I'm happy to see this. The left could be owning this moment. Instead, I see the usual slacktivist drive-by sloganeering, saying shit like "Nationalism is Bad Aktually" or "I would simply not have COUNTRIES" This is a convo about how to harness and pivot Nationalism. Not reject it. More please. - ThreadSky

timfordwrites.bsky.social • 55 days ago

I'm happy to see this.

The left could be owning this moment. Instead, I see the usual slacktivist drive-by sloganeering, saying shit like "Nationalism is Bad Aktually" or "I would simply not have COUNTRIES"

This is a convo about how to harness and pivot Nationalism. Not reject it. More please.

Reposted from David Moscrop

I’m on CBC’s Front Burner pod today with Jeet Heer, talking about the history and current moment of Canada nationalism — and what we might do with it.

www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...

Comments

slpowsey.bsky.social•55 days ago

Honest question. Who specifically on the left has been making these kinds of statements since the threats from Trump emerged?

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

I knew someone would ask, and honestly, I am not going to answer that, because I don't feel like having fights.

You can believe I am inventing this, or not. I really don't care.

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

Some hard truths about the Left to swallow:

1) there absolutely are grifters on the Left, who don't give AF about making things better and instead compete for eyeballs by making themselves kings of the purity test, usually by going so extreme in their rhetoric as to be unworkable in real life.

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

2) there are way too many privileged individuals who dominate Leftist rhetoric who never interact with the real world in a meaningful way. They talk in generalities about workers, etc. but it's apparent they aren't going to suffer consequences one way or another.

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

3) because of this lack of experience, too much leftist policymaking has no basis in practice. It's all verbiage and theory. For evidence of this, look at the doolally fed ndp F-35 policy announcement, which is utter nonsense. The people writing these ideas do not have expertise.

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

I see these issues exacerbated in the issue of Canadian Nationalism in this moment.
The Left's response is dominated by moral scolding. It goes "well Canada is bad TOO aktually" or "being proud of your country is BAD"
Instead of saying "make this moment of pride meaningful."

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

By denying people their understandable emotional response in a moment of crisis, the Left is only hurting itself. You can't just say "the way you feel about Canada is bad."

And this isn't about "make yourselves more Right wing in policy."

It's about MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE with your ideas.

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

"America is attacking us! I support Canada!"

"But Canada is also settler-colonialist and countries are made up"

Vs.

"Yes, let's unite and reaffirm what it means to be Canadian. That means supporting our workers rights, rejecting hatred and strengthening democracy. Those are all leftist values!"

saemg.bsky.social•55 days ago

fuck yeah, directing energy to build large scale national projects that get ingrained in our shared identity is where it's at.

housing, trains, research, energy, civil defense, etc

for example we could vilify "american style zoning", and have "a home for every canadian"

timfordwrites.bsky.social•55 days ago

A national high-speed rail system! A terrific nation-building project where you stop feeling alienated from one part of the country to the other, because you can actually bloody access it!

saemg.bsky.social•55 days ago

the CPR worked the first time, it can work again 😎

fr tho, getting around cheaply and quickly, meeting people, would do wonders for national unity

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