A
few days ago my sister-in-law, Marion, sent me and a raft of others a
link to an article in the New York Times called “The Closing of the Canadian Mind” by Toronto writer Stephen Marche. It's perhaps a
little over-the-top but makes a good case, seasoned with a dose of
acid, for why we desperately need a change in government; I recommend
it.
You
will undoubtedly already have read it.
Consequent
to this, in my email inbox this morning, I received a copy of a
letter from one of the others on the raft. It was addressed to
Marion, and titled, “Be careful what you wish for...” It claimed
to be based on a reading of her blog.
It clearly wasn't. It was a reaction to her recommending the New York
Times article. But OK.
What
struck me, however, and what I cannot get rid of, is the
smugly condescending, even chauvinistic tone of the title: as if a successful
semi-retired businessman from Penticton knows more about the
needs of the country than a retired judge from Toronto, and feels
free to point out the errors in her thinking!
As
if.
I'm
guessing he votes Conservative.
In
reaction, I thought I'd compile a little list of my top 10 political
wishes for implementation after the campaign ends, just in case
anyone has forgotten why we need change.
I
want...
1.
an electoral system that doesn't reward 39% of voters with all the
marbles.
2.
a government that respects and obeys the law, particularly the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
3.
a government which isn't in perpetual election mode and doesn't
game the system for partisan advantage.
4.
a Senate (if, as appears almost certain, there must be one) that
actually applies “serious second thought” to government bills
5.
a Security apparatus that is supervised by either an independent or
a multi-party political board
6.
parliamentary committees that actually consider the bills and
issues before them, and are free to report to Parliament on the evidence, in a
non-partisan way
7.
a Ministry of Defense that respects its service men and women, and
proves it by looking after the injured
8.
non-partisan judicial appointments
9.
an end to partisan advertising on the public dime
10.
a foreign policy that is about more than unconditional support for
Israel
There
is, of course, an entire litany of other issues: support for the CBC,
resuming the long-form census, answering questions in Question
Period, loosening the rules for charity political involvement...and
I, just like you, could go on and on. In fact, the Tyee compiled a list of 70 outrages so we don't have to try to remember them all.
The
case is depressingly clear; it's no wonder Conservatives want to
warn us about the dangers of change.
Because it sure is tempting!
Because it sure is tempting!
No comments:
Post a Comment