Grant A. Brown has a DPhil in political philosophy from Oxford University and an LL.B. from the University of Alberta. Now retired, his career includes teaching at the University of Lethbridge, practicing law in Edmonton, and running a B&B in Stratford, Ontario. He returned to Alberta in 2022 to support Alberta independence.In the 1979 film "Being There," Peter Sellers plays a simple-minded, middle-aged man who has been raised from birth by a maid-servant inside the home of a wealthy lawyer. The child was called Chance because of the mysterious origins of his birth. Chance has no knowledge of the outside world except for what he has seen on television, which he watches obsessively. His sole occupation at the lawyer's residence is tending to the garden. When his employer dies, the estate's lawyers require him to vacate the premises. He picks out a well-tailored suit from the lawyer's closet, packs a suitcase, and begins to wander the streets. Unaccustomed to dealing with crowds and traffic, Chance steps off a sidewalk and is knocked down by a limousine carrying the wife of a bedridden businessman, who happens to be a confidant to the President. The wife insists that Chance accompany her home to be attended by her husband's doctor. When asked for his name, he replies, "Chance, the gardener," which is misheard as Chauncey Gardiner. Based on his clothing and name, everyone assumes that he is an educated man who has fallen on hard times. The President's advisor takes a shine to him and invites him to stay at his home for a while.At a soiree the following day, a conversation ensues about politics and the economy. When asked for his opinion about "stimulating growth," Chance responds, "As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden." This is interpreted as a cryptic but profound forecast, and the President is pleased. Chance is welcomed into the close circles of the Presidency, and onto TV talk shows, where he delivers a series of what continue to be interpreted as cryptic but profound prognoses, phrased in gardening terms. The maid who raised Chance sees one of Chance's TV appearances and recognizes it as all nonsense. .The other day, Mark Carney auditioned for the role of Canada's very own Chauncey Gardiner, the idiot gardener who was mistaken for an “Economic Genius.” At an irrelevant tree planting ceremony back in his "home country," he boasted about being a gardener, then proceeded to plant an Irish oak sapling in the black plastic pail it was transported in from the arborist. "If the roots are constricted, it will not flourish," someone watching was overheard whispering. "He's doing to that poor tree what he has done to Canada's economy." .Carney's cluelessness about gardening and the economy isn't a product of being raised in isolation, only watching TV like Chance the gardener. It is a product of a different kind of isolationism: having been educated in ivory towers and insulated from the real world by circulating among the wealthy, the connected, and the administrative class his entire adult life. This episode is a near-perfect example of life imitating art.In other developments, I'm currently working on a rewrite of a Shakespearean play, which I call "The Merchant of Menace." It features Jason Kenney in the leading role. In the climactic scene, speaking to Alberta independence supporters as a Canadian federalist, Kenny implores, "If you prick us, do we not bleed? We shall have our pound of flesh!" Portia, played by our greatest actress Danielle Smith, in turn, begins to wonder whether the quality of cooperation really is strained. Are Canadians nice, agreeable folks who will be merciful to Alberta if we continue to ask politely long enough, or are they vengeful jerks who will harm themselves and Albertans out of spite? Stay tuned; a "Romeo and Juliet" style ending for these two is in the works... Grant A. Brown has a DPhil in political philosophy from Oxford University and an LL.B. from the University of Alberta. Now retired, his career includes teaching at the University of Lethbridge, practicing law in Edmonton, and running a B&B in Stratford, Ontario. He returned to Alberta in 2022 to support Alberta independence.
