Part I: Are Canadians Being Set Up 1930s Style?
By Pilot:
I’ve often heard people wonder how the German people were able to be hoodwinked by the fascists. However, the parallels of what happened then exist today. None more so than what Harper’s government is doing to Canadians.
Their first step was to build false allegations against opponents. Whenever an opponent dares to point out truths as opposed to the created truth, full scale attacks were undertaken. Wherever possible they silenced any creditable sources and then did what ever they needed to do to discredit creditable sources. Once they gained power then they changed the rules so than they could not be removed from power. At this point they had gained absolute power and nothing the public wants to do matters any more because you have all the levers. The fascists created a scapegoat for the country’s perceived problems. They controlled the media to ensure only their message got out. They removed knowledgeable people to ensure their voices could not tell the public about anything that did not match their controlled message. They even went so far as to burn books to ensure their message was not contradicted.
So what are the parallels that exist. Here are some facts of this current Harper government. They managed to be presented with an issue that was real in nature but would allow them to try and convince the public that their chief rival the Liberals were all corrupt.(scapegoat). That imagery was enhanced by the NDP when they called for a RCMP inquiry into supposed wrong doing by the then Finance Minister. An allegation that should never have been made and was done so for only purely political reasons by a desperate NDP party. These allegation have been shown to be totally off base, but that information is normally ignored.
On taking power, the Conservatives presented the first budget, which included a tax cut for large corporations and a tax increase for middle and low income earners. We were also rewarded with a 1 point GST cut. Thus if you spent about $8500 you could gain back the increase of taxes actually experienced. Of course the message was that we all experienced a tax cut and therefore should feel very thankful. The number of lies now being put forth has substantially increased and the grain of truth the lies are normally built around is getting smaller. What is most important is to have all Conservative members speak only on topic. The government at this point has undertaken to ensure that the only message remains the controlled message.
Other parallels include the following. Web sites are purged of any information not suited to government propaganda. For example in its first weeks the government ordered the word Kyoto removed from any web site with that term included. At the same time the government has been systematically removing any bureaucrats who dare to tell Canadians the truth. At this point they have removed key information people in Agriculture, Environment Canada, in the nuclear industry, in ethics. All removals were of individuals who steadfastly did their jobs despite Government orders to not do so.
At this point they have damaged the credibility of various government agencies whose legislative role was important to Canadians and who where supposed to have what is termed “arm's length” from government. The situation with AECL and the Chalk River reactor and the situation with the manipulation of the Canadian Wheat Board are good examples. They even went so far as to try justify their Wheat Board actions by having a corrupt vote. Appearance is most important when you are trying to fools most of the people. Hide the truth and replace it with your own version. State it constantly, and ridicule anyone who opposes. Hey, does this sound familiar?
...
Saskboy adds:
Aaron at Macleans has some interesting, and related thoughts on the tone of this government.
I’ve often heard people wonder how the German people were able to be hoodwinked by the fascists. However, the parallels of what happened then exist today. None more so than what Harper’s government is doing to Canadians.
Their first step was to build false allegations against opponents. Whenever an opponent dares to point out truths as opposed to the created truth, full scale attacks were undertaken. Wherever possible they silenced any creditable sources and then did what ever they needed to do to discredit creditable sources. Once they gained power then they changed the rules so than they could not be removed from power. At this point they had gained absolute power and nothing the public wants to do matters any more because you have all the levers. The fascists created a scapegoat for the country’s perceived problems. They controlled the media to ensure only their message got out. They removed knowledgeable people to ensure their voices could not tell the public about anything that did not match their controlled message. They even went so far as to burn books to ensure their message was not contradicted.
So what are the parallels that exist. Here are some facts of this current Harper government. They managed to be presented with an issue that was real in nature but would allow them to try and convince the public that their chief rival the Liberals were all corrupt.(scapegoat). That imagery was enhanced by the NDP when they called for a RCMP inquiry into supposed wrong doing by the then Finance Minister. An allegation that should never have been made and was done so for only purely political reasons by a desperate NDP party. These allegation have been shown to be totally off base, but that information is normally ignored.
On taking power, the Conservatives presented the first budget, which included a tax cut for large corporations and a tax increase for middle and low income earners. We were also rewarded with a 1 point GST cut. Thus if you spent about $8500 you could gain back the increase of taxes actually experienced. Of course the message was that we all experienced a tax cut and therefore should feel very thankful. The number of lies now being put forth has substantially increased and the grain of truth the lies are normally built around is getting smaller. What is most important is to have all Conservative members speak only on topic. The government at this point has undertaken to ensure that the only message remains the controlled message.
Other parallels include the following. Web sites are purged of any information not suited to government propaganda. For example in its first weeks the government ordered the word Kyoto removed from any web site with that term included. At the same time the government has been systematically removing any bureaucrats who dare to tell Canadians the truth. At this point they have removed key information people in Agriculture, Environment Canada, in the nuclear industry, in ethics. All removals were of individuals who steadfastly did their jobs despite Government orders to not do so.
At this point they have damaged the credibility of various government agencies whose legislative role was important to Canadians and who where supposed to have what is termed “arm's length” from government. The situation with AECL and the Chalk River reactor and the situation with the manipulation of the Canadian Wheat Board are good examples. They even went so far as to try justify their Wheat Board actions by having a corrupt vote. Appearance is most important when you are trying to fools most of the people. Hide the truth and replace it with your own version. State it constantly, and ridicule anyone who opposes. Hey, does this sound familiar?
...
Saskboy adds:
Aaron at Macleans has some interesting, and related thoughts on the tone of this government.
Labels: Conservatives, Harperites
posted by Saskboy at 5/12/2008 10:55:00 PM
1 comments
