Search This Blog

CCE in brief

My photo
Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian. Every hyperlink connects to something related directly or thematically to that which is highlighted.

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Comments on The National piece on my Grandfather and Buchenwald




  • Tricia Edgar Such a privilege to see your Grandfather on the CBC tonight. I recall you telling of the journey to remember. It was so very moving to see and hear your Grandfather's words. I am grateful for his service and dedication to peace and human rights.
  • Craig C-E Thank you Trish! That's the thing that strikes me the most about my grandpa, and all survivors. They don't forget, forgiveness is often a challenge, but not a one of them is looking for revenge. You can't see the bottom of that spire and want to stay on it.
  • Tricia Edgar So beautifully said! We owe an unspeakable debt of gratitude to your Grandpa and all the unknown heroes like him. Thank you for sharing.
  • Shannon Goodwin Birch An excellent program. What a powerful story. Thank you for drawing my attention to this this evening.
    Unlike · Reply · 1 · 23 hrs
  • Suzanne Van Bommel You must be so proud of your grandfather. What a giant of a man. Incredibly well done piece by CBC. A true Canadian hero.
    Unlike · Reply · 1 · 14 hrs
  • Erin Link Petersen Incredibly well done piece. Your grandfather is so well spoken and heartfelt in his message. I was following along with your trip through the land of Facebook and was looking forward to this piece. I was not disappointed. Next time you and your grandfa...See More
    Like · Reply · 11 hrs
  • Malvin Wright Thanks for the share Craig. We saw the piece last night and we were in awe. Please extend our gratitude and appreciation to your grandfather for sharing his experience.

  • Diane Hadfield this is something we should never forget .we should have all learned from this so it never will happen again.yes their is evil in this world and their is also good and good is stronger than evil just need some faith.
    Like · Reply · 1 · 13 hrs

  • Like · Reply · 10 hrs
  • Nancy Vail God bless you
    Like · Reply · 1 hr

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Anyone Else See the Problem with This?



Wait for it...


How much money do I need to donate to a party who's contracting local offices, increasing centralization, paying more money to people who already make more than I'll ever see to stop someone from spending money that I'm never going to benefit from?

At what point does "the middle class" or the lower class start gaining from citizenship rather than simply trying to stop the bleed?

Oh, I know.  Wait for it, it's coming, if I pay a bit extra, I'll even get a sneak peak.

I'm not holding my breath.  Neither should they be.

Donate Now ⇒Donate Now 

Holocaust Survivors on Display







"We note that survivors will be presented at the events as zoo animals."

The intent wasn't malicious.  Nobody consciously planned events that used survivors as props or spoke way over their heads about German intellectual history.  It's just that the event planners didn't consciously plan events with survivors directly in mind, either.

It is critical to understand that the cost of flying survivors and caregivers to Germany, putting them up in hotels and such isn't cheap.  Those who put up the cash are clearly going to want some time to shine themselves in return.

Especially here, though, it's important to remember why these events are continually held in the first place.  

Commemorations aren't about the funders.  They're certainly about the survivors.

When that culture of remembrance gets lost in a culture of self-adoration, we have a problem.


Friday, 17 April 2015

The Three Castles of Thuringia




Wachsenburg



Mühlburg

National Objectivism



It never ceases to amaze me when the political right talks about the Nazis as being leftists (national socialists, don't you know).

After all, their work camp system was built on laissez-faire capitalist principles.

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Is This War?




War is competition - it has winners and losers.  When you've won, theoretically, the war is over. Good and bad isn't really an ethics thing, so much as it's the story you get to write once you've won. 


We have laws that are meant to keep the worst of human behaviour and a predilection towards selfish ignorance in check.  Ethics, in theory, are the things which help us manage ourselves in a social context.

 Most of the people I know in politics have no direct connection, no personal experiences that relate to the absolute worst humanity is capable of when it puts winning and story-shaping ahead of in-the-now values and ethics.  Winning elections is a race, after all - what matters most is getting across the line first.

Election funding rules get skirted.  Laws get skirted, or ignored.  Corners get cut, memberships get paid for, attacks are personalized on the theory that politics is a blood sport and if you wanna play, you gotta be prepared to give and take some hits.

All's fair in love and the war room, right?

It's this frame of thinking that worries and frustrates me.  I know enough about human behaviour to know that such ideologies become hardened over time.  As the "stakes" are rhetorically raised, the enemy increasingly demonized, more and more questionable strategies and tactics become acceptable.

We see it happening around us, every day.  

Until the people who crave power start recognizing it comes with a hefty responsibility, things are only going to get worse.