what science the man-child is referencing when he pompously says he’s “…following the science…” Nobody else in the world except Justin seems to know what the science is, as evidenced by the lack of travel restrictions in every country except Canada. And, if Justin has this critical, high-level information, why hasn’t he shared it with the rest of the world?
Last September, Canadians suffered an unnecessary federal election at a cost of $600,000,000, which seems like a great deal of money to me. To Justin, who doesn’t think about monetary policy, who grew up with a trust fund and therefore has never had to work to buy a house, who has happily spent other people’s money to the tune of more 1.3 trillion dollars of debt (and rising), $600,000,000 probably doesn’t seem like much. In the three minutes it took you to read this far, our national debt increased by $158,000. Interest on the debt costs $75 million dollars a day, a cost that trickles down to the taxpayer or, in other words, you.
Thanks, Justin.
Fortunately, the fall election solved...
…uhm…
…well, it solved nothing. Ten months after the election, “…maybe the most important since 1945, and certainly in our lifetimes…” Canadian's quality of life has declined markedly and Justin has done nothing except narrow the gap between himself and the authoritarian leaders he’s on record as admiring. He’s shutting down journalists who disagree with him. He’s persecuting individuals who refused to get vaccinated by taking away their jobs and preventing them from travelling on airplanes…while at the same time, he’s persecuting those who did get vaccinated by continuing to insist on unnecessary travel restrictions. He’s intent on criminalizing over two million Canadians by deplorably drawing comparisons between Canadian gun owners and the horrific mass shootings in the United States.
Somehow, unimaginably, there have been more mass shootings in the USA than days in 2022. This is a grisly statistic I simply can’t wrap my head around. If there was ever an argument for massive, immediate, unqualified gun control, I don’t know what is. Comparing Canada to the US on this issue though, is like comparing apples to donuts; both are consumable food products but any other similarity ends there. Using these daily American tragedies as a means of manipulating Canadians for his own political gains is shameful and also, very much on brand for Justin.
During the campaign he said anyone who disagrees with his policies is a cynic. On this single point I agree with him. Yeah, I’m a cynic. Always have been, as far as I know, and as a “leader,” Justin has made that more of an unfortunate fact.
His woke policies, his blatant hypocrisy, his scandals, arrogance and incompetence… The manner in which he fails the country on a daily basis has made me hugely skeptical of his capability or willingness to do better and actually lead instead of look out for himself.
So, yeah, I’m a cynic, but not for the reasons he's branded me.
But, I’m not a denier,
a conspiracy theorist,
or a right-wing gun nut.
I'm growing tired of the high-minded segment shutting down in-depth conversation in favour of popular clichés and woke culture. As the clown in the elevator proved, people such as these are usually so inflated with their own moral superiority they don’t, or can’t be bothered, to engage in rational thought. It’s easier to pass judgment than have an honest argument. It’s easier to ignore the deeper parts of a subject because terrible problems are hard to talk about. It’s easier to assume a T-shirt with a stylized graphic including an alien’s head, means the wearer is a gun-loving crazy person.
Thanks for reading. I promise something a little more fun next time.
Kevin
Despite the horrible weather, summer is here. For a great beach read, check out Femme Fatale, available in hard-copy or ebook formats.
