Alberta
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A Sovereign Alberta Within a United Canada? When Political Language Conceals More Than It Says.
Political language does more than decorate policy. It helps citizens understand what kind of world they are being asked to inhabit. When language clarifies, citizens can judge. When language blurs, citizens may still feel oriented, but the orientation is emotional before it is truthful. They know where they are supposed to stand before they know… Continue reading
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The Political Stakes of Authenticity
Quebec sovereignty in the 1990s drew much of its force from language, culture, historical memory, and the desire for collective recognition. Even at the point of possible rupture, the language still carried the question of relationship. Alberta separatism, by contrast, often speaks in the register of release. Continue reading
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A Letter to Western Canadian Readers: On Power, Separation, and the Cost of Exit
When separatism is framed as leverage (“do this or we leave”) it signals a shift away from persuasion and toward coercion. It treats political relationships not as shared projects to be renewed, but as transactional arrangements to be threatened. Continue reading
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Beyond Mastery: Grounded Human Power
The choice between domination and cooperation is therefore not merely political or organizational. It is existential. How we exercise power shapes who we become. Leverage secures obedience but hollows identity. Cooperation demands patience and humility, but it produces belonging. Continue reading
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Alberta Can’t Follow Through
“You call for freedom, yet chain yourself fast, A restless spirit, but bound to your past.” Continue reading
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Alberta Election 2023: the Elephants in the Room
The UCP will keep ignoring the elephants in the room. The smoke is out of sight because it rained, but we better understand that it is going to come back worse. Continue reading
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Elections and a Pragmatic Swing
I am a political pragmatist and for good reason. There is a perfect storm of historical factors that presses a pragmatic political orientation upon us. Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 