Thread by @sunnshiiny

While people have sugar plum dreams of CPC imploding, O’Toole just appointed radical right evangelicals to his shadow cabinet. Rempel and Poilievre are Dominionists.

There is no irreparable rift in O’Toole’s party.

https://twitter.com/canteach/status/1458079217208463372

What we are witnessing is the frustration and determination to remove LPC from power.

What you’re witnessing is extremists discounting the vote of the majority of Canadians. Arrogantly proclaiming the majority of people’s votes don’t count. Only their CPC votes are legitimate.

Those who are most extreme are anxious to impose their ideology. That angst is being fomented by the American propaganda network and other foreign adversaries. Fox News, Sinclair, numerous SM platforms, Trump and his cabal.

There is no rift. There are some who are uncomfortable with the rhetoric and beliefs. There are some who believe firmer and more militant rhetoric should be used. But there is no rift. A permanent rift would mean irrelevance in federal politics.

Dominionists, nationalists and libertarians either partner and win or stop being allies and conservatives never win another federal election. So they really have no choice but to continue to all stand under the big tent.

Similarly, the NDP and LPC could be merged. A century ago they were. But the foundation of the Progressive Party of Canada attracyed the socialists and extremists. Combined with the United Farmers rural political party, the Progressives fractured again into CCF and Social Credit.

People really should read Canadian history. It’s informative. PET was originally a member of CCF. Then switched to identify as a red liberal.

American history is also informative at the end of the Gilded Age. T. Roosevelt was a Progressive. FDR, his nephew, was a Republican.

The political parties we have today have gone through massive changes over the last 150 years. Abolitionists were the original progressives. Deeply religious; their movement was centred around Christian dogma. That includes the American, British & Canadian versions.

The abolitionist progressives was a precursor to the Women’s movement.

The deeply religious believes women’s nature was more peaceful and compassionate therefore women should be given the vote to provide balance in politics.

That’s where the myth of women’s inherent “goodness” originates. In the church.

Apparently women like MRG and Gladhu were the standard for progressive conservative values 100 years ago. That stereotype has persisted. Many still believe women have better ethics and morals.

We don’t by the way. But we are socialized differently. Generally. I don’t know who socialized Michelle Rempel Garner, but I’m certain progressive beliefs and values wasn’t top of mind.

The mistaken belief that philosophical belief systems, which are the foundation of political beliefs & values, have been static over recorded history is false.

Those who prefer liberty can be far right or socialist as well as those who believe in collective vs individual rights.

There is a whole pantheon of political beliefs that were spawned by the Age of Enlightenment.

Basically left and right have borrowed from each other and purity of ideology no longer exists.

In 1921, the Famous Five were progressives. Deeply religious, full of sanctimony and religious self righteousness, they changed the course of history by ensuring women (read white Christian women) were legally persons. Without them, Canadian women would not have enfranchisement.

In 2021, a mere century later, women with those beliefs and values are more aptly described by the Dominionist movement. Certain of their superiority, zealously religious, nationalist and closed-minded, more representative of ochlocracy than democracy.

Life and history are full of weird paradoxes.

Political ideas come from the strangest of places. Women in Canada have equality because five Dominionist Christian women decided their ideas of social norms required them to be elected so they could enforce them on others.

It was a bittersweet victory for the Famous Five to win personhood for Canadian women. It permitted the Eugenics movement to take serious foothold in Alberta.

BC, Alberta, California and Hitler’s Germany imposed draconian beliefs on undeserving people. In the name of progress.

Today we recognize those beliefs as fascist. But 100 years ago they were progressive.

Alberta, of all the jurisdictions mentioned, was the longest surviving Eugenics program that emerged from that Progressive Era. It was in place until 1972 and shut down by the Lougheed’s PCs.

History is full of irony and paradox. We often as a species take a step (or two) back before we progress. We often create horror before that is changed into social progress.

Familiarization with that phenomenon is helpful to remember purity doesn’t exist.

There is no straight line of social development and progress that originated with Marx, Webber, Sartre, FDR or any other philosopher or politician.

Just struggle and conflict to find our way forward. Just when we think we know the perfect solution, we lose sight of our goals.

The only thing constant is change. We continually evolve and adapt. Whether that change is beneficial or detrimental to human existence is for our grandchildren to decide. We are stuck in the present and can’t see the forest for the trees.

We muddle through thinking our ideals and values are paramount. But I know the Famous Five thought that too.

It means, we should not be so adamant that our solutions to social and economic problems are the only answers that matter. We must be wary of paradoxes in our beliefs.