— Feature, Musings —08.19.2025 09:37 AM
An empathetic drought
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY – Barack Obama called it the “empathy deficit” – which the former U.S. President defined as “being able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes.”
Obama didn’t invent the concept, of course – Jesus Christ did, per Matthew 7:12: “Do to others what you would have them do to you” – but it’s a really important one, politically.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre showed some overdue political empathy on the hustings in Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot by-election, and it paid dividends. He won in landslide on Monday night. Said Poilievre before the vote: “I am a born and bred Albertan, with strong Alberta values.
“As leader, I can take the fight for farmers, oil and gas workers, firearms owners, soldiers, for Albertans to the national stage. That means strong, forceful, representation for the people of Battle River-Crowfoot.”
The social scientists remind us that people develop empathy for other people when – like Poilievre, like people who travel abroad a lot, like people who move from one province to another – they uproot themselves and develop something called “neuroplasticity.” That happens when the human brain literally reorganizes itself through new connections throughout life.
This writer’s neuroplasticity moment happened a few years ago, when I moved to rural Canada (Prince Edward County, PEC) from a lifetime in big cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Dallas, Ottawa). The pandemic was the impetus, but the payoff was almost immediate: “Why didn’t I do this years ago?” I asked my labs, out loud.
PEC is a wonderful, beautiful, amazing place to live, an hour and a bit outside Toronto. But, in the past few months, no small amount of sadness and anxiety have crept in. Drought is the reason.
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Yes, it’s horrible!!! Devastating!!!! I hear it from my family back east, that the hay doesn’t sway like it normally would when you walk through the pasture. It breaks, it’s brittle and dry, and it crumbles and breaks rather than its normal sway. Hard to find enough water for the cattle – streams dried up, ponds like they were never there – it’s absolutely brutal, and devastating!!!!!!
Curious,
But by all means, there is absolutely no need to regulate carbon. They’re fucking morons on their best day in both of the parties.
Yes
Watching pp in a news conference . Boy, they really need a new leader – this guy is a putz
Curious,
You know what your problem is? You have too kind of a heart when describing my leader. LOL.
Carney just dropped his elbows for Orangeman. What did we get? Anyone know? Liberal news outlets say good decision. Ankles up now?
Wink,
Carney caved, pure and simple. And we got nothing in return, the same thing we already had up until now. Without Freeland there to bug the shit out of the Trump asshole, we will continue to get less than nothing. LeBlanc is a walking joke. No one on Trump’s side takes him seriously.
And our illustrious leader of the opposition is even worse: all he’s got is you show me yours and I’ll show you mine. Not a single position on what a CPC government would impose as counter-tariffs, much less maintain as counter-tariffs. Pierre has just joined Justin’s empty suit club. They’re now a trio: Trudeau, Carney and Poilièvre. Pathetic federal so-called leadership. At least it’s reviving the NDP, you know, the party without a leader. Carney continues to blow off progressives with great delight.
What really disgusts me is folks where I grew up denouncing the ban on travel and activity on forested trails – during a drought when any little spark could lead to a disaster. What absolute fools – just like they did during Covid, they’re flouting and attacking the ban on forest activities. Complete ignorance.
Curious,
This will cure the morons: as soon as proof can be found that some numbskull started a wildfire involuntarily, then you fine the bozo 100K, or a year in jail. That should learn ’em.
It scares me as much as it infuriates me that anybody would flour the ban – it’s to mitigate a natural disaster I can’t believe they’d question it – pathetic !!!!
I thought all wildfires were due to climate change.