From The Globe and Mail, April 23: Letters to the editor
Conservatives understand human nature better than liberals do (What Liberals Can Learn From Conservatives – April 21)? What conservatives understand better is human fear. That’s made amply clear south of the border.
But even in Canada, fan that fear the right way and you can build a political dynasty based on secrecy and control, you can justify huge expenditures on prison systems, you can sacrifice the environment for the sake of economic security, and you can take the axe to indulgences such as culture, scientific research, food safety and support for the more vulnerable among us: the young, the poor, the elderly.
The real challenge the liberals face is how to disarm the rhetoric of fear and appeal to our better human nature.
Philip Shepherd, Toronto
