A Lament for a Nation: then and now. Ron Dart, 2015, New York. American Anglican Press
A Review by Henk Smidstra
In
this little book of 38 pages, Author Ron Dart explicates important
Canadian political philosophical issues as he leads us through the
events and ideas contained in George Grant’s pivotal book,
Lament for a Nation, originally
written in 1965. Perhaps Dart’s contribution could be called: “
Dart’s Notes”
on George Grant’s important book, a work acknowledged being a
masterpiece of Canadian political theory. Dart provides us with timely,
much needed, insights and perspectives on Canadian political history and
philosophy, which not only help our understanding as we read, or
reread, George Grant’s book, but the booklet of itself sketches the
groundwork of an alternative philosophical path for us as we ponder our
political choices this election year amidst the din of political
rhetoric and spectacle of absurd attack adds. “It is my hope,” Dart
writes in his
Preface, “that this little book will highlight the perennial significance of
Lament, both when it was published in 1965 and for 2015 and beyond….”
The
body of the booklet contains four essays relevant to disclosing the
main points of Grant’s reflections on the political philosophical
situation of his time. There is repetition and overlap in the essays,
but in each Dart explores different aspects and perspectives, of the
political historical context, and of the political philosophical
context. As well, Dart compares Grant’s affinities and differences with
others such as Ernest Manning and Alan Ginsberg who were also writing
and critiquing liberalism at that time. Dart writes passionately but
plainly about a topic familiar to him. He has thought about the topics
at hand deeply and has put much work into them before, namely, the
concern about the waning of Canadian Nationalism and the rise of
American liberalism. From our cultural political situation in 2015, one
might wonder how a book written fifty years ago can still be relevant
to Canadians.