‘The majority of voters in both countries think their leaders are now past their ‘best before’ dates,’ writes Mervyn Norton.
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Although there is 30 years of age separating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden, the majority of voters in both countries think their leaders are now past their “best before” dates.
Incumbent governments in most Western countries are facing a decline in approval ratings as they struggle to control price inflation and interest rates, as well as immigration pressures, housing shortages, health-care waiting lists and climate change impacts. Disappointment grows when there are no easy solutions to conflicts around the world.
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President Biden now faces further headwinds because of Republican charges of declining cognitive capacity, following his shockingly incoherent presidential debate with former president Donald Trump, who is 78 but seems younger.
A strong record of achievement by Biden does not overcome public fears that he cannot uphold the weight of the burden of the next four years. Prime Minister Trudeau’s speaking style does not lack coherence, but suffers instead from repetitious “virtue signalling” that outpaces his ability to deliver expected policies and programs.
After nine years in power, he may have already used up most of his nine lives. The dilemma for both leaders is that the only judgment sufficient to lead them into retirement before their next electoral test is the judgment that comes from their own heads.
It is unusual for political egos to allow one to step back, once engaged. But they might best remember the old saying: One can overcome thoughts of being indispensable by taking a walk through a graveyard.
Mervyn Norton, Regina
Smart phones not making us smarter
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With the ubiquitous use of smartphones and social media, we seem to have lost the skill of communication. We are addicted to jolts per minute. Watch old movies. Scene changes occurred slowly. New movies? Scene changes, or other jolts, every couple of seconds.
Reading has become a lost art. A message must fit a bumper sticker. Even the 280-character limit on X (formerly Twitter) seems to test someone’s comprehension skills. Messaging has been reduced to sound bites. TLDNR: Too long, did not read or LOL (laughing out loud) or ICYMI — all fitting that 280-character limit.
Particularly disheartening, is people bragging about not reading, implying others are fools who read, gasp, books and periodicals.
In the 1960s, television drama episodes (like Bonanza) ran 49 to 50 minutes, with infrequent commercials, average one minute each. Today, hour-long drama episodes on television are under 40 minutes, half-hour sitcoms 20 minutes. We suffer a dozen 10-20-second commercials.
And we wonder why attention spans are so short. Or why children are increasingly diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Or why some politicians rarely use words with more than two syllables.
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Robert Bandurka, Humboldt
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