Just Right… with Bob Metz and Robert Vaughan

821 – Democracy reconsidered—in the light of freedom

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Jul 272023

The manipulation of language and definitions is the primary tool of state control and tyranny. Arbitrarily replacing established definitions with anti-concepts makes for effective propaganda. The words “democracy” and “freedom” are perhaps two of the most manipulated concepts in this regard.

For example, witness Joe Biden’s obsessive compulsion with “democracy,” by which he means tyranny and censorship. Then contrast Biden’s “democracy” with that of Tucker Carlson’s “democracy” – a society synonymous with freedom and in which freedom of speech is paramount.

Paradoxically, each view is valid depending on the context and specific application. The paradox lies in the fact that, like freedom, democracy is more a political “condition” than an established system of governance.

Just as freedom arises when governments protect their citizens’ right to life, liberty and property, so too democracy arises to the extent that “the people” become involved in the process of governance. However, unrestricted by the principles underlying freedom, democracy permits “the people” to violate each other’s rights to life, liberty and property – subject only to a “majority” vote.

Thus the debate over defining a nation’s political “condition” (freedom, democracy) and “form” (republics, constitutionally limited monarchies, etc) carries on without any firm resolution regarding the true nature of a democracy.

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820 – Nuclear considerations—about war and peace | Salim Mansur

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Jul 202023

In his assessment of what has caused the West to morally degrade into a self-inflicted state of nihilism, our guest Salim Mansur cites two different “nuclear” developments, one concerning nuclear weapons, the other concerning the nuclear family.

“Developments” occur over time, and require both hindsight and foresight to be seen. This demands an understanding of history combined with philosophy, two disciplines that have been abandoned in the vacuum of today’s WOKE culture.

Disinterest in history is a symptom of a nihilistic society, explains Salim. As the West sits on the precipice of nuclear war, the question arises which of the two “nuclear” concerns is the greater – the explosion of a nuclear bomb, or the implosion of the nuclear family. As we learn, these two themes are very intertwined, representing both a consequence and a cause behind our culture of narcissism – a “death culture.”

Most significantly, unlike America’s opposition to the Vietnam war during a time when America imposed conscription, opposition to war in 2023 in relative terms does not exist (thanks to the fact that Richard Nixon ended the draft during his presidency). This would suggest that the so-called “protesters against war” were less against war itself than they were against being forced to participate in war.

As the popular 60s-era war protest song “Where have all the flowers gone?” lamented, it sadly appears that it may yet be some time off before the answer to that question is understood in a way that is Just Right.

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Where have all the flowers gone? | Salim Mansur

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Jul 162023

In 1955, songwriter Pete Seeger penned the quintessential anti-war folk song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” which would later resonate with the public expressing opposition to the Military-Industrial Complex’s involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. Today, there is a noticeable absence of comparable songs that rally people against governments’ decisions to prolong the conflict in Ukraine—decisions resulting in significant loss of life and expenditure.

The absence of widespread protest and condemnation from the public seems to be emboldening our politicians to persist with their controversial war strategies. The silence and apparent indifference can inadvertently be interpreted as consent, raising concerns about the potential escalation to a full-scale armed conflict between NATO countries and Russia. While the use of nuclear weapons in such a scenario remains unlikely, it was a genuine fear during the 1960s, leading to the construction of fallout shelters in backyards and drills that taught children to seek shelter during a nuclear attack.

Professor Salim Mansur from Western University joins Robert Vaughan in discussing this perceived indifference among the public towards an impending global conflict, drawing a comparison to the protest movements of the Beatniks and Hippies in the 60s. They contend that Western culture underwent significant changes over the past fifty years, with any semblance of reason and objectivity being supplanted by wokeism and subjectivity. They conclude that the West has become a culture of nihilism, narcissism, and hedonism led by the self-absorbed and immature and that our anti-intellectual culture could potentially lead to the end of what remains of our civilization.

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819 – JFK’s war for peace | Salim Mansur

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Jul 132023

The desire for peace is a bit like the desire to become rich and famous; both are ends, not means.

When President John F Kennedy delivered his June 10 1963 “Peace speech” at American University in Washington DC, he was promoting a means for peace that was in direct conflict with the ends of America’s military industrial complex. And this, suggests our guest Professor emeritus Salim Mansur, is what led to Kennedy’s eventual assassination: “The murder of Kennedy was a victory for the deep state.”

Kennedy’s speech was delivered sixty years ago, when America narrowly avoided a nuclear confrontation with Russia (the Soviet Union). Today in 2023 the same threat between the same two super-powers is being played out on the world stage for all to see.

However In retrospect, we now understand that in both cases America was the provocateur, given its earlier placement of nuclear missiles in Turkey and its current threat of doing the same in Ukraine. Small wonder that Salim believes “America has morphed into the leading rogue state in the world today,” and that John F Kennedy was a man “ahead of his time.”

With Kennedy’s assertion that “Peace and freedom walk together,” it was clear he understood the relationship between means and ends in a way that is Just Right.

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Peace For All Time: Reflections on John F. Kennedy’s Peace Speech | Salim Mansur

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Jul 082023

This year marks the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s “Peace Speech” which was given on June 10th, 1963 as the commencement address at American University.

It was a speech quickly forgotten by the press, perhaps because it spoke of peace rather than of war. As Kennedy himself remarked at the time, “I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war—and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.”

Kennedy’s remarkable oration was given just months after the Cuban Missile Crisis and at a time when the world was readying itself for a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. It is all the more urgent that we revisit Kennedy’s momentous words as we are today teetering on the brink of a nuclear war with Russia. This time, however, the belligerent parties are not the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact they are the United States and NATO.

On June 7th, Salim Mansur, professor emeritus at the University of Western Ontario published an article on Substack called “Blessed are the peacemakers: Recalling JFK.” In it, he brings into context our current predicament with Russia and likens it to those dramatic events of 60 years ago.

In this conversation Salim and Robert Vaughan review Kennedy’s presentation in the hope that some might remember that no matter what issue of the day has political favor they all pale in comparison to the very real threat of a World War between powers who both possess nuclear weapons and that there are wise words from the past which offer up a solution to such madness.

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818 – DemocraZy—the politics of the Left

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Jul 062023

Democracy and freedom of speech go hand in hand. Yet today, those preaching “democracy” the loudest are busy legislating censorship and state regulations against freedom of expression.

Canada has recently passed Bill C-18, the Online News Act, yet another nail in the legislated coffin of free speech in that country. The Act is designed to extort funds from social media platforms that feature Canadian news reports, and to distribute that money to state favored Canadian news propaganda outlets.

In response, Facebook and others chose to eliminate all Canadian news content from their platforms entirely. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then announced that it was “extremely disappointing to see that Facebook continues to refuse to accepts its responsibility towards our democracies by refusing to pay the fair share for Canadians to get local news and independent, rigorous journalistic content.”

For Trudeau and the Left, a government enforced “responsibility towards our democracies” is also their official cause cited for everything from mandated lockdowns and vaccinations to fighting climate change and waging war against Russia.

More ominously, the Canadian government is planning to introduce an Online Safety Act allowing it to jail and/or fine those it considers guilty of disseminating “hate speech” or of spreading “misinformation” or “disinformation.” This is ironic, given that the Trudeau government itself routinely does these things as a matter of course.

For the Left, these terms are epistemological weapons used to justify the censorship of those who disagree with them. That’s why those who accuse others of hate speech are always those who “hate speech” that is Just Right.

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817 – Still singing in the reign (of tyranny) – just music that’s Just Right

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Jun 292023

As this year’s Canada Day (July 1) and Independence Day (July 4) approach, it is a tragedy that the freedoms once associated with these celebrations of nationhood no longer exist.

Canadians and Americans alike have found themselves living in a reign of tyranny – justified by fighting Covid and climate change, transgender ideology, racism, identity politics and a whole host of make-believe crisis’ created to hide the real crisis of tyranny itself.

One traditional way to protest tyranny has been to celebrate freedom through music and entertainment. We first featured our own sampling of voices “singing in the reign (of tyranny)” at the end of 2021; it is now mid 2023 and that tyranny still continues to reign.

Therefore in continuing the spirit of both protest and celebration, we are pleased to shower you with our second broadcast entirely dedicated to musical selections where the artists not only have something to “play” but something to “say” about the zeitgeist in which we live.

What better way to celebrate each country’s national heritage – of freedom – than with more music that’s Just Right.

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