Meanness, lies and conspiracy theories: Boys State and the state of politics - Anglican Journal | Canada News Media
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Meanness, lies and conspiracy theories: Boys State and the state of politics – Anglican Journal

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“Especially for people of faith, thoughtful participation in political processes is important because decisions about how the social order is structured, justice exercised, and the earth cared for are entrusted to elected officials in government.” Image: Apple TV+

While politics has long been a blood sport, the current political climate in Canada, the U.S., Britain, Europe and beyond seems unusually volatile and unpredictable. At the convention of the Democratic Party—a “virtual” online event this summer—former U.S. President Barack Obama summarized why many are cynical about politics: “I understand why … a young person might look at politics right now … the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories and think, ‘What’s the point?’”

For insights into the U.S. political process, take a look at the documentary film Boys State, currently streamed through Apple TV+. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary films at the 2020 Sundance Festival, Boys State tells the story of the 2018 Texas Boys State Convention, where a thousand 17-year-old boys gathered in Austin, Texas, for a weeklong modelling of the American political system. Sponsored by the American Legion, the Boys State Conventions began in 1935 and are held annually in every U.S. state except Hawaii. There is also a Girls State Convention and a national Boys Nation. Famous alumni include Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Cory Booker, and non-politicians such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Jordan and Bruce Springsteen.

The Boys (and Girls) State Conventions are an exercise in mock government. Participants are split into political parties—the “Nationalists” and the “Federalists”—and go through the processes that constitute the political system: electing party chairs, development of a platform, “primaries” to choose a slate of candidates and finally an election to offices, including the highest position of governor.

All of this takes place in the context of a youth gathering, a carnival-like atmosphere complete with marching bands. Very quickly the two parties establish a group consciousness and, before long, are battling each other in a contest not only of ideas but of personalities.

Most everything that happens in the current political climate occurs at Boys State: there are hot-button issues, procedural detours, impeachment proceedings, power struggles, meanness and lies and crazy conspiracy theories. Cleverly, directors Amanda McBane and Jesse Moss focus on three of the participants, giving viewers an inside view of their personal stories. You meet and get to know Steven Garza, one of the candidates for governor, and two of the party chairs, René Otero and Ben Feinstein.

A Texan of Mexican ancestry, Garza is a straightforward and honest guy; his oratory is compelling. Feinstein’s a good spin man; he’s a conservative who happens to be a double amputee. Otero is an African American, originally from Chicago, who confides that he’s “never seen so many white folks before!” Other boys profiled include Robert MacDougall, a charismatic candidate for governor who admits that while he is personally pro-choice, he takes hard-line anti-abortion stance in public. “I’m playing this like a game,” he says. “Sometimes you can’t win on what you believe in your heart…. It’s a morally questionable thing to lie in politics. It gave me a new appreciation for why politicians lie to get in office.”

Lying to get into office, taking politically expedient positions to gain acceptance and undercutting adversaries has become the day-to-day stuff of politics in the 21st century. While Canadian viewers may well be shocked by how issues of guns and reproductive choice dominate the debates in Boys State, all viewers will see demonstrated through this simulation of the American political process how the obsession with winning elections overshadows deeper issues of leadership, integrity and honesty.

Only Stephen Garza seems to combine personal integrity with his ambitions; it is gratifying to see, as the film closes, that he has continued in his political aspirations since the conclusion of the Boys Town Convention. One hopes for leaders who are able to rise above the cut and thrust of politics to articulate a vision of a better world characterized by greater compassion.

For in democracies elections matter. People’s choices matter. Leadership matters. Increasingly though, media portray the political process more like a sport with winners and losers. When the substance of the debate is lost in the sad spectacle of a blood sport, we’re left only with meanness and lies. Democracy requires more. One hopes that political simulations, like those Boys State demonstrates, might give students an experience of thoughtful engagement rather than rewarding lying and cheating because—not to overstate it—the survival of human life on the planet is at stake.

Especially for people of faith, thoughtful participation in political processes is important because decisions about how the social order is structured, justice exercised, and the earth cared for are entrusted to elected officials in government.  The values and character of those elected should matter deeply to people of faith because from their decisions flow so many aspects that affect our common life. Churches can take a non-partisan role in promoting active participation in the political process, raising issues that parishioners can ask political candidates, and encouraging children and young people to be informed and involved because in doing so, they are taking an important part in caring for God’s world.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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