Election

I will remember 2015 as the year I became politicized.

Image source:  

http://www.elections.ca/content.

aspx?section=vot&dir=reg&document=index&lang=e  

Not that I have been apathetic.  That would not be true, or even fair.

I have always been interested in politics and followed the actions of governments at all levels closely.  I listen to the news, I read, and, from time to time, I discuss politics with family and trusted friends.  I’m careful with people I don’t know well, just because politics doesn’t always bring out the best in people.  On occasion, I have voiced my approbation or my displeasure of government actions in letters to the premier or prime minister, and my MLA or MP.  And, I always vote.  Always.  But—that’s been the extent of my political involvement.

I haven’t ever taken the next step to take a public stand and get my hands dirty.  I’ve never been a card-carrying member of a political party, nor have I ever volunteered to work on behalf of a candidate or a party.  I’ve kept my opinions mostly to myself.

This time, though, for me, circumstances are different.    Many things bother me.  Decisions made in government are changing the very face of Canada, and not for the better.     The gap between rich and poor widens.  Bill C-51 curtails human rights in the name of security.  Protected wilderness areas shrink.  Canada lags on stewardship of the environment.  The CBC, our national broadcaster, who, through the century, has nurtured political dialogue and showcased Canadian artists, is being strangled.   First Nations struggle.  We are building more prisons, even as crime rates fall.  Scientists have been muzzled, under threat of losing their jobs.  Handlers vet reporters who have access to the Prime Minister, and the questions they are permitted to ask--all two of them.  Politicians are more adversarial than collaborative.   As a nation, we are losing our social consciousness.

Changes in the electoral process worry me, too.  They undermine the focus on governing that elected representatives need to have to be effective.   Prior to a fixed election date, politicians could concentrate on government for a few years of a new mandate, anyway.  Now, the election cycle has lengthened, and the unofficial campaign begins long before the formal election call.  This year, under this format, politicians shifted into hustings mode more than a full year before any election announcement.  Furthermore, the party in power has initiated an eleven-week campaign, the longest in one hundred years.  The long campaign is advantageous to them.  First, the ceiling for election expenses is pro-rated to adjust from six to eleven weeks, and, conveniently, the party in power has twice as much money as the opposition parties.  In addition, long campaigns tend to focus on the economy, another perceived asset from the perspective of the Conservative Party of Canada, that wants to promote the party as good managers and to make the citizenry afraid.   Steps have been taken, then, to give the incumbent an advantage.

The question is, as Stephen Marche asks in "The Closing of the Canadian Mind" from The New York Times, do we like our country like this?

Well, I don’t.  So, it’s time to mobilize.  The eleven-week campaign will be good for me.  I will have time to become more knowledgeable about all the issues, not just the ones that are important to me (Maclean's has prepared election primers on many issues).  Rather than complain about political ads and become so weary of election talk that I disengage,  I can do the opposite.   I can watch, analyze, remain vigilant, and, with a critical eye, make sense of what I see and hear for myself.  Even more important, however, I have to act.  I must refuse to be a victim of fear-mongering.  I can’t let anyone make me afraid of change. 

So much for the quiet involvement.  This time, I need to make my voice heard.  I must discuss, write, post, contribute, work, and not just in a partisan way to promote a particular view.  I want to urge all Canadians to be vigilant, to be informed, to dialogue, and, most of all, to get out and vote.  The stakes are so high, especially for the young.  We cannot leave the decisions to others.  This election is critical.  I must get involved.  All of us must get involved.