The Rants of Issachar
Thursday, December 13, 2007
How to have a pointless political "discussion"...
I've been following the comments on Michael Geist's blog, and there's an excellent example of what's wrong with a LOT of people's "discussion" of politics.
Geist is a Canadian professor talking about Canadian copyright law. This is of course the perfect forum to... complain about George Bush. Right. Of course it is. The term "Bush derangement syndrome" seems very apt. For starters, the anti-consumer attitude on copyright isn't a Republican stance. It crosses party lines in the US. Ernest Hollings, the man labelled the "Senator for Disney" was a Democrat.
Copyright law aside, (and it was only two comments on that thread that referenced Bush), I keep seeing this accusation against the Conservatives of being "American style" or "Bush-style" cropping up even in mainstream Canadian media. This is not helpful or productive. Issues should be debated on their merits, not on the merits of politicians in other countries. Also, having an idea in common with a foreigner doesn't invalidate that idea, make you responsible for everything they say, or make you some kind of traitor to Canada. Does the fact that Al Gore is an American Democrat make invalidate Stéphane Dion's position on climate change?
Let's have a constructive political discussion for a change and try to limit ourselves to the topic at hand.
Geist is a Canadian professor talking about Canadian copyright law. This is of course the perfect forum to... complain about George Bush. Right. Of course it is. The term "Bush derangement syndrome" seems very apt. For starters, the anti-consumer attitude on copyright isn't a Republican stance. It crosses party lines in the US. Ernest Hollings, the man labelled the "Senator for Disney" was a Democrat.
Copyright law aside, (and it was only two comments on that thread that referenced Bush), I keep seeing this accusation against the Conservatives of being "American style" or "Bush-style" cropping up even in mainstream Canadian media. This is not helpful or productive. Issues should be debated on their merits, not on the merits of politicians in other countries. Also, having an idea in common with a foreigner doesn't invalidate that idea, make you responsible for everything they say, or make you some kind of traitor to Canada. Does the fact that Al Gore is an American Democrat make invalidate Stéphane Dion's position on climate change?
Let's have a constructive political discussion for a change and try to limit ourselves to the topic at hand.
