Once again Canadian political cartoonist Michael de Adder nails it with his take on Canadian Prime Minister wooing the European Union, much to the chagrin of the jilted President of the United States. I repeat myself in saying that cartoonists are often the prophets of our age, speaking truth to power.
PM Mark was slyly eloquent in his address, pointing out that there are other fish in the sea of trade agreements, and those fish have better manners. The EU wants to shake up the status quo by including Canada, although we're not exactly sure what being the first "associate member" means. To use Hebrew Scripture language, does this make us the most important concubine without being married?
I was curious about the possibility of Canada now being able to participate in Erasmus+, the EU's program to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It has an annual budget of roughly $42 billion CAD so this would be an impressive inclusion for Canadians.
Erasmus of Rotterdam
What intrigues me is the source of the name of the program which none of the descriptions mention. Being a theological history nerd I did some looking and, sure enough, it does refer to Erasmus of Rotterdam, the 15th/16th century theologian, philosopher and humanist. Erasmus was one of the most influential scholars of the Northern Renaissance and a major figure of Western culture. He understood the need for reform in a Roman Catholic church yet resisted the radical direction of reformers such as Martin Luther.
It's ironic that in a time when Christianity is in serious decline in Europe, and Canada as well, that a coveted educational program is named after one of the most prominent Christians figures of his time.
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