Thoughts on Referendum Day 2026 1. I will see this Day as a hinge of history, not because I think any vote will be decisive. Rather, it will mark the last regional protest against the coming post-national order. 2. I think historians will look back and see the decadence of the aging retiree class, the incumbent political class, and the internationalist business class as forsaking their children in favor of their class being vindicated, secured and heeded. 3. I think that the collapse of the Conservative movement in Canada has been the most surprising thing to see in this campaign. Harper's endorsement of Carney, the federal Conservatives active campaigning for Liberal Prime Minister, and the "separatist" Premier Smith giving up all of her provincial leverage in order to get some paper promises, desperate for crumbs from the federal table. Smith's actions, and those of the federal Conservatives are viewed as a major betrayal of their western base. 4. The "uneven weights and measures" of the campaign have been vivid for anyone to notice. The Lukaszuk campaign against the independence choice, was permitted to continue without following any of the campaign rules for third party advertisers (TPA's). Meanwhile the small band of merry warriors on the Independence side were headshy with concern for audits and accounting for their TPA's. "Rules for thee, etc" 5. Never in my lifetime have I seen the full court press of media, all politicians, the courts, and conglomerate businesses to oppose the self-determination of a people in Canada. The co-ordination has been epic, with at times, shades of Mao. Meanwhile, Louis Riel is a hero, and Indigenous bands are "first nations". 6. I am dumbfounded by the lack of resistance, or even critical analysis of the Prime Minister's aim to have Canada join the European Union. It is by definition, a post-national decision, while the Prime Minister campaigns against Alberta self-determination on a platform of nationalism. Nationalism leading to Post-nationalism does not sound like fidelity to the citizens of the nation. 7. The exhaustion of civilization in the West is illustrated by the gasping (but unintelligible) grip on the nostalgia of stability, rather than the exertion needed to honestly grapple with doing something new. Arrogance in wanting control, but not wanting to lift a finger to help, echoes the indictment directed at the Pharisees by Jesus, 'They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.'Mt 23.4. 8. A positive feature of this moment has been the willingness of many people to be stigmatized for desiring a better future on better terms. To fly the blue bore a public cost. To fly the nation-state flag cost nothing. Many made their choice on either side with thoughtful deliberation and they are to be respected. Others chose safety merely because the tall poppy will be cut down. This latter motive is not a good sign for society. 9. I have been deeply grieved to see professing "Christians" demoralize, stigmatize and shame simple Christians who want change for the better, believe in prayer, and want to offer a better life for their families. The fact that these simple Christians were shamed by the political class Conservatives (!) illustrates what Jesus said, "a person's enemies will be those of his own household."Mt 10:36. 10. I am just as confident in the vigor and victory of the kingdom of Christ today than I was yesterday, and I will have the same confidence tomorrow d.v."Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run" (Watts)