As I was assembling notes on how electing progressive mayors and councillors seems like harmless fun until your city crumbles, news came that Calgary’s water infrastructure had crumbled. What a metaphor for modernity: rainbow crosswalks over busted water mains.

I think a lot of normal people vote for left-wing politicians, including municipally, expecting some annoyingly weird flags, curious neologisms and zany episodes. But they think in return they’ll get a kinder, gentler country, province, state or city where adults still protect them from government insolvency, rampant crime or economic ruin. Well, they won’t.