Denise Bombardier wrote a column at the Duty for nearly 12 years. A look back at his key texts published between 2001 and 2012. By Dave Noël.
On the resignation of Lucien Bouchard, January 13, 2001
“The Prime Minister who hoped to achieve collective overcoming through politics therefore lived in disappointment. But paradoxically, its management was in the eyes of many effective and realistic. But Lucien Bouchard certainly did not dream of becoming the implacable mastermind of cuts to education, health and culture. »
On the French language, February 10, 2001
“Is there a corner of the world where there is greater suspicion around the way of speaking French than in Quebec? In the still recent past, a young man who expressed himself with correction was called a fifi, and a girl, a snobby. Like what the sexual obsession and the class reflex sometimes follow unpredictable shortcuts. »
On Rites of Passage, March 23, 2002
“Death, this absolute mystery, commands a discourse, a behavior and, we would even say, a dress code that no longer seems to be necessary. In the eyes of many, uniformity in all circumstances, that is to say familiarity in language, gestures and attitudes, has become the rule. »
On old age, April 17, 2004
“When facial wrinkles, these signatures of the happiness and misfortunes of a life, are experienced as not only a personal but also a social defect, there is cause for discouragement. When the disease is interpreted not only as a physical weakness, of course, but also as a weakness of character or a lack of will, there is much to cry about. »
On the coronations, September 18, 2004
“In a quarter of a century, everything has changed, and both swearing and swearing now serve as subjects, verbs, complements, adverbs and conjunctions. In the wake of the fight for gender equality, women have freed themselves from these language taboos and “squeal” and “squeal” all day long. »
On raising children, September 10, 2005
“For a child to live his childhood, adults have the responsibility to respect his territory, but the reverse is also true. All these fashions and these supposed new pedagogies which shatter generational distances and age differences, which tend to level psychological development, often result in the child’s inability to define himself and to circumscribe the limits that it should not exceed. »
On love, February 18, 2006
“Loving over time also presupposes the ability to live together in silence. The happiness of being silent together, this state of comfort where everyone returns to their own meditation, this sublime way of loving should be offered as an ideal accessible to all candidates for a common love life. To speak only from the heart, to shudder when hearing the breath of the other, to be moved by his so familiar smell, to vibrate at his gaze after thousands of times placed on oneself, this is the story of the love that we must also tell our children and our grandchildren. »
On nationalism, November 11, 2006
“I belong to the generation that voluntarily and enthusiastically abandoned the term “French-Canadian” for the more inclusive term “Quebecoise”. But the nationalism of the time, which we wanted to free from the religious and folkloric dross of yesteryear, justified the political demands, whether it was a question of a particular status, or the recognition of the distinct society in the Constitution. Canadian, or independence. »
On immigration, September 8, 2007
“Those who were born in a country built by their ancestors do not have to see themselves as a newcomer so that those who arrive do not feel like foreigners. Openness to others, to hear some, would pass through the shame of self-affirmation and a feeling of guilt because of the crimes committed by those who belonged to the West. Whites are neither better nor worse than Yellows, Blacks, Browns or Greens. »
On feminism and religion, May 16, 2009
“A certain feminist discourse often suggests, subconsciously perhaps, that any action by a woman must be sheltered from criticism. There is a form of infantilization of the woman who does not say her name. These veiled women who claim to be veiled under the pretext of religion are fighters who have understood two defining features of our culture: guilt and soft tolerance. So they use it shamelessly. »
On retirement, September 15, 2012
“At what age should you return to your quarters? By what criteria would the former politicians, the journalists of canonical age, the intellectuals who contributed to make us think in the past be surpassed? There is a form of solicitation in making young people believe that we are like them when decades of history, experiences, disenchantments and hopes separate us.