Is it in the genes?

I was thinking about something my friend Fiona said. I can't remember where she heard, saw, or read this, but some research seemed to suggest that one's political leanings are genetically determined, that is, no amount of reason, facts, argument will sway someone who is predisposed genetically to be either conservative or liberal, right- or left-leaning. That may be true, but when there is no real alternative on the left to vote for as in the Americans' last election, then what?

That comment does not come from any sense of Canadian superiority, mind! Everybody is so afraid of being anything but middle-of-the-road, that even our NDP nearly turn themselves inside out trying to appeal to the "middle-of-the-road" voter. To me it seems discussions, the media, the conversations have all been co-opted by the interests of big business. I'm afraid most Canadian voters are just unwitting pawns in their game. After all, what access do we actually have to any facts? For example, the boards of most of our tax-supported hospitals hold the important parts of their meetings "in camera", because presumably, the ordinary citizen can't be expected to grasp the issues, and the ordinary citizen's opinions would just bog things down. The more secrecy there is the more suspicious I get, personally.

This article by Emily Yoffe in Slate, about sleeping with your animals gave me a great laugh! Sometimes, when I see the disgusting habits dogs have, I'm not sure why anyone would want to allow pets anywhere near them.

But then I remembered a theory about allergies, and auto-immune diseases like Crohns. The theory was that in countries where certain parasites are endemic, auto-immune diseases are rare, this having something to do with the immune system having something real to contend with, vs the neuroses of our society with its anti-bacterial fetish?? I know, I know, I'm putting it in my own words, but you get the idea.

I think we allow ourselves to be victims of another advertizing gimmick when we must buy the antiseptic, antibacterial. Somebody said to me they noticed much less glib advertising on even the packaging of ordinary things like toothpaste in England vs our Canadian packaging. There the packaging is straight-forward: "Toothpaste" with perhaps instructions on how to use the product. Here, the toothpaste is "NEW" "Improved" "Whitening" "Cavity-fighting" "Recommended by 2 out of 3 dentists..." I have no idea if that is true. But I have noticed the British and other magazines we get here look quite different, even if it is the same parent-magazine.

The vegetable garden looks terrible. I have half of it cleaned up. The tomato-poles were knocked about by the wind and the vines on them are wilted and grey, red and yellow tomatoes still hanging on some of them, and some tomatoes knocked onto the ground. They look like some alien blob-creatures.

Early each morning, before the sun gets a bit warmer, there is a delicate blanket of sparkling frost on the surface and edges of the dry leaves on the ground, on the blades of grass. The grass is just frozen, so that it crunches under the feet. It reminds me of poetry by Lampman.

I have always liked to read certain poems over and over again. Then there was the day in grade school when little competitive me discovered that while I had been dallying about in poetry, the "List of Books They had Read During Library Period" belonging to some of the other kids in my class was onto a second page. I had not been worried about my ability to read before that, my list already reaching nearly to the bottom of a whole page! That put a crimp in my poetry reading for a while. I had Books to read, a List to add to, or die! As a pedagogical device, I have a problem with a competition to get kids reading.

Current Mood: contemplative

Current Music: Tulku: Ghost Dance