Fuck the Doomed!

An excerpt from ‘Where the Buffalo Roam’ (1980), depicting a chance encounter between Hunter S. Thompson (undercover as Harris from The Post) and Richard Nixon. I always liked this scene, the imagery of ‘the doomed’ and ‘the screw-heads’, and Nixon’s contempt. I thought the intent of Nixon’s statement of ‘fuck the doomed’ was pretty clear: to hell with the little man, I hold the power. An outrageous statement to say the least, and one I’d rail against with all my being. The power of a democracy is its people… right? But in light of the current Canadian political scene, now I’m not so sure.

Here is what’s bothering me.

For the first time in Canadian history, the Conservative minority government under the “leadership” of Stephen Harper has been found in contempt of parliament. I didn’t even know that was possible. But much like Al Capone, in mid-March the current administration was caught in their lies about money (damn that nasty paper trail). Well alright! They’ve been caught red hand. Surely Mr. Harper will respect the Canadian people, admit his error and step down in shame for having become the blackest spot in Canadian political history… surely.

OH DON’T WE?! Well I fucking do. How dare you tell me what I think… that’s FOX NEWS’ job, not yours (shout out to ‘opinion journalists’ everywhere: I hate you all. Come back when you have something of substance to say). And I’m not alone.

In an early poll, 63% of Canadian believed an honest government and leader was more important than electing a government that will ensure our economic recovery will continue. Well hey, that’s a start. But… but wait… what’s this?

“28 per cent of Canadians believe the Conservatives, if reelected, would do the best job of 'providing honest, open and trustworthy government.'

22 per cent believe the NDP would do the best job of this.

Just 15 per cent say the Liberals would be best at providing honest, open and trustworthy government.

29 per cent don't endorse any of the major parties as best to deliver this type of government.”

Are you fucking kidding me? The largest minority of Canadians supporting a party believe the current administration—you remember, the one that was just found in contempt of parliament—represents a trustworthy government? Seriously? Can we, as a nation, be this stupid? Nope... we're even dumber than that. (link updated daily)

The Conservatives are currently sitting at 40% approval. This is just insanity! Do we, as a people, have so little pride that we will accept being lied to by the people we pay to serve our best interest? Are we so embedded within, and blinded by partisan politics that we can’t even act in our own best interests? I’m not a political science major, and I won’t pretend to even pay that much attention to politics on the whole. But I have my pride, as a Canadian, and I believe this country has so much potential. I simply cannot tolerate being lied to and manipulated. It’s not ok. And if the Canadian people reelect the very same people who were found in contempt of parliament, well what message does that send?

I started off with a clip of Hunter and Nixon having it out in a public bathroom, and I gave you my little interpretation on the short, but poignant phrase “fuck the doomed”. See, I always identified with the image of ‘the doomed’, because it fits so well.

“The poor doomed… the young, and the silly, and the honest, and the weak… Italians… they’re doomed. They’re lost, they’re helpless, they’re somebody else’s meal… they’re like pigs in the wilderness.”

Hunter was right. We’re doomed. We’re our own worst enemy. If we can’t even be bothered to stand up for ourselves, we are truly doomed to be stomped on by anyone who feels like it. I’ll do my own little part on election day, but from the look of things, it just won’t matter. We’re doomed for another Conservative government that will lie and cheat and steal. See, Nixon’s words were spoken in contempt of the people… well it’s just as appropriate when spoken in resentment.

We’re doomed, and I’m not ok with it.

Fuck the Doomed.

And if you weren’t already enraged beyond all belief, if you still had faith in the honesty and integrity of the Harper administration, or if you honestly don’t care about the state of our nation…