Bothered Boy

The crusades aren't the only terrible thing Christianity has done in its history. In fact, far worse atrocities have been committed yet they are never given the same 'weight' as the crusades.

The narrative we Canadians tell ourselves about our history is wrong, and ultimately harmful. "We're a peaceful country, and our history is largely peaceful and cooperative" is what we like to tell ourselves, but here's the reality:  

The Beaver Wars (1609-1701) 

The Acadian Civil War (1635-1654) 

King William's War (1689-1697) 

Queen Anne's War (1702-1713) 

Father Rale's War (1722-1725) 

King George's War (1744-1748) 

Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755) 

The French and Indian War (1754-1763) 

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) 

The War of 1812 (1812-1815) 

The Rebellions of 1837–1838 

The Fenian raids (1866-1871) 

The Red River Rebellion (1869-1870) 

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 

The Second Boer War (1899-1902) 

The First World War (1914–1918) 

The Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War (1919-1925) 

The Second World War (1939-1945) 

The Korean War (1950-1953) 

The Gulf War (1990-1991) 

The Yugoslav Wars (1992-1995) 

The Somali Civil War (1993-1995) 

The Kosovo War (1998-1999) 

The War in Afghanistan (2001-2014) 

Operation Mobile (2011) 

The Mali War (2012-Present) 

Operation Impact (2014-2020)  

If we arbitrarily use the founding of Quebec City in 1608 as the "start" of Canadian history in terms of continual habitation of colonies, then that means that in 412 years of history, Canada has been at peace for only 123 years. In other words, we've only spent 30% of our entire history at peace.

On Saturday, July 25th, the Polish government announced it was withdrawing from a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. They claim it was "harmful" because it required schools to teach children about gender.

There are some great modern musicians out there, but I can't help but notice how the vast majority of it all starts to sound the same after a while. It's a shame, especially when we have the entire discography of mankind at our literal fingertips. Please support your local artists.

I know we're all fatigued from self-isolation, but young people are not invincible and we should be leading them and educating them, and they need to be more thoughtful and responsible, or else this gets worse for all of us.

Sorry it's late, the day got away from me. Between Brexit and Scottish independence, we should be paying far more attention to happenings in the British Isles...

In a push to reopen schools in America (as well as Canada, and no doubt other nations), a narrative is beginning to emerge. “Kids are falling behind!” Compared to what? The line for where kids need to be is pretty arbitrary, and these are unprecedented times that call for thoughtful and measured action, not devotion to old norms.

If women "belong in the kitchen," then why don't we see more women serving as head chefs in restaurants? It's something worth thinking about.

Here in Canada, we're talking about reopening schools in September. Meanwhile, case numbers across the country appear to be increasing. What's the backup plan if we have to shut down schools again? Spoiler alert, there is none.

We're doing something a little different today. Don't worry, 'What's Bothering Me Today' will continue happening on a daily basis for as long as I can keep it up. This might be a "spin-off" where I do what's basically a video version of a letter to the editor, only directed to a person who's bothering me at that time. Congratulations, Governor! You're my first.