When discussing politics, we – that is, society in general and the mainstream media – tend to talk in partisan terms. You’re either a Liberal or a Conservative. We root for our team, and waive our flag as we sling mud at the other team. It works the same in government – just watch question period. Instead of keeping their head in the game, politicians take part in the chanting and taunting coming from the stands. The media reports on the partisan attacks, rather than the issues that separate the parties, and public discourse follows. It’s a vicious cycle.
As politicians jockey for higher rankings in the polls, some people are left wondering “who’s standing up for the issues? who’s standing up for freedom?” Well, it’s up to us. We can continue waiving our banners in the stands, or we can get up, get engaged and behind those politicians whose priorities lie with the issues, instead of the team they play for in this game our political system has turned into. We need to get to know our candidates instead of blindly voting for the team they represent. Because the issue of freedom doesn’t fit neatly into any one party.
But, as Ron Paul has discovered, freedom has the power to unite when you put partisanship aside. In his book, The Revolution: A Manifsto, he writes:
By the end of 2007, more than twice as many Meetup groups had been formed in support of our campaign than for all the rest of the candidates in both major parties combined. I have never seen such a diverse coalition rallying to a single banner. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Greens, constitutionalists, whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, antiwar activists, home-schoolers, religious conservatives, freethinkers – all were not only involved, but enthusiastically so. And despite their philosophical differences in some areas, these folks typically found, to their surprise, that they rather liked each other.
The mainstream media had no idea what to make of it, since we were breaking all the rules and yet still attracting such a varied and passionate following. I began making this a central point of my public speeches: the reason all these different groups are rallying to the same banner, I said, is that freedom has a unique power to unite us.
In case that sounds like a cliché, it isn’t. It’s common sense. When we agree not to treat each other merely as a means to our own selfish ends, but to respect one another as individuals with rights and goals of our own, cooperation and goodwill suddenly become possible for the first time.
And that’s what needs to start happening here in Canada. There’s more to politics than partisanship.
There are two huge problems with the way politics is done in Canada. The first is whipped votes. If an MP tries to blaze a trail or do something a little different, they risk being kicked out of the party. Look at what happened to the Liberal MP’s from Newfoundland, they had to ask special permission from Ignatieff to vote against the budget. Now they managed to get it, but why did they need ask Ignatieff on how to vote.
Think about that for a second. The MP’s representing Newfoundland had to ask the MP from Etobicoke if they could vote against a Conservative budget and still be Liberals.
This is a huge problem in both our major parties. And I think our system of government fosters this TEAM mentality for any power big enough to govern. If the NDP or the Greens ever start getting big it’ll affect them too.
The second problem is the focus on federal politics. Federal politics really isn’t that important. Unless you’re involved with the military, or really worried about international trade or the country’s monetary policy the fed doesn’t really have much of an impact on you. Of course those things are important, all I’m saying is that Health Care, Education, Urban Development and police services are more important. Those are all provincial/municipal issues.
The second issue is the media and making a big show out of federal elections. So much attention is paid to the top job, Prime Minister, that individual MP’s become wallpaper.
I suppose there is a 3rd issue as well. Civic engagement. The more interested the electorate is, the better results we’d get. But yea, fewer whipped votes, let our MP’s shine or fail on their merits.
yeayeayea, I write a lot.
I love commenting on blogs.
@Fraser H.
I agree. But the third issue, civic engagement, is also the solution. We live in a democracy, it’s up to us to change the system. Sitting on the couch and yelling at the TV won’t solve anything. But if everyone just stood up – that’s all it takes. It won’t take a lot from each individual, but it takes a lot of individuals make a difference.
Totally. But such a movement needs leadership.
I honestly wouldn’t blame anyone for tuning out of politics because it is portrayed in such a poor manner (as I said above). So a few pockets of people saying “lets change the system!” isn’t going to do anything. They’ll lose steam and things will stay the same.
It’s almost as if things at all 3 levels have to move together. We need a political leader who wants to foster this change, we need news that covers the issues as something important and not a game, and we need regular people to hold feet to the fire.
It’s a huge job.
Yeah, an organized movement would be great. But we can also all just start paying more attention at the local level and make sure we elect members who won’t continue playing the game as it’s being played at the moment. Members who are genuinely passionate about the issues. Get members who are sympathetic to our cause elected and slowly change the system from the inside.
But that means getting involved at the local level and getting to know the candidates. There’s a lot to do, but we gotta start small.
Pingback: Topics about Religion » Daniel Keyes » Uniting for freedom
Pingback: Daniel Keyes » Where is freedom on the political spectrum? Where are you?