We’re on the cusp of Hallowe’en, the bizarre celebration of ghouls, monsters, skeletons and ghosts. Mostly the event is for kids who go door to door filling their bags with candies and sugar treats while their parents attend costume parties and dress up in weird and funny ways.
‘Any chance Camp that you’re out to the Legion dance this Halloween? Maybe dressed as a book seller?’
‘Not a snowball’s chance in hell,’ Camp retorted. It’s enough that I have to stock books about grisly murders, Walpurgis night witches’ dances and Day of the Dead but I refuse to decorate my store with spider webs and skulls. ‘
While Hallowe’en celebrates fantasy horror and zombies, ‘the real horror show is playing out in today’s elections: from B.C. where the two parties are deadlocked to the nasty campaign of Trump and his cultish followers against common sense, decency and democracy.’
Camp shook his grey curls. ‘It is hard to fathom that Trump might be president again, despite his lousy record the first time. He oversaw the 3rd biggest debt increase of any president; he mismanaged the pandemic; he courted dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un and when he lost the next election to Biden, he denied that he lost and then attempted to overthrow the government and prevent the certification of the vote. I know I’m ranting here but hell, he is the real ghoul that is haunting my dreams.’
Camp is away this week but since we’re a month away from a great show piece of democracy – an election by the people for the people – I elect to ponder what it is that we are fighting for. So here it goes.
Ordinary people everywhere want what western democracies offer. Freedom of movement and association, freedom of the press and a judiciary based on principles and the common law, progressive education, equality and liberty. No refugees elect to flee to Russia or China, even though they have plenty of room but do not offer assistance and access to social services as we do nor do they tolerate freedoms like we are used to. Nobody wants to immigrate to China or Russia. Democracies share and assist, support and elevate. Autocracies like Russia and China, Venezuela, Iran and North Korea suppress and restrict, marginalize, reject and punish free thinkers, free speech and critics.
Democracy needs journalism based on fact and integrity not propogandists masquerading as reporters. The population needs to be informed and not lied to. The pod casters, writers and reporters need to tell the factual truth, report scientific findings and expose falsehoods, mis- and disinformation and support the common good and have a heart. Hate, fear and demonization are not part of a democracy but honesty, respect, tolerance, openness and respect are. If this sounds idealistic then that’s because it is. We need to believe in and foster altruism, communal thinking, universal access to healthcare and education and support the common welfare of all people. Only together will we succeed in building a better world for our children; alone we will fail and there will be nobody to clean up the mess.
I was outnumbered and thereby bamboozled by a super-majority including my wife, sister and two cousins that an 8-day cruise down the Rhein from Basel to Rotterdam and back was just the thing to do. Easy, luxurious, entertaining and expensive. Not one to rock the boat – no pun intended – I agreed and paid in full, up front.
We were picked up by a tour bus handled by our jovial and expert driver George at the Zürich Airport and promptly delivered dockside in Basel. As I suspected, the average age of the cruisers was somewhere between the last supper and the grave. I reluctantly followed the slow procession down the gang plank, just in time for our first cocktail served in the forward lounge.
We all took possession of our cabins, ours being just below water level while everybody else had opted for the French balconies on the deck above the water. Being chastised for being cheap I inquired about an upgrade which was going to be 300 euros, per person. ‘That’s a lot of beers and cocktails,’ I protested and ‘since we’re only in the cabins to sleep, I’m happy to be in steerage.’ I won that argument.
Summer is over and fall is in. ‘How quick the seasons chase each other,’ I said to Camp when we both got comfortable in our corner, looking out at the grey water of the harbour.
‘Yes, it’s a cliché that time flies faster, the older you get.’
‘If it wasn’t for the rest of the world going to the dogs, I would be quite happy with the summer. Business was almost back to before Covid and Muriel and I are planning a holiday in the sun in January.’
‘We’re still debating if we should go back to our Caribbean paradise after it was devastated and destroyed by hurricane Beryl in July. The rest of the world didn’t really notice but the 8000 inhabitants of the island were severely impacted and traumatized by the vengeance of the storm. Hundreds of buildings impacted and flattened; palms and trees stripped of their foliage; mangroves uprooted and dozens of boats beached and destroyed.’
‘If it’s not an impending war, it’s bad weather and if it’s not the weather it’s bad news from the political front. What is one to do?’
‘Clare says to ignore the noise and concentrate on winterizing the garden,’ I said.
‘She has a point and yet I cannot close my eyes and ears and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East keep me awake at night,’ Camp said. ‘Or the spectre of another Trump presidency.’
‘The war in Ukraine is pretty well black and white. One aggressor, one dictator and invader who could halt the whole misadventure with one word: Stop! The escalating war between Israel and its neighbours is more complicated. Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and radical Islamists want Israel annihilated and wiped from the face of the earth. Israel on the other hand does not recognize its neighbours – the Palestinians – as a legitimate people with equal rights to homeland and security. An unresolvable situation unless someone on both side offers a hand instead of a fist. And have you noticed that all the islamist fighters are men; angry young men driven on by old bitter men.’
‘That’s why a woman US president would be such a welcome outcome in November but I fear that common sense and decency are being pushed to the wall by hate and misogyny, by lies and deceit. To what end I ask? What is the endgame? Where is the love?’
‘Indeed, where is the love? Where is the joy and where are the laughs? We should all celebrate the achievements of humanity, the fact that most of us are living better and more comfortable lives than our forefathers, the fact that we are making progress in many facets of life like education, mobility, connectivity and information. Of course, all of these can be abused and misappropriated but the fact remains: We are an advanced civilization and we can make this world a better place for all.’
‘Worthy sentiments Camp but why do I have the feeling that we’re on the brink of a world war? That all the good we have achieved is taking a dive towards fascism, segregation and vengeance.’
‘You must stop reading the headlines and listening to the sound bites. Go home and help your lovely wife in the garden is my advice.’
‘You’re probably right but I fear the worst and hope for the best.’
‘As you know, hope dies last and is not a pro-active and pragmatic strategy.’
I was staring into my empty beer when Vicky, like a ray of sunshine, dropped two fresh ones in front of us.
‘Are you going to vote in the upcoming BC election?’ Camp asked.
‘I actually will and not be for the reality deniers.’
‘You mean the neocon conservatives?’ Camp said.
‘Cheers,’ is all she said with a wink in my direction.
Bruno's point of view 