It’s disheartening that political pundits continue to ignore the political splintering of conservatives has ALWAYS been the radical evangelical religious right asserting dominance. Every fricking time! https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/road-ahead-alberta-conservative-parties-splinter-history-1.5984055

By continuously ignoring the power wielded by religious extremism in Alberta, the public remains in a fog, unable to discern what is happening in provincial and federal politics.

This attempt to normalize jockeying for control of the agenda is discouraging.

Is it lack of familiarity about the Christian right? Or is it the attempt to keep religion and politics separate?

But the effort to normalize what has been happening in Alberta since 1935 is intentional. And that makes me angry and resentful.

But who am I to criticize experts who pontificate political trends in prairie provinces? Just some literate halfbreed who is punching way above her weight level. I’m nobody. I’m a grain of sand on a beach. With no more control to hold back the tide than any other grain of sand.

And therein lies the problem. I’ve never been one to heavily invest in the academic theories of decolonization. Canada was colonized. The future for indigenous people will never again be untouched by Eurocentrism. You can’t remove the milk from the chocolate milk.

Indigenous people have been impacted by colonialist interference. We can’t erase the influence, but we can teach others how that defines us all.

But why am I rambling on about decolonization when I’m trying to criticize political analysis of conservative Alberta politics?

Because herein lies the issue. Experts are only as valuable as the expertise they possess. Considering only traditional aspects of political actions & the influence on politics because of the belief that its the preferred and approved norm is a colonial behaviour and worldview.

The continued practice to exclude influences like religious beliefs, economic privilege and human social behaviour defines the limitations of the framework of political punditry. A holistic/systemic lens is ignored, in favour of Eurocentric compartmentalized (smokestack) model.

We see what we want to see.

That’s made possible by selectively ignoring available data because it’s always been ignored. Religion is faith based belief. Politics and religion shouldn’t mix. Therefore attending only to traditional aspects is maintained to reinforce the norm.

Those who have expertise in one topic completely ignore other topics because of the belief they shouldn’t mix or influence each other.

The problem is, that’s not reality, it’s an ideological belief. Not based on how the world actually functions. It’s Eurocentrism.

Indigenous worldview is based on a holistic lens. It’s more complicated and complex to master. But indigenous peoples across the globe have been doing it for millennia.

The mind is trained to consider all aspects of an issue. Even those that don’t seem directly related.

It’s the understanding that any change in one part of a system has ripple effects across the entire system.

It’s the lens of interconnected ness.

Mainstream calls this systems theory. Many North American indigenous call this the medicine wheel.

Colonial worldview is hierarchical. Experts are seen as the arbiters of knowledge. Those who fall below experts in the hierarchy access knowledge, but they don’t have the authority to judge what is or is not fact. That’s the colonial model.

Indigenous models don’t restrict the establishment of knowledge to the top of the hierarchy. While elders are seen as the holders of knowledge, all can contribute to the accumulation of knowledge. Children, adults and elders. Because every perspective is valued.

So what, we view the world differently.

Well, as an indigenous person, the impact of extremist Christian beliefs, values and policies impact my community more than the mainstream community. But our contribution to expertise is not valued.

Indigenous people are at the bottom of the colonial hierarchy, not on top. Our perspective isn’t on the radar, never mind contributing to the analysis of the problem.

That’s a defect. The system of knowledge acquisition, analysis, interpretation & distribution is faulty.

And that’s why expertise is only as useful as the limitations of the expert.

Pundits refuse to incorporate the influence & impact of religious extremism in modern politics. They incorporate racial bias, homophobia, xenophobia, even misogyny. But faith remains taboo.

But how does one assess and analyze political machinations of Alberta conservatives when only a partial inventory of contributing factors is considered? Some pundits will claim it’s included in the social policy considerations. Those are behaviours, not ideology.

Where do social conservative beliefs come from? Philosophical beliefs inform all political beliefs and behaviours. We know what philosophical beliefs inform progressive policies. But what about conservative philosophies that inform social conservatism, economics, foreign policy?

Where do conservative beliefs fit into politics?

They originate in religious faith. Regardless of the culture. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist. Conservatism originates in religious faith.

Therefore, faith cannot be considered separate from politics.

Like it or not, faith is political. It’s always been political. It’s always been part of politics. Attaching divine preference to a belief makes it difficult to challenge and change. The caveat being, unless it can be openly challenged.

In a holistic worldview, politics and spiritual faith go hand in hand. An individual can’t cut that part of themselves out of a political decision. Our religious faith is intrinsically linked to our political preferences. And open to debate, respectfully.

It’s when faith overtakes critical thinking when balance cannot be achieved.

Problems in Alberta with repeated fracturing of conservative parties has one cause. Radicalized Evangelical Christians, confident in their superiority & privilege, have dominated politics since 1935.

Repeatedly, a subgroup of Christians has battled for dominance, control, provincial & federal power, & made it their priority to install Christian supremacy, authority & privilege to secure their dominance in perpetuity.

Imperialism AKA conservatism.

Why do pundits ignore this?

It’s blatant. Out in the open. From Aberhart & Manning to Kenney and Drew Barnes, politics in Alberta has been controlled by religious zealots dominating the political sphere.

Can we start acknowledging the imperialist wolves wrapped in sheep’s clothing? Please?

I mention this because it’s my community who suffers the most. And white male pundits who suffer the least. Assuming the majority of UCP MLAs who are Dominionist Christian religious zealots and the Dominionist agenda are permitted to remain taboo to discuss.

I have no doubt the authors of this opinion know more about politics than I do. I’m certain their opinion holds more weight in the community.

But I’m also certain I know more about how the evangelical community impacts my community’s existence than either pundit can imagine.

Because the impacts are real for me, not theoretical or abstract, & they’re already being experienced. With limited commentary or consideration from political pundits.

Punditry may be an academic exercise for learned experts, who I’m sure have the best interests of all in mind.

But it is a stark reality for my community. It’s my culture that’s being erased. It’s my existence, prosperity and social acceptance that’s threatened.

Which means experts are incapable, except in abstract, to assess or analyze politics within the limits of their knowledge.

BIPOC people are uniquely qualified to assess & analyze politics from a BIPOC perspective and worldview. We are not the academic experts, but we are the experts on our own experience, especially if we have self awareness & an understanding of systems, politics, & power dynamics.

Funny, I seem to have all three. Not bragging, but I’ve spent a lifetime trying to figure out how I work, how political systems and human behaviour works, and how power is created, manifested and exercised.

I’ve never claimed to be an expert.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t possess knowledge that experts do not.

There is a reason that a diverse team is stronger, more innovative and achieves better results than a homogeneous team. It’s the different perspectives that creates the advantages.

Two middle aged white males can’t be expected to comprehend the experiences of BIPOC people. They have no frame of reference beyond the abstract and do not perceive threat. They see the world through their cultural, political and economic lens. There is nothing wrong with that.

For them. But it’s a serious problem for those most vulnerable to the ever present conservative one party governance model of the last 85 years.

Because real world experience is viewed through multiple worldviews, so should experts’ opinions. But they aren’t. Yet.

And that’s why I wrote this thread. To reveal that multiple (intersectoral) and thorough (holistic) perspectives must inform expertise.

Here’s an example: https://assessments.hpc.tools/attachments/2652d3ae-3f57-476c-b321-a98a19c7be1f/03.HPC_2021-JIAF_Guide.pdf

This is why Critical Race Theory and holistic systems perspectives are such a threat to Imperial power. And why they are the targeted for extinction by religious extremists. Because it’s a serious existential threat to the established colonial system.

Philosophically, imperialism and colonialism cannot exist in an intersectional paradigm.

Until progressives realize the far right is fighting for their existence and dominance in reality, we will continue to be befuddled by the chaos of modern existence.

There is no room in an intersectional paradigm for dominance. Intersectional thinking promotes interdependence, balance, and a holistic worldview.

It eliminates the ability to dominate and to direct privilege to select individuals.

If western civilization adopts an intersectional paradigm, that’s what will alter systemic racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia. It will seriously impede the notion of superiority. There is no superior race, gender, sexuality, nation, or skin colour.

That’s not going to eliminate individuals who cling to formerly dominant philosophical worldviews. But it will disadvantage them politically, economically and socially because the premise of social order in an intersectional paradigm is balance, not dominance.

And that friends is what scares evangelical Christians the most. The loss of their domination over all other peoples and all other belief systems. The loss of the power to accumulate and hoard wealth and advantage/privilege. The ability to consider oneself superior.

Strangely enough, many progressives, irrespective of all their virtue signalling and cancel culture, are just as afraid of losing claim to superiority in ethics, academic expertise and political influence. They’d be forced to acknowledge other belief systems as valid.

Forced to consider how to incorporate various perspectives into their ideology. Marxism would be a hard sell because it only values the proletariat. The elimination of variance and diversity is really the foundation of communist and socialist beliefs. Everybody is equal.

Well, everybody is not equal. My education and imperceptible ethnic heritage gives me current advantages. We can eliminate the advantage of skin colour, but educational attainment will always be an advantage over ignorance. We are all unique. Equal in value, but not ability.

I’ve never understood why communists & socialists want to make everyone equal. Conformity & equity are not synonymous. I don’t need UBI. Someone else may need more than UBI would deliver. But we are both of equal value to society & the totality. All offer diversity.

My point in this long screed...

The current threat to modern civilization are the radicalized extremists among us (religious especially). Because they seek to cement their privileges in perpetuity. And the existential threat provides impetus to fight to the death.