‘Is this really the sort of man you want running our country?’

I remember watching American political attack advertisements and thinking 'I'm glad Canadians are too sensible and mature to be swayed by this type of rhetoric.' My national pride swelled three sizes that day. Today, that seems like a distant, fond memory. In this latest election, the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties are smearing their opponents with ads that use the same insincere concerned tone as the American ones do.

I wish that the ads were the only ridiculous aspect to this latest election. The promises that the candidates are pledging make CBC's The Current April Fool's day joke candidate seem sensible, and he vowed to pass a by-law that fined anybody under 45 who didn't give up their seat to the elderly. All of the parties are promising individual, short term financial rewards. The problem with this strategy is that each individual citizen doesn't receive enough money to make a difference in their lives, but the total program will require a huge sum of money, money that would be a lot more useful if it was spent in a lump sum. The Liberals promise to give every university student $1000-$1500. With rapidly growing tuition prices, I would be paying more with the refund this year than I did without the refund in my first year. The marginally reduced tuition fee will be just as prohibitive to students planning on entering university as the full fee is. It would be nice for students who are already financially able to go to university to have an extra $1000 every yea, but nice little perks like this should be reserved for boom time elections. If the Liberals truly wanted to make a difference, they would promise to establish more bursaries and scholarships directed to students who can't afford the high cost of tuition. The Conservatives plan to eliminate mandatory retirement in federally regulated workplaces. I'm sure that this promise was made with the keen awareness that Canada's elderly demographic is disproportionately large. This isn't in the best interests of Canada, however. While it is true that such a large retired population will cost millions of tax dollars to support, forcing them to retire will create thousands of jobs for younger Canadians. It is unfair that recent university graduates are forced to work poorly paying fast food jobs because the elderly wish to continue working for longer than they are capable. New employees will enter the work force with skills that weren't taught to the older workers and the elderly will receive a well-earned rest. The New Democrats wish to cap credit card fees. While I agree that spending money is important to stimulate the economy, this change will only cause Canadians to spend more money that they don't have. In a country where consumer debt is already a problem, the last thing we need is for more of our income to be eaten away by credit card fees.

Of course, the political parties aren't really to blame for this type of campaign. With a steadily dropping voter turnout rate, it makes sense that politicians are trying to engage Canadians with exciting (if deplorable and misleading) advertisements and individualized rewards. This mockery of the democratic process is perfectly appropriate in a country where 42% of voting aged adults don't seem to care care who is running their country.

http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=turn&document=index&lang=e

http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=turn&document=index&lang=e

My Guilty Pleasure

On a snowy winter day in December 2010, I discovered a television programme that would forever change the way that my peers evaluate me. When I logged onto the MTV internet video player, I never intended to find a television series that would become my primary tool of procrastination for my final semester of my bachelor's degree. Being the curious scholar that I was, I simply wanted to learn what all the fuss was about. That is how I became a fan of The Jersey Shore.

I am not proud of the hours I have spent (and will spend- one more season!) watching muscular orange people beat up beats. I completely admit that watching Ronnie and Sammy break up for the tenth time in three weeks hasn't helped me grow as a person. I know that watching a woman with breasts that defy gravity pee behind an unused bar counter isn't as sophisticated as an hour at the museum of natural history. Even so, I am surprised at the reaction I get when I tell my acquaintances that I enjoy watching The Jersey Shore.

The reactions I usually receive involve groans, the heels of palms being smacked against foreheads, 'Teea, why's?' or some combination of those elements. A CollegeHumor.com Venn diagram comparing babies, idiots, and stoners informs me that idiots like the Jersey Shore. I will forever be lumped in with dumb girls who like little dogs and hair bleach.

I must say that, for the record I do not believe that bleached blond women with teacup poodles are stupid, only that many of Edmonton's educated seem to automatically write off the intelligence of people who have these interests. Liking The Jersey Shore doesn't make a person more or less intelligent.

Don't get me wrong, I know that there are much better uses of my spare time. However, I choose to use my preciously few vacant hours to take a break from my life as an academic. I believe that is what most university students do. When I can't concentrate on writing my ancient civilizations paper, I don't want to watch a discovery channel programme on the engineering of the pyramids. After I memorize the designs of every flying buttress and every rose window in every French Gothic cathedral, I don't want to go to the art gallery to see sculptures that some painter left in a bar to melt in a fire. After I endure Cicero's thirteenth repetition of a mostly irrelevant point, I don't want to pick up a philosophy magazine and read about the trendiest theory on consciousness. I enjoy the content I am exposed to in all of my courses, but as Cicero and any good Roman would tell you, moderation is important for a well lived life.

If somebody actually spent all of their free time engaged in such worthy pursuits, I wouldn't fault them for calling me an idiot, but in my experience, this isn't what the average university student does with his spare time. At least, the diversions of my Jersey Shore hating friends aren't any more sophisticated. They include: drinking themselves stupid, watching fan renditions of death battles that match up unlikely video game characters, and listening to parodies of Rebecca Black's Friday. Their knowledge of which Teenaged Mutant Ninja turtle would triumph over the others won't expand their horizons any more than my knowledge of the pre-bar ritual of gym, tanning, and laundry has expanded mine. In fact, The Jersey Shore has taught me something practical here, namely how to be fresh and bring mad pick-up game, whereas their knowledge of which Teenaged Mutant ninja turtle would win in a fight is completely useless because turtles can't actually use nun-chucks.

The truth is that in my spare time, I'm looking for something more than a distraction from academia. When I have a dull and repetitive full time job, I will most likely turn to academic pass times to fill the new void in my life. Right now, I like watching eight oompa-loompas get drunk in public and bring strangers home because it reminds me that even thirty year olds who live with their parents and have no career prospects to speak of can enjoy their lives. Jersey shore reminds me that happiness is about perspective, and for somebody who is graduating University with a useless degree, an uncertain future, and no job offers, perspective is something that is sorely lacking. Until The Jersey Shore influences become a tanorexic binge drinker, I really don't believe that my peers can hold my love of the show against me.