Today I would like to speak to those who have a large blue vein in their forehead.
The guys and girls who are always at the end of their chain and who keep yelling at politicians.
Can you stop yelping, two minutes, and look around?
CALM!
We are in Canada, here.
Not in Syria. In North Korea. In China. In Belarus. In Somalia. Or in Turkmenistan.
Do you know how many people would like to switch places with you?
Millions.
We are in paradise. One of the best places to live in the world.
In terms of GDP per capita, life expectancy, social safety net, absence of corruption, health, security.
And, yes, freedom.
Your sacrosanct freedom.
Can you calm down for a second and mop up the foam that’s pouring out of your mouth?
YOUR BIG BOTTOM
Is everything perfect in Quebec?
Of course not.
Personally, I would like our language to be better protected and for Quebec to become a country.
But there is nothing that cannot be settled democratically.
The problem is that democracy, you do not care. When it’s time to vote, you’d rather go buy another bag of Doritos than head to the polling station.
“It doesn’t work, they’re all crossers…”
What a great excuse to sit on your ass.
And come on, presto, another insulting email. And another sip of beer.
If everyone was as mean as you, we wouldn’t have had employment insurance in 1940, the Labor Code in 1964, health insurance in 1969, or medical assistance in dying in 2020.
LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY
Here, I want to tell you regarding a masterful novel that I have just read: teacher of desire (The Professor of Desire) de Philipe Roth.
A book regarding male-female relationships.
What does this have to do with politics?
Follow me.
It’s the story of a guy who is always attracted to hysterical, complicated women, and who always finds himself in intense, feverish, tormented romantic relationships.
And then, one day, he meets an “extraordinarily ordinary” woman, as he puts it.
A trippy woman. Funny. Gentle. Balanced.
At first, he finds her flat. He misses his previous life, which felt like a roller coaster ride.
And then, he realizes that this is happiness. It is quiet. It’s crystal clear. No highs too high or lows too low.
Why am I telling you this?
Because you remind me of the hero of Roth’s book.
Democracy is the most beautiful of systems, but you are incapable of realizing it.
You find it boring. Routine. It takes time, in a democracy, to change things, it’s a long-term job, you have to show self-sacrifice, patience.
You prefer revolutions, crises, riots. Play the heroes.
It’s so much more trippy!
In that sense, you’re like Roth’s character.
Immature. Infantile. And condemned to go around in circles without ever accomplishing anything.
