This letter to the editor reflects an issue I think most of us in the progressive blogosphere struggle with, as do the folks at samara:
Voter turnout is the key to federal change
Eroding the fabric of the Canada we love
The only way that we are going to get rid of King Stephen's Reign of Control is by getting out the vote. It seems that every time I pick up a newspaper there is at least one and often more articles about how the Harper government is ripping another piece from the fabric of the once democratic, compassionate society called Canada of which we were so proud. The most recent is a smear campaign on a retired military commander who just happens to be planning to run for the Liberals. As Lawrence Martin called it in the Globe, "the sleaze machine."
Canadian democracy is gradually being diluted. Social, cultural, scientific and information essentials continue to be diminished if not removed. Treatment of veterans has become a disgrace — no an obscenity. Everything we have valued about being Canadian is disappearing and we are at the bottom of many world lists including protection of the environment. This may be the most urgent — without a habitable planet, does the rest matter?
How do we convince those who have given up on government that their vote matters? It matters not only to them but to their kids and grandkids.
How do we convince them that their needs must be voiced and demanded; that this is the only way Harper can be defeated?
How can we leave these problems to parliament and expect any change? It won't happen. We need to find a way to get to our citizens — e.g. the youth who will be living with the disastrous results of Harper's policies; the marginalized who have long ago given up on the government and don't have the energy to fight — we need to help them to understand the importance of their vote. I'm not sure how to do it but it needs to be done and I invite and encourage folks to think about it and find a way to reach these voters.
Mary Lou Reiman, Hamilton
The solution is easy, obvious. Yet the opposition parties want no part of it. They're in a tail chase for the more reliable voter, the people who turn out at the polls, geezers. Harper is chasing the geezer vote, it's his base. Mulcair and Trudeau are not on his heels for a bigger share of this same demographic.
ReplyDeleteSpeak to young people, the potential voters who can't be bothered. I have. They've got valid, critical concerns about their future but none of the petro-parties is interested in changing their platform to speak to the concerns of the disaffected. They're sending a message to young Canadians, "we have nothing for you." They know that, by the time their demographic rises to the top of the pile, it will probably be too late. The environment will be ruined and, with it, the economy. They'll be handed a farce of a democracy, a ruined and shelled-out country and an enormous tab for their granny's benefits.
I find it disgraceful that progressives would consider supporting either of the petro-parties that form the opposition. Only the Greens have the sort of courageous, visionary platform that could make a difference for our young people and future generations but they aren't a viable contender, not yet.
If we don't have anything to offer the youth vote, and we don't, why would we expect them to be responsive when we supposedly 'reach out' to them? They can see our outstretched hand and they can see that it's empty.
I can't disagree with your searing assessment of our current political parties and the culture they engender, Mound. However, I do hold to the belief (or perhaps it is more of a hope) that if a strong majority of Canadians could be induced to go to the polls on a regular basis, thereby indicating an engagement that is now lamentably lacking, those who crave power might very well realize that it is in their own best interests to be responsive to them, lest they face defeat at the next election. While I realize that doesn't directly address the disaffection felt by the young, nor does it answer the question of how to engage people, it seems to me that we will never have anything more than a semblance of political responsiveness as long as so many are estranged from politics.
Deletehi Lorne...there is no more important message than the one you are helping to share in this post. It really is quite simple. If we can get more Canadians to vote than have done so in recent years, we will crush the Harper Cons. But if can't get that turnout they could win again. I have been looking at how other countries encourage people to vote, and hopefully I will soon be in a position to share what I have learned. But I can already say that our message must combine two things:
ReplyDeleteA brutal indictment of what the Cons have done to this country, and the bright promise of something better. It is a bit like holding up a tiny candle in a roaring gale, but that candle will get bigger, and with people like you and so many other great progressives, I know we can do it...
Thanks, Simon. I look forward to reading the results of your research. I have long been of the view that part of the Harper agenda is to show deep contempt for the values Canadians have traditionally held dear, one of the most important ones being faith in democracy. With each contemptuous act against democracy, and we know there are so many, Harper, I believe, has willfully and quite intentionally sent a message to Canadians that their opinion doesn't matter. The subtext of those acts, of course, is they needn't turn out at elections, as their views hold no value or currency. His base would love an absolutely unimpeded arena for their final dismantlement of government.
DeleteI have always despised bullies, Simon, and so I join with you and so many other bloggers in doing what I can to spread the word about Harper and try to convince others that politics is not an arcane pursuit but the very basis of our existence as a society.
Now, about that promise of something better... As Mound indicated in his comments here, that is something much more difficult to achieve.
.. the strategy of war ..
ReplyDelete.. a single opponent will fall when forced to defend multiple fronts
.. Stephen Harper and his Harper Government should be forced into dissolution, and prior to Canada's next federal election. Identify the weakest aspects and attack him and his party effectively on that specific front.
.. I believe the fact he and his government is intentionally breaking the law, is that vulnurable front. The federal courts have already determined this re failure to act on mandated law to protect Endangered Species. Fact.
.. Identify the next most vulnerable aspect of the man or his government or his partisan political apparatus and begin an attack on that front.
.. when 10 to 25 campaigns from different directions are assailing Stephen Harper, his flawed Ministers, the unelected losers, corporatist partners on policy.. the walls will crumble, the rats flee or eat their own.
Another area upon which Harper is very vulnerable is his judgement, Salamander. As Trudeau said at the Liberal convention this past weekend, "Anyone who put Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Pat Brazeau in the Senate might want to be careful about making judgment a campaign issue."
DeleteThen, of course, there is the entire cast of rogues who have passed through or remain in his office that you and others have written so passionately about The list, of course, is too numerous to mention here, but each is an indictment both of Harper's judgement and character.
It should be an interesting campaign!