Some very good, thoughtful posts:
Lots more on this at other sites as well, but I want to write a bit about this. Couldn't make it to our local Canada 150 meeting today as I have a nasty bug, but a couple of my co-pilots did and the same theme came up there as seems to be coming up everywhere this weekend with the Libs.
Far and Wide (linked to above) asks if we should take the hard line and tell the truth to voters. Alison at Galloping beaver talks about the need to stop catering to the small c blue Libs. Impolitical (read it!) says:
The bigger question seems to me is what Ignatieff put his finger on yesterday during his press conference, whether our political system can address the problems facing the country...All of this makes it tough, but not impossible, to be truth telling, to be legitimately inspiring, to break out and grab people's imaginations.
I am far less of a political analyst than those three bloggers, so here I have the advantage of offering more of an average Canadian perspective.
The Liberals can keep watching the polls, can keep trying to please as many segments of society as possible, can try to make things sound more positive than they are and shape unrealistic policies to go along with this just so they don't risk turning off voters. However, by doing this, they will be what so many people complain they are lately: not a whole hell of a lot better than, or different from the conservatives. Both parties are neck-to-neck, and that's a big reason why. The Liberals aren't offering anything different.
In offering something different, they shouldn't go for the nice shiny toy, no matter how fetching it is. Tricks are what Harper's party uses, and that's dangerous because it is short sighted, it is found out eventually, and - this is most important - it does not make for a healthy, informed electorate or democracy.
If telling the truth costs the Liberals the next election, and it may, it will most likely give them a good healthy win in the one that follows, and that is far, far more important because through telling the truth, they will not only be addressing issues in a realistic fashion, they will be educating the public and preparing them for the very difficult decisions that most of us who keep informed know are coming.
The Liberals need to take the hard line of truth not only to gain credibility, but to do what any political party acting responsibly should do: create a healthier democracy by informing voters so that we can start dealing realistically with much needed change in a rapidly changing world.
3 comments:
Telling the truth to voters is important but unless it is coupled with a fundamental change in how the parties, the party leaders, and the party MP's, conduct themselves and their business it's not going to be enough.
right. I would hope one will follow the other out of necessity, but maybe I'm too hopeful
The saying goes that the truth will set us free...but my fear is that to many have become comfortable in ignorance. A powerful change in politics can only be accomplished by a powerful change in the public and that means we, the people, must take the initiative and responsibility for our country and its actions. To many are willing to elect a government and blame those people when things go wrong or they prove to be criminals, forgetting that WE put them in their. What the liberals can do, which I agree would cost them the election, is set an example, for is that not the purpose of a leader? Are they not supposed to guide us down a path, not search for their own glory and power off our backs. I have often said that society must move forward, but now I add a way to do this. This is a lot of responsibility for a leader, to know your actions can affect a whole country, but if you are not looking to make a difference, to help the people, to make our nation and this world a better place, what the FUCK are you trying to get elected for?
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