It is perhaps to state the obvious that political campaigns are a kind of Rorschach Test. We respond to candidates' claims, promises and outright lies to a large extent through the filter of our values, our biases, our philosophy and our experiences. That is us just being human. Sadly, however, whatever intellectual capacities we may possess often are cast aside as we make impassioned choices based upon the above.
Critical thinking is the main casualty here.
A case in point is the carbon tax. All of the disinformation about the levy, from Doug Ford claiming it will lead to recession to Andrew Scheer averring it will make everyone poorer, often finds a ready, even Pavlovian, audience. The following brief news item from Global News attempts to set the record straight.
Our democracy demands that each person has the right to vote. There is nothing within our system that can make that vote an intelligent, informed one.
I have written to our current Ontario Finance Minister to find out what I, an average Ontarian, have saved by the province cancelling the "carbon tax" (really Cap & Trade). The answer so far has been .
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Excellent, UU. The silence, as they say, is deafening, eh?
DeleteWe assume that "we the people" are too intelligent to be conned, Lorne. History proves otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat is the sad truth, isn't it, Owen?
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