You're so cute, Justin Trudeau

One of the things I liked about Ignatieff was his take on nationalism and Quebec. Long story short: there's a difference between a state and a nation. Canada's a state, with many nations inside of it. An anglo nation, a french nation, an aboriginal nation... You get the idea.

Now, as nationalism theory goes, that's pretty standard. Most scholars just take it for granted.

But not Justin Trudeau. Justin, son of Pierre Elliott, had this to say when asked what about Quebec nationalism: nationalism is "based on a smallness of thought."

Now, Trudeau's chestnut locks certainly entitle him to his opinion, and his pedigree guarantees a degree of media coverage. However, I'm not as sure that the boy's prognostications on matters of academic and sociological theory ought to be weighted equal to a human rights scholar, given that the formers experience in the matter stems from research pertaining to his Masters thesis in Geography.

Alas, it's gotten quite a bit of play in the media. There have been retorts, such as Alfred Apps cogent arguments--couched within an 11000 word tome--in favour of the Ignatieff position supporting a multi-national Canada. And the Prime Minister's actions intended to undercut the upcoming Bloc motion have taken most of the wind out of the debate.

Still, the whole thing annoys me. The fact that people equate "nation" and "state" annoys me. What gets to me even more than that conflation is the fact that people insist that the two words "effectively mean the same thing in English". Well, really they don't. People just think they do. And what would you rather have: politicians who make policy based on the misconceptions of the public? Or rather on the actual meanings of terms?

See what you've done, Justin Trudeau? You've forced me to pen a political rant! And be slightly alliterative!

Oh, I'm sorry, Justin. I can't stay mad at you. Every time my icy heart gets close, it's melted by your radiant curls.

Also: Booyah.