Stephen Harper was not the worst person ever > A retroactive look at the former prime minister Cazzy Lewchuk Interim Opinions Editor ee Harper finally left his position as a back-bencher MP a few weeks ago, much to the delight of millions of Canadians. Election results last year made it clear that many Canadians have had enough of him and the Conservative Party, and most likely Canada will be better off without his influence. During election seasons— and amid his time in office— there was a huge tendency by opponents to demonize Harper. For many, he was by far the worst prime minister of all time, and a purely evil racist, oppressive dictator dedicated to turning Canada into a fascist regime. Simply mentioning his name is enough to rile up bleeding- heart liberals in many parts of the country, who regard him as a complete embarrassment, and his administration a shameful part of the country’s history. I’m not a Harper fan—I never voted for him or overly supported his policies. But by no means was he the worst person ever, or totally evil, even. He served as our country’s leader—representing us at world leader gatherings, and speaking on matters of national importance—for almost 10 years. Throughout most of this time, he was a competent, reasonable, effective, and respectable leader. One can absolutely criticize Harper and the rest of the Conservative government’s policies and platforms related to economic or social issues of the time. This is particularly true after the 2011 election, with the majority government that allowed Conservatives to delay progress and change in Canadian society for so many people. A lot of the Harper hate didn’t truly start until after this time—he was begrudgingly respected, if not admired, before all hell really broke loose. It wasn't an administration that I was proud of policy-wise, but I’m not ashamed to have Stephen Harper be my country’s leader for 10 years. Like any political leader, criticism of his policies and decisions deserves a proper (and long) discussion. But he was competent, and at times even effective in keeping Canada afloat for a decade, and he deserves the proper respect and praise we would give any other leader. He may not have been as handsome, progressive, or friendly as our new leader— but he was no Adolf Hitler, either. In many issues, Harper was actually moderate and effective in controlling the Conservative party—such as in hot-button social issues like abortion and gay marriage. He himself had personal objections to these issues, but controlled the party from attempting to change them, understanding the political ramifications. In many ways, Harper did what should be the job of all leaders: Formulating a plan in consistency with the party, yet understanding objections and negotiations from the opposing side. When you look at our neighbours to the south, and some of the crazy, incompetent people they choose for their politics, Stephen Harper appears that much better. He was a flawed, status-quo politician who was re-elected three times and led a G7 country fora turbulent decade. One must give credit where credit is due and acknowledge accomplishments of all major politicians—even if there is some personal, residual anger aimed towards them. Facebook needs to chill out on the guilt- driven social justice videos > Provocative posts and problematic pettiness Cazzy Lewchuk Interim Opinions Editor S ocial justice is a very important issue that almost everyone should care more about and devote more time to. Helping the marginalized in our society and acknowledging the structures of privilege, patriarchy, and economic inequality that dominate our culture goes a long way towards making the world a better place. The conversation showing the absolute worst of humanity. Stories of sexual assault, miscarriages of justice, racist incidents, tragedies befalling refugees, and many other hot-button, controversial issues crowd our social media feeds. Facebook has admitted to deliberately changing the algorithm so that sensitive, inflammatory posts are more likely to be seen by users. Issues that are divisive and extreme on both sides of the spectrum now needs to be had, dominate and addressing our feeds, difficult topics causing is essential anger and to actually The horrible things tension. changing ; The anything. in the world have posts are With all p almost that said, the complicated causes. always ways social shocking, justice issues and can are depicted be fear- on Facebook mongering, are enough to make me never want to advocate—or care about—any issue ever again. Daily, I see enough provocative images, videos, and posts depressing, or shaming. They are often graphic, brief, and biased in their nature. They exist to get us talking about important issues, but are presented in a way that may not give all the facts of a situation, be out of context, or even be deliberately misleading. Facebook is now a place to go if you didn’t feel depressed or angry enough about the many problems of the world today. The conversations need to be had, but there is sucha thing as an oversaturation of serious topics. Doom-and-gloom seems to be a never-ending trend in 2016, and Facebook is a big part of the problem. It’s not just that the information presented is upsetting and provocative. In many cases, it’s misinformation, or it’s skewed to fit a certain perception. The horrible things in the world have complicated causes, and they cannot be boiled down to a couple of paragraphs posted on social media. Sure, ISIS beheads children, and it’s actually one of the worst things in the world—but their reasons for flourishing and spreading these actions go far beyond any outrage your friend has with the situation. All of us can use a little more privilege-checking and awareness that Bad Things are happening in the wider world. We can also use proper education and reality checks for what can be controlled by us, and how we can actually help. We can’t solve all the problems of the world, Image via wikipedia commons Image via thinkstock and we shouldn't be expected to feel burdened by them every time we log on. We can be advocates, and we can be informed citizens—but it doesn’t mean we have to turn our Facebook feeds into cesspools of misery.