You Voted for WHO?

Trying to stay Neutral

As a creature of habit I like to have my daily coffee, a Cappuccino actually, around 4pm while doing some leisurely reading. Then, on week days, at 5pm I tune into Evan Solomon's Power and Politics (CBC) for my daily dose of Ottawa news. You know those 'cheating senators' and the ugly and angry egregious accusations that are blatantly batted around the House of Commons! At least I get a chance to explore the current news in some depth rather than depend on the flow of hashtags from Tweets Ville. I think someone referred to that practice as the digital age of skim.

As I watch this show in the late afternoon I find myself asking if there are not some cracks appearing in our democratic system? Has our method of government simply become a delusion? Do we the people really hold sovereign power over our legislative government? Have we citizens fallen for the idea that the majority view must also be the only correct opinion? But then of course I realize democracy is not perfect! Winston Churchill once said, "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In other words it's the best we have devised to date! Well, those of us who live in a democracy seem to think so, although there are others in the world who would not agree!

Not all democracies are exactly the same. But it is probably safe to say that many of us saw the American movie LINCOLN (2012). Remember the dramatization of the Gettysburg address when Lincoln called representative government 'government of the people, by the people, for the people'. In practice democracy avails all of us the privilege of being independent and free as individuals - of course within the laws and traditions of our nation. But we sometimes forget that allegiance to the principles of democracy must embrace an element of love of country as well.  Obviously not the excessive love of country that is often wed to hatred of other nations and includes the slogan 'my country right or wrong'. But a healthy love as witnessed during the recent Sochi Winter Games. I found a few tears creeping down my face when, at the medal presentations, the Canadian flag  rose slowly to the top. Without attention to our duty as citizens, and our loyalty, democracy is doomed.

A Blatant Form of 'Occult Compensation!

If it is going to be a government of the people it is necessary for us to vote for representatives who have the skills and experience to fulfill that role. Although we are equal in our rights and obligations before the law, we are not all qualitatively equal, in fact we are qualitatively different and unique. Democracy does not mean trusting important matters to anyone. Not everyone can just take their turn in office because the fact is some are better suited for that responsibility than others. And here lies one of the dangers within democracy. Self-seeking individuals can form powerful and rich organizations and parties. Often they will have their eyes on their own interests or beliefs and not on the common good. Of course that's when we vote them out! In other words  we must do what we do best, to truly have a government of the people.

Governing ourselves through knowledgeable representatives is somewhat like booking a trip to Europe on a big ship. We choose a vessel, a captain and crew who know what they are doing and will do what is best for all the passengers, and we tell them to sail us to our destination. If the captain decides to sail to a different destination, what would we do? We do this all the time, we choose mechanics to fix our car or doctors to attend to our wounds. If we do not like their service or trust their skills, we find someone we can trust. This is why it is so important to carefully choose our representatives and exercise our right to vote. If we ignore that responsibility, we deprive ourselves of a government of the people and our beloved democracy is in trouble.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week