Article content A western farmer comes home one afternoon to discover that a hailstorm has destroyed his crop, his farmhouse has been struck by lightning, his wife has run off with his brand-new truck, and his dog has had a close encounter with a skunk. He shakes his fist at the sky, and shouts, “God damn the CPR!” Aside from what that old joke might imply about the Canadian Pacific Railway and certainly not to target agriculturalists, it reflects a trait fuelling Alberta polarization: the blame game. Instead of taking personal responsibility, the now common reaction of many is to locate a person or entity or political party to blame, and then yell, demonize and disobey, as if posturing will relieve the situation at hand. The effect is to escalate disaffection and goad extreme ideological valences.