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.
‘The summer holidays have only just ended, and already the tragedy continues as a 14-year-old shooter shot and killed two classmates, two teachers and injured nine people at the Apalachee High School in Georgia,’ I said to Camp as soon he sat down. According to Education Week, this marks the 23rd school shooting in the US in 2024.
‘Yes, it is very sad indeed or as Sheriff Jud Smith said: Pure evil. while Trump writes on Truth Social: Actions of a sick and disturbed monster, blaming the shooter and not the insane proliferation of guns and assault rifles in the US.’
‘At a campaign meeting in New Hampshire Kamala demanded: ‘We must end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.’ And so it goes. ‘Fact is that one cannot accept these school shootings as normal,’ I said.
‘In America’s schools alone, the Washington Post has counted 416 such attacks with firearms since the 1999 massacre that left 15 dead at Columbine High School in Colorado. The numbers become even more monstrous when it goes beyond schools. In total, the Gun Violence Archive Portal has registered 385 mass shootings and 23 multiple murders in 2024 so far. In the past ten years, there have been 370,000 shootings. A mass shooting is any incident in which at least four people are murdered with a gun.’
I could just shake my head in disgust. ‘As a rule, in the US, bullets kill well over 40,000 people every year, about half of whom commit suicide. Weapons are easy to get but two months before the election this national catastrophe is not the dominant topic.’
‘That’s because many people, mostly Republican, refer to the Second Amendment, passed at the end of the 18thCentury, which still guarantees the right to own weapons such as AR-15 assault rifle which was used in this latest school shooting,’ Camp said.
‘These same people consider weapons an expression of freedom and self-defence except I never heard of a defense-rifle. It’s called an assault rifle,’ I pointed out.
‘After a shooting in Iowa in January, Trump said: ‘We have to get over it and move on.’ A month later at an NRA meet in Pennsylvania he promised that: ‘Nobody will touch your firearms and I’m your best friend in the White House.’ And don’t count on the arch-conservative Supreme Court to do anything about this crisis that cost the lives of 120 Americans every single day.’
‘And now Republican lawmakers like Marjory Taylor Greene and Mike Collins are asking for prayers for the dead – not a ban on assault rifles. Tayler Green had a poster of herself with an assault rifle, finger on the trigger, promising to ‘blow away the socialists’ while Mike Collins fired at a polling box in an election advertisement, renewing Trump’s election lie and saying that Georgians had had enough of spineless politicians who don’t want to fight for Trump. The box exploded during the shot.’
‘The pointing of fingers at the shooters and perpetrators reminds me of the opioid crisis. The Sackler Family who owned Perdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, the main culprit, to this day deny any culpability in the death of thousands of ordinary citizens, claiming it’s the addicts and their behavior who are to blame not the drugs,’ Camp said.
‘Switzerland has a pretty strong gun culture don’t they,’ Camp said.
‘Yes, and every able-bodied conscripted soldier has a semiautomatic rifle with ammunition at home. Just this coming weekend there is the big ‘Knabenschiessen’ a shooting tournament for boys and girls and it is one of the biggest folk festivals in Zürich. Look it up if you don’t believe me.’
‘It’s always about education,’ Camp said. ‘Knowledge is power – not gun ownership.’ This calls for another round, a round of beer I mean.’
‘We’ve tackled this issue before Camp and the problems and solutions are not any different from the one previously addressed. I’ve just read a report in the Globe & Mail about the recent trends, needs and promises in housing. Also, how several levels of governments have failed to adequately foresee and solve the housing crisis despite plenty of demographic and economic indicators over the last couple of decades.
‘Who needs housing?’ Camp asked. I thought it was a rhetorical question and didn’t respond. He then went on to answer his own query. ‘It’s the young who want to start or have a family, the newcomers, migrants and immigrants who cannot find adequate and affordable shelter, the ones unable to organize their own lives and hold down a job and the drug addicted and mentally ill. All of them found in the catch basin of the homeless or the euphemistic ‘unhoused’.
‘Wasn’t the lack of housing always like that Camp? It’s a question of supply and demand except these days the demand outstrips the supply which is unaffordable and out of reach, even for working class people.’
‘Yes, and housing may be the most obvious component of a healthy life but to supply an apartment or house to those who cannot maintain them is futile. In the old days those who fell through the ever-widening weave of the so-called safety net were either institutionalized or taken care of by their families. Neither of those solutions seem to be available nowadays. Take those camped out in parks and the woods in makeshift shelters, tents or even cars and campers. They don’t only miss proper housing, many of them don’t have the ability to maintain a house, meaning paying the bills, fixing and repairing their dwellings or even shopping and cooking their own meals. Many of these living on the margin of our complicated society cannot lead a life regulated by routines and responsibilities.’
‘Yes, there is also the discrepancy of those not wanting to work and those who are unable to hold down a job. Nobody wants to be a plumber, a welder, a pulp-mill worker or work in an abattoir or on a farm or a restaurant. No young Canadians dream of working in the service industry; they want to be computer programmers and work from home in their pyjamas,’ I said.
‘That’s a bit crass but you’re right. On one hand we have an unaffordable housing crisis, on the other we have all these unfilled physical and menial jobs; jobs that don’t pay enough to rent or even buy into this lopsided real estate market.’
‘Tell me this my friend, why do insurance companies, banks, pension plans and municipalities not build and own co-op housing as they do in Switzerland and Scandinavia? Thousands of people live in very nice and affordable co-ops; housing stock that is rent-stable and not for sale and outside the real-estate bubble that is so prevalent in North America?’
‘I don’t have the answer to that but it would make total sense. Here it is still everybody’s existential dream to own a home, even if the banks own it and only lend the money to buy it.’
‘Unless you own your home free and clear the only difference between owning and renting is the fact that you have to fix and repair your own home while the tenants just call the landlord if something goes wrong.’
When Vicky brought around our second round, I asked her about her rental situation. ‘I’m living with my mom who takes care of my son when I’m at work or school. If not for her I would be out on the street or asking you two if you’d take us in.’
‘Did you watch some of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week?’ I asked Camp as soon as he got comfortable in his chair by the window.
‘Muriel and I watched some of the speeches on Monday night. They were fiery and inspired, especially Hillary Clinton’s and also Kamala’s unscripted appearance on stage. The crowd went wild, like somebody popped the cork on the Democrats bottled up pressure from just over a month ago.’ ‘Yes, it sure felt like that. Suddenly there is optimism and a positive, forward-looking atmosphere, a complete counter to the GOP’s rahrah and demagoguery.’
‘There were plenty of bumper sticker messages held aloft by the capacity crowd throughout the large indoor arena, home to the Bulls and the Blackhawks. Dump Trump was a popular hat; If we fight we Win, another slogan on many T-shirts, also plenty of love for Joe and Kamala.’
‘It was definitely a love fest,’ I said.
‘Yes, so much different from just over a month ago, when doubt and despair infected the ranks of confused democrats. The party is definitely back in the Democratic Party.’
‘The euphoric first night inside the arena at the DNC was accompanied by large pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the streets outside. They evoked memories of anti- Vietnam war protests around the 1968 party convention in Chicago. At that time more than 25’000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam,’ Camp had to point this out, just to take the shine off.
‘But this time the police were not nearly as brutal as back then. The current Mayor Richard Brandon is no Richard Daly. Also, in 1968 just a month before the convention, Dr. King was assassinated just across the city and the city was on fire,’ I said.
David Axelrod, one of the panelists covering the convention, reminded us that democracy is an ongoing battle between cynicism and hope and the cynics want to divide us and appeal to our worst instincts while the goal of the optimists is to inspire us to hope. Michelle Obama also referred to the contagious power of hope that is clearly in the air at this gathering, which is a clear counterpoint to the relentless negative, grinding and divisive quality of Trump and his campaign. As Axelrod pointed out, Trump’s reaction to the Kamala Harris challenge has become even more grindingly negative and petty,’ I said.
‘I agree. Both Obamas, who are probably the best political orators since Cicero, highlighted the basic value of their constituencies like decency, respect and tolerance, virtues which can only flourish and be nurtured in a free society. Both Michelle and Barack emphasised the need for our basic freedoms like the freedom of choice, for our bodies and who we believe in and even who we vote for; freedoms that can only be guaranteed by a democracy. It’s the generational values of goodness and decency and respect that we need to teach our children. Not hate and fear, prejudice and bigotry,’ Camp said.
‘We both loved Oprah’s appeal for decency and freedom; to do the right thing and vote with your heart and common sense. ‘Do you feel the joy!’ she exclaimed to a roaring response from the crowd.
‘People are newly energized. Now, they have somebody to look up to, somebody who cares about them, somebody who looks out for them. Kamala for the people is how the new candidate opened up her trials as a prosecutor. She still uses those five words when she talks about her ambition to be president.’
‘Yes, it’s a good sign,’ Camp said. ‘Her acceptance speech was as good as any I have ever heard. From her own story growing up in a multi racial, middle-class home to her stellar resume as prosecutor, senator and vice president. It was a serious speech hitting on all the key talking points like abortion, border security, a path to citizenship, even the war in Gaza and Ukraine and last but not least she emphatically underlined the fundamental dangers to democracy of another Trump presidency.’
‘America and the world need leaders that are smart and compassionate, courageous and inclusive; leaders who listen and work for the people, not just the corporations and billionaires and their own self-aggrandisement.’
‘We can agree on all of that but is there a down side to this new found optimism, joy and hope?’
‘If Kamala wins – and it’s still a big if – Trump and his maga-minions as well as judges and legislators beholden to him, will try every dirty trick in the book to deny her the presidency, including chosing alternate electors to sway the vote in Trump’s favour. As he vowed at a recent rally in Vandalia, Ohio: ‘There will be a bloodbath if I’m not elected in November.’
‘It’s blatantly obvious that Kamala Harris is that one candidate, who is qualified, experienced and has the ability, intellect and personality to be president. She will look out for the people, not just herself and her cronies.’
‘Just 73 days to go Camp. Let’s hope Americans wake up and do the right thing. The land and indeed the world cannot afford another Trump presidency,’ I said.
‘At the upcoming debate it might be advantageous for Harris to point out that the only house Trump is fit for is the Jail House not the White House,’ he said.
When I looked around for our server, Rosie was hanging out at the bar and Vicky was nowhere to be seen. ‘Looks like we’re back to self-serve,’ I said.
‘There goes her tip,’ Camp grumbled but just at that moment Rosie picked up two pints from the bartender and brought them over.
‘Looks like two are having a thirsty discussion. I hope it’s not about politics.’
‘No, it’s about the future of democracy,’ Camp said.
‘Well, there is no such thing as democracy in a restaurant or a kitchen. Those are strict dictatorships,’ she said laughing.
‘You know what seems obvious to me about the ongoing war in Ukraine is that Russia is in this fight not for territorial gains but in order to make Ukraine into a failed, corrupt and dysfunctional state. Putin uses this war as a black hole where thousands of lives and billions worth of western technology and weapons disappear into,’ Camp said.
‘The ground war we can actually document and see, analyze and to some extent predict. What we don’t see are the Kremlin’s efforts to destabilize the whole western world and its concepts of freedoms, like freedom of speech, free elections, free media and free citizens who enjoy free movement and choices.’
‘What do you think these peace and re-construction conferences in Berlin and Switzerland accomplished?’
‘Millions in expenses, a mountain of paper and not one bullet saved. An exercise in futility really. How can they talk rebuilding Ukraine when bullets and missiles are flying uninterrupted. They were basically fancy cocktail parties with lots of words and no consequences.’
‘Yes, and through it all Putin and his fellow dictators in North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua and even in Cuba despise the disbursement of wealth and the fact that ordinary people in the west enjoy a measure of wealth and independence unheard of in any of those dictatorships.’
‘And they ignore their people and election outcomes.’
‘These despots and their cronies want an all-powerful oligarchy and kleptocracy that controls all the money and state institutions, the media and even the schools and certainly any elections. They want to keep the people supressed and only as a workforce for their war machines and factories while they themselves live in their castles, yachts and luxury compounds. Keep the masses uninformed and misinformed.’
‘There was a rise in the middle class in Russia after the fall of the wall and the nouveau-rich Russians were prominent and loud in the playgrounds of Europe, from Prague to Paris, London and Berlin. Not so much anymore. Let them go on holiday to North Korea or Iran,’ I said.
‘The scary part is that they are succeeding in destabilising the west and its democracies with state sponsored cyber-attacks, social media propaganda and shoring hate and discord by pitching neighbours against each other. The rise of the extreme right in Europe and North America is exactly what Putin and his cabal of dictators want.’
‘And then there is Trump and half of the American people who want this gangster as president despite his felonies, lies and hateful personal vindictiveness. Trump’s latest public meltdowns and fits of petulance and insults against his new opponent, Kamala Harris, are not just indicative of his obsessive narcissism but also of senility, not to mention utter ignorance.’
‘Her optimism and intelligence has him ranting and raving like a lunatic.’
‘And yet, the deaf, dumb and blind will follow him over the cliff.’
‘What about the young people, the women and immigrants? Why would anyone vote for a clearly unhinged and incohesive old white man with such a self-serving agenda?’
Camp just shook his head and we both concentrated on our drinks.
‘Do the gen-Z’ers and millennials really believe in a simple world where algorithms solve all the problems while populist leaders promising bumper-sticker solutions for immigration, crime, drug dependencies and homelessness. Who is upholding and fighting for hard fought progresses like equality of sexes and races, better income distribution and fundamental freedoms to vote, associate and travel? Instead, they rather follow their sports teams and tabloid celebrities.’
‘Once again, you’re painting a cynical future my friend but I do agree with you. The climate deniers, immigrant haters, conspiracists and religious fundamentalists are gaining ground. At least that’s what the media and social platforms have us believe. This is the year of elections all over the world and by the end of the year we’ll be lucky to still live in a free, educated and tolerant society.’
‘This is a two-beer conversation,’ Camp said and just like magic Vicky appeared with two suds. ‘Aren’t you two interested in sports? We have soccer tournaments, the Stanley Cup, the Tour de France, the Olympics and every kind of ball game on the telly.’
‘We like the sport of politics. Just as many dramas, cheaters, winners and losers except with consequences for the rest of us,’ Camp said.
‘It’s been an interesting week Camp. I’m talking about the Olympics in Paris. It started out with a great rain-soaked spectacle at the opening ceremony. The whole city of Paris was the stage while hundreds of boats brought in the athletes. Did you see it?
‘As you know, I don’t have a TV and no, I didn’t see it. I was kind of busy trying to make a living. Summer is still the best time for a book store. People need books for the holidays.’
‘You need to watch Celine Dion’s closing song ‘L’Hyme d’Amour, performed from the 1st level of the Eiffel tower. Considering what she’s been through with her health it was a stunning performance with the whole world as her audience.’
‘I’ve heard about it and will get Muriel to dial it up on U-tube.’
‘I love watching the live drama that only the Olympics can provide. Like the soccer spying scandal making Canadians look like cheaters and the players on the women’s team like heroes.’
‘It all started with Ben Johnson who won the Olympic gold in 1988 and then was stripped of it, three days later when he tested positive.’
‘Are you suggesting that everybody is spying on the other teams with drones?’
‘I’m saying that others undoubtedly spy on their opponents but they haven’t been busted like the Canadians.’
‘Reminds me of the doping scandal in bicycling. First it was only Lance Armstrong who was caught cheating and then confessed to Oprah but he still had to ride and win the Tour de France seven times. Then it turns out that everybody was doing it. Did that level the playing field? Of course not. Only when everybody is drugfree is it a fair measure of strength and endurance.’
‘I love the true winners though, like the gravity defying Simone Biles or Summer McIntosh who already won 2 gold medals in the pool and at 17 is a true inspiration.’
‘Yes, unbelievable. The power of youth is evident at these games.’
‘Biden is out, Trump is still in,’ Camp said. ‘And the only way out of a disastrous second Trump administration is apparently Kamala Harris. I cannot believe that people actually think Trump is smart and coherent. He clearly is not. I’ve heard part of his rambling speech and actually felt embarrassed by it all. Is that the best the Republicans have? If it is, it’s a sad day at the office.’
‘A Washington Post newsletter described the GOP convention as energized and focused. Considering that the gathering featured a sex worker, Hulk Hogan and a spaced-out Trump, that’s really lowering the bar.’
‘And then there is the MAGA crowd. As I see it that acronym stands for Make America Go Away. I mean they want to undo the America two generations fought so hard for. Civil rights, equality, inclusiveness, reproductive rights, emancipation. They want all that to go away and send the country back to a time before all those achievements,’ I said.
‘Now, the people have the chance to focus on the future once again instead of the past that the republicans glorify and never really existed. I’m also convinced that everybody is better off with Biden concentrating on being president until his term is up, rather than waste his remaining energy on a re-election campaign that he could not win because he wasn’t just fighting Trump but also himself.’
‘Harris now has the chance to bring those millions of disaffected voters, who were disgusted with the choice between two old men, back into the voting booth. She has a chance to inspire and take it all back but she will have to fight against an angry, aggressive headwind of lies, defamation and obfuscation.’
‘Will Trump actually debate her live on TV?’ I asked Camp.
‘I doubt it. She can certainly outsmart and outdebate Trump but she needs to paint him into a corner and make him loose his cool which should not be hard. A cornered Trump will lash out with fury and hatred for all to see. According to his own words he wants to be president for vengeance, retribution and punishment of those who oppose him and to get rid of all those pesky lawsuits against him. Also, he has a poor understanding of geopolitical issues, has a limited vocabulary and is not interested in facts and truths which makes him a poor debater against anybody with an education.’
‘Harris is also a former prosecutor and as she already pointed out she has met plenty of people like Trump in her previous jobs. ‘I took on perpetrators of all kinds; predators who abused women, fraudsters and cheaters who were only interested in their own gain. Her own record against Trump’s should be a no-contest.’
‘It will be an interesting few months until November but there is a sense of optimism in the air that a second Trump term is not a forgone conclusion as it was only last week after Biden’s disastrous public display of incoherence.’
‘We will watch from our easy chairs and bar stools and hope that common sense will prevail and that the young people come out and vote for the future, not for some mystical past that never existed.’
‘How are we doing today?’ Vicki asked setting down a couple of refills.
‘We’re happy that Biden made the right choice and now there is a chance Trump will lose. Let’s face it. Would you buy a used car from Trump?’
‘Nobody would,’ Vicky said. ‘I wouldn’t even let him drive.’
‘Now that the Supreme Court declared the President immune to criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office; they elevated the person holding the office of the highest civil service in the country to King and above the law,’ Camp said, shaking his head of grey curls in disgust and disappointment.
‘It’s a war,’ Steve Bannon said, before heading off to serve his 3 months jail term. ‘He meant that him, his acolytes and Trump followers, have declared war on the liberal and tolerant people who uphold democratic and moral principles. He and his kind want to nazify the state and re-install their disposed king. They want vengeance and are fueled by hate and rule by fear and punishment. They want to cut all aid to Ukraine instantly, mass deportations on the southern border and a deconstruction of the administrative state. And Bannon thinks that Trump is a kind hearted person.’
‘I guess this would officially spell the end of the Peace, Love and Happiness era, the end of tolerance and inclusiveness, the end of kindness and the end of respect for each other, no matter our personal origins, beliefs and opinions.’
‘It’s either you’re with us or you’re against us. There is no such thing as agreeing to disagree any longer. Bannon says that we’re never going to be reasonable until we get what we want. Might is right and they also claim to have God on their side.’
‘I think the meek are weak and turning the other cheek just means getting slapped around til you fall down,’ I said, downing my first pint.
‘We know they fight dirty. We know they lie, cheat and deny any wrong doing and yet many still think they can convince this basket of deplorables with arguments about the truth and facts, with appeals to their common sense, with a childlike belief that we can make them see the error of their ways. It’s long past that and we are truly at war,’ Camp said, ‘not yet with guns and bullets but with poisonous words and deeds.’
‘How was your trip into the Kootenay’s last weekend?’ Camp wanted to know.
‘I love that drive through all these different climate zones, into the heart of the Purcell mountains along Kootenay lake. Nelson today is a bustling, affluent town with scores of restaurants and sports stores. Not the depressed and struggling town of the 80’ies when every second house was for sale for below $ 100’000 and there were no jobs,’ I said.
‘That’s when the pot industry brought in some hard cash to the floundering economy,’ Camp said.
‘You’re right. There was an exhibit in 2022, in the midst of the pandemic, put on by the Nelson Museum, Archives and Gallery called ‘Grow Show’ about exactly that. Now there is a book out documenting the activism and the underground economy of the early growers in and around Nelson. Quite fascinating how the cops often looked the other way, the local businesses pretended that the rolls of poly and the fertilizers were for tomatoes and carrots, paid for in cash.’
‘And it all ended with legalization, didn’t it?’
‘It sure changed the business model. Not everybody joined the government growers with all their fees, requirements and safeguards which made growing the stuff not lucrative. Many chose to remain off the grid and are still producing much better products than the government grow-ops.’
‘Less and less people subscribe to traditional religious organisation like Catholicism or the reformist Protestant doctrine. The churches are empty and so are the pulpits.,’ I said to Camp who I know is interested in that sort of thing.
‘Not a lot of young men want to be priests or clergy, unlike a couple of generations ago when every family aspired to have at least one member in the church.’
‘Where did all the believers go Camp? ‘
‘Some became atheists like you and me but many others joined Christian cults which adhere to a much more radical and militant doctrine than the traditional religions. Sects like the JW’s, Scientology, the Mormons, Seven Day Adventists and such. These days it’s the Reformed Baptist and Methodist; others are the Pentecostal’s, Churches of Christ, Plymouth Brethren and other of their ilk. These non-denominational organizations are all relatively new evangelical movements.’
‘You’re talking about cults,’ I said.
‘Yes, you could call them that. Like the Assemblies of God or the Calvary Chapels which draw anywhere from 10’000 to 30’000 devotees for their weekly services.
‘I would say these are exclusive, fascist congregations who will most likely decide the election in November. Their flocks are all republicans and want a world full of rules and restrictions. And they all have God on their side.’
‘Yes, also many people do not like this new woke world where every word has to be weighed for its implications, historical relevance and perceived prejudice. The gender confusion and the binary world of AI as well as the complicated messages coming from the mostly corrupt and self-serving body politic do not help. Therefore, many flock to organizations and follow leaders that promise order and simple solutions to complex problems.’
‘South Africa has alleged that Israel’s war on Gaza constituted genocide. Israel contends it has a right to defend itself after the October attacks by Hamas.’
‘While both sides want the other one eradicated from the face of the earth this latest attack by Israel on the population of Gaza bears no comparison to the genocide in Rwanda, which started exactly 30 years ago or the Armenian genocide which was the systematic destruction of about 1 million of the Armenian people during World War I or the holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime. The systemic mass execution of 6 million Jews, Roma Gypsies, disabled and homosexual people on an industrial scale is unprecedented in human history. The incinerators, gas lines and train stations servicing half a dozen termination or death camps as well as hundreds of concentration camps were designed and engineered with one object in mind: Efficient killing of as many people in as short a time as possible. Nothing in today’s many wars comes even close to that.’ Camp stated unequivocally. I agreed totally. There was nothing to add.
‘Have you seen Jonathan Glazer’s movie The Zone of Interest loosely based on Martin Amis’ novel? It’s about the so-called normal life of the Höss family, living next to Auschwitz Concentration Camp, which was under Höss’ command.’
‘Can’t say I have nor do I have any interest in seeing it. You know me and movies. I don’t watch them. I’d rather read a book.’
‘Clare and I watched it the other night. Not much of a film or a story really. Just the life of the family sharing a wall of their backyard with the Auschwitz camp next door. I think the most unnerving and disturbing aspect of the film was the constant industrial sound track, punctuated by the odd cry and some rifle shots but it was always there, twenty-four hours a day. The mechanized noise of murder and death.’
‘Thanks for that. Now I’m definitely never going to watch it. I saw the Holocaust exhibition at Izzy Asper’s Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. Seeing the blue prints of the death factory layout and the staff photo under the famous gate ‘Arbeit macht Frei’ was quite enough for my sensibilities. Secretaries and workmen all smiling and waving as if this was a holiday resort and they’re just welcoming new guests. I cannot and will never understand the depravity that humans are capable off. Nothing explains it and you can analyze it to death but it doesn’t make it any more accessible or palatable.’
‘What do you think of the pro-Palestine student demonstrations all over America and now Europe and Canada?’ I asked Camp who I knew had a definite opinion about it.
‘Despite the new U.S. aid package for Ukraine, peace or the end of the war is still far from being in sight,’ I said to Camp who was looking out at the lovely view from our pub on the harbour. ‘The US finally approved a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine. This means that Ukraine at least has another chance to defend itself against the overpowering opponent from the east.’
‘It’s hopefully not too late. But there is no reason for euphoria. Russia’s economy seems to be resilient despite sanctions; thanks to Chinese and Indian electronics for their war machine and third-party importers for everything else, all paid for with oil shipped out with their dark and rusty ghost fleet. Then there are the casualties on both sides of the war. About 100,000 soldiers are said to have died so far, two-thirds of them on the Russian side. In addition, more than 10,000 civilians were also killed. Second, there are no signs at all that the war, which has been going on for two years now, will end in the foreseeable future.’
‘I had a long chat with one of my regular customers the other day,’ Camp said after he got comfortable in his usual chair by the window. ‘We talked about how we are all struggling to keep up with inflated prices, home ownership, rentals and affordability.’
‘The working poor? The pensioners using the foodbanks?’ I asked.
‘No, this woman, I call her Jane, laid out her financial situation to me without any qualms about privacy or shame. Jane has a 14year old daughter and is divorced. She and her husband owned a mortgaged home together but since neither one could afford to buy the other one out, they agreed to rent it out for the time being.’
‘Sounds like she is ok, maybe upper middle class?’
‘Jane has a master’s degree in health management and makes over $ 100’000 a year. After taxes around $ 72’000. Take away pension contribution and health plan and you end up with about $ 65’000 in your bank account or about $ 5’400 per month.’
‘Wow, that pares it down significantly,’ I said.
‘Yes. This is what she said: The rent on the house we still own together pays the mortgage and taxes on the property. If we sell it, neither one of us will be able to afford to buy back into the market today. My daughter and I live in a small house I rented for $ 3000.- per month, Hydro, natural gas, TV, internet, insurances etc. about $ 1’000 per month. Which leaves us around $ 1’400 for food, clothes, petrol and various other small expenses. Forget about travel, forget about savings, forget about emergency funds like if I need a new car or my daughter wants to go on a holiday with her friends. Forget about extra curricula activities. Period.’ I just stood there, following the numbers game to zero with Jane.’
‘Wow, less than $ 1’500 a month for two people to live on? What kind of middleclass standards are those? Mind you, nobody is going to feel sorry for Jane.’
‘Exactly. I’d be happy to make a hundred grand a year from the book store. I pay myself a minimum wage and expenses. If it wouldn’t be for Muriel’s teaching job, I’d be moving in with you and Clare,’ Camp said, taking a healthy swallow from his pint.
‘Which leaves the question how most people manage. Not everybody makes a hundred grand a year.’
‘I checked it out,’ Camp said. ‘Consider that the median (not average) income of Canadians is around $ 55’000 per year while a 2bdr condo rents for around $ 2’600 per month. A house would be more. It takes more than one income per household to afford a house, either mortgaged or rented. The rule of thumb is that you should not pay more than 30% of your income for rent. If you make $ 60’000 a year, then you cannot afford to rent even a one-bedroom condo in today’s market.’
‘There goes the illusion of middle class if you earn $ 100’000.’
‘Where does that leave the pensioners?’
‘90% of seniors get Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) while around 30% receive Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). On average, these pensions provide an annual income of around $ 23’000 per recipient. Not exactly living in the clover. Without savings these old folks live on the edge of bankruptcy and more and more are dependent on food banks. And living in trailer parks.’
‘Some sobering numbers,’ I said.
When Vicky came around to swap our empties I had to ask. ‘How much rent do you pay if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘I live with my mom, who is also my primary baby sitter and I help out with the food and bills. Then there is my tuition for which I took out a student loan. Let’s just say, I couldn’t afford to move out with my 5year old if it wasn’t for my mom. Life in the fast lane boys.’
‘Well, what’s new my friend?’ Camp asked me when he sat down at our usual corner table at our favorite watering hole.
‘Two items have caught my attention this week. One is about elephants and the other about Swiss senior women,’ I said.
‘Oh, please tell. I haven’t followed the news this week; busy with the store and the new spring releases in the ever-fickle publishing market. It’s a guessing game I play every year as in: who will buy what to read this summer?’
‘Berlin’s Green environment minister, Steffi Lemke, proposed a new law restricting the import of elephant hunting trophies. When Botswana’s president Masisi heard about this, he threatened to send 20’000 elephants to Germany. Botswana is home to 130’000 elephants, about a third of the world pachyderm population while Germany is one of the biggest importers of such trophies in the EU. Masisi said elephant numbers had exploded as a result of conservation efforts, and hunting helped keep them in check.’
‘I suppose the spectre of neo-colonialism hasn’t occurred to Ms Lemke, Camp said, shaking his head of white curls. ‘What about the Swiss seniors?’
‘You know Camp, it’s almost been six months since Hamas attacked and murdered 1140 Israelis and took 240 hostages. Until now Hamas still holds over 130 Israeli hostages and none of the senior leaders of Hamas have been captured or killed.’
‘Also, none of its 2billion dollar annual budget has been curtailed. Hamas’ leaders, like Khaled Mashaal, whose cumulative net worth is estimated at 11billion dollars, live a life of luxury, staying at 5-star hotels in Qatar and Turkey and fly around in private jets, as their brothers and sisters starve and fight over aid in Rafah on the Egyptian border.’
‘Meanwhile tens of thousands of civilians have died in Gaza and the whole population of Gaza, now over 2.3 million, is at risk of a catastrophic famine.’
‘Where does Hamas get its millions and billions from?’ I asked, knowing Camp had an answer.
Our pub has become something of a hide out, only accessible by a set of steep stairs up from the boardwalk or down a never-ending staircase from the street level above. The town, in its infinite wisdom, pushed by an insurance company I’m sure, has removed the connecting ramp between the wharf and the building along with the pub’s front entrance, even though the ramp could hold a herd of elephants and more than the single vehicle traffic into the underground garage. It was built of steel beams and solid timbers. Now the garage is an empty inaccessible space and the patrons like Camp and I have to clamber down or up a steep flight of stairs. ‘Not exactly wheelchair accessible,’ Camp pointed out.
‘We went to see ‘One Love’ last week, the Bob Marley movie about the last few years of his roller coaster life that was cut short at only 36 years by a rare form of skin cancer. The mediocre film was produced by Brad Pitt, Rita and Ziggy Marley,’ I said, once I got comfortable in my old corner chair.
‘Oh yeah, how was that? I love the music but the man? One Love could have been named Many Loves,’ Camp said. ‘Didn’t he have a soccer team full of kids from many different women?’
‘Did you watch the Academy Awards?’ I asked Camp, knowing full well I’m going to get an ear full.
‘You’re talking to somebody that doesn’t even own a TV and I’m certainly not interested in the glamour and self-congratulating gizillinaires parading their gowns that cost more than some people earn in a year.’
‘There were some great movies made this year Camp and as one of the winners pointed out: Movies make memories and memories make history.’
‘And then the victors revise the history and make more movies about a fictional past. What about AI? Soon they’ll need no actors or locations. It will all be generated by a computer. It will be a perfect world. What memories? What history?’
‘I have to take you to a movie some day Camp. It’s not all fantasy and make believe. Some documentaries visually highlight the subject matter. It could be nature, music, even war. The Ukrainians docudrama Mariupol, about 20 days of the brutal Russian siege of that town, won an Oscar for best documentary. A first for Ukraine. The director said that he would much rather not have made the movie. Or The Zone of Interest, a disturbing film which is inspired by the real life of the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Also, the film industry is a good employer and over 5000 people work in movies and TV here in Hollynorth. These are good paying jobs Camp.’
‘You should know. Isn’t it what you did? I thought you always portrayed it as just an army of pushers, shovers, pullers, riggers, draggers of equipment and builders of temporary sets destined for the garbage heap. You called yourself a carnie. Setting up and tearing down rides.’
‘Well, that is one aspect. True, my job was just that, a job but the film industry offers a myriad of employment opportunities for people of all ages and genders and their trades: Carpenters, lighting techs, special effects, hair stylists, makeup and set decorators, greens and landscapers, costume and camera crews, caterers and drivers and then a whole army of post filming specialists from editors to musicians and visual and computer-generated effects people. Not to mention the actors and stunt people, stand-ins and extras, the production and locations teams, all of them making decent money.’
‘I guess it’s a more fun industry than an ammunitions or a fertilizer plant. All for our entertainment and leisure. I guess I’m in the wrong business. Mind you, I remember when there were video games and movie rental stores. I even sold tapes and Cd’s in the early days. Now it’s all streaming and uploading. It’s a never-ending world of zeros and ones determining everything from what we watch on our gadgets to what’s in our bank accounts to our personal info. Zero’s and One’s. We couldn’t exist without our plastic cards or digital identities. It’s a binary, plastic world.’
Bruno's point of view 