It's the dog days of August, the time of year when the last thing Canadians want to think about is politics.
Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff could mud wrestle in front of Parliament Hill and our collective national reaction would likely be: Please pass the sunscreen.
We just want to tune out reality and enjoy what's left of our short-lived summer.
And that's entirely normal. It's even a good thing.
After all, it just means we are lucky enough to live in a country where we can relax at the cottage, confident in the knowledge that ours is a stable, free and democratic society.
Of course, this is not the norm. The majority of people on the planet, in fact, live in societies that are unstable or undemocratic or far from free.
That's the bad news. The good news is organizations exist which are trying to change this sorry state of affairs, organizations like the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
An American-based group, Atlas is dedicated to supporting and encouraging, on a world-wide basis, institutions and individuals espousing the values of "free markets, limited government and the rule of law."
The group does especially important work in helping to promote freedom in places with no tradition of private property rights or entrepreneurialism or capitalism -- places, in other words, where Jack Layton and NDP would fit right in.
SHARING IDEAS
I know all about Atlas because I recently attended a conference the group held here in Canada, a conference which brought together economists, free-market think-tank executives and academics from across the globe for the purpose of sharing ideas and experiences.
Although not an academic or think-tank-type person myself, I like to attend such intellectual conferences in the hopes that I can learn enough to at least pretend I know what I'm talking about when discussing economic and political philosophy.
At this particular conference I had the pleasure to meet an amazing group of young people from countries like Turkey, Tanzania, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and other places I can't pronounce, let alone spell.
Atlas had brought these people to North America to teach them how to create and operate pro-free market institutions so they can go back to their homelands and spread the ideals of liberty.
In Atlas circles they are called "intellectual entrepreneurs"; I like to call them heroes.
It's hard enough fighting to promote the principles of free enterprise in a country like Canada, just imagine how much more difficult it would be to do so in a place like Afghanistan.
Sometimes standing up for freedom takes real courage.
And meeting these courageous individuals and learning about their struggles, reminded me that freedom is both a precious and fragile commodity.
Nothing guarantees the freedoms we Canadians enjoy will be forever safe. As former U.S. president Ronald Reagan once said "freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."
That's why I left the Atlas conference more inspired than ever to promote freedom in this country and to oppose those who would erode my individual rights.
And that's exactly what I will do -- just as soon as the dog days of August are over.
Anybody see my sunscreen?
-- Nicholls is a freelance writer and political consultant
