The Sour Grapevine

Andrew Scheer has dual citizenship.  So what? When I heard the "breaking news" that Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party, and potentially Canada's next Prime Minister in a couple of weeks from now, held dual citizenship, I thought, "big deal; so what?"  We're not like those Americans obsessed with national homogeneity:  obsessed with President Trump's (aka Drumpf) being German, or obsessed with President Obama's birth certificate and Kenyan father, or obsessed with presidential-hopeful Senator Ted Cruz being born in Canada.  We believe in the Canadian multicultural mosaic in contrast to the assimilation of the  American melting pot . Dual citizenship versus hypocrisy I disagree with Andrew Coyne who finds dual citizenship--not the blatant hypocrisy--to be the essence of the problem .  I would go so far as to claim that dual citizens are a net gain for Canada, making us a hub of international networks beneficial to our nation

Why is blackface wrong? Blackface is wrong.  But it's not  prima facia , at-face-value wrong.  (The pun is intended and meaningful.)  There is nothing inherently immoral about blackening your face.  It's not like theft or rape or murder.  It is wrong because of its historical context; specifically, within American history and culture, a white actor using the pseudonym Jim Crow  performed in minstrel shows in the 1830s portraying " blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual, and prone to thievery and cowardice ."  That taint of racist intention has remained with the practice for almost two centuries. Teaching American literature When I taught American literature, I typically invited students to produce a "creative assignment" of their own choosing which reflected the content of the course.  In this context, one of my students--an intelligent, cooperative, engaged, well-intentioned student--surprised me and the class with a one-man performan