"I think goose stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of burning them."
Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Even our local paper has noticed the Harper government's contempt for artists. The consensus around our house this morning is that he is okay with Canada failing to win a single medal in Beijing, and he is okay with the rest of the world knowing absolutely nothing about Canada. What a shame. Then again, Harper thought Newfoundland joined confederation in 1867, so it sounds like he could use some serious education about our country. Even on the science front, Harper is criticized.
More cuts to arts and culture programs were announced this morning, on a Friday, when reporters are unlikely to cover the story. What I don't get is how this obviously business-oriented government fails to understand that exposing Canadian artists abroad brings money back into the country and draws tourists - who would like to have something interesting or unique to do while they're here. That would be like the New York City not funding Broadway because they find the language in Avenue Q objectionable.
One final question: So much of the debate on these issues - bill C-10, the PromArts program, the latest cuts, has been spun using people's supposed resistance to that nasty "F" word. What I want to know is: has Harper ever said 'it," and do his MP's get kicked out of caucus for using it? Does he hold his political strategists accountable for uttering it in meetings?
Somehow I doubt it.
Update: "General radical" Avi Lewis defends the PromArts program.
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