Political Indulgences

The Conservatives have established, most notably with the bonanza they made of the now-defunct federal long-gun registry, that an angry, frightened or resentful small donor is a generous small donor.

You should be very afraid for what comes next; your future, the opportunities available to your children are all at risk.  There's an evil force out there conniving to take away your freedom, your rights, your opportunities.  

You can't stop this force that will take away your individual rights; only WE can.  We will stand up for you, fight the bad guys on your behalf, so on and so forth.  But this kind of service doesn't come free.

If this sort of messaging seems familiar, it should.  We've seen it time and time again, under different guises, but the purpose is always the same.

There is the institution, headed by a leader, who will take care of everything - you just need to invest in them and know better than to question their wisdom.  They don't make mistakes, not like ordinary people do.  

It's a trap our leaders fall into when power and the wealth that sustains it becomes more important than the notion of accomplishment.  Whether it's the divine right of kings or the divine right of politicians, the result is the same - poor choices get defended, people are criminalized and the methods by which power is sustained become increasingly unscrupulous.

Sometimes it just takes a brave soul to point this out and offer this little reminder; the church isn't a building any more than the State is a Party.

The promised land is never imposed from without, but nurtured within.