Too often I find myself wondering why I am still surprised with a political cover up/patronage appointments/politicians focusing on the personal gain etc. But I also remember the sacrifices our forefathers have made to give us the fragile gift of Democracy and that this gift is not shared throughout the world.
In the last year we’ve allowed Mr. Kenny to deflect/interfere with potentially illegal actions during the UCP leadership race, we’ve seen patronage appointments, some to positions that they do not have any experience in and where a conflict of interest is clearly present, we’ve seen MLA throw temper tantrums and threaten to ‘fire’ elected boards, we’ve seen tens of millions of dollars being given to friends/family of MLA’s and now there’s Mr. Trudeau granting a sole source contract worth 19.5 Billion to the WE charity.
I ask the question in my title, “Are all politicians the same?” not as a literal question but as a satirical question. The question is meant to focus on our assumptions of politicians and how our assumptions interact with our expectations of politicians. My goal is not to blame politicians but to look at the underlying causes of their behaviours and focus on solutions.
Let’s start with some of the key ‘realities’ of politicians and the public. Are there politicians who believe in the Machiavellian saying of, ‘the ends justify the means’ and consider ‘bending’ the law part of the process, sure there are. Is there voter apathy, of course there is; why wouldn’t people be jaded when all they hear about is the negative. Do political parties try to use their position of power as part of a larger political strategy, of course they do, why wouldn\'t they, we haven\'t demanded anything different.
These ‘realities’ are a representation of the system we’ve created which allows politicians to act the way they do.
We all have a choice; accept the above listed behaviours as the ‘reality’ of politics OR, fight for a better tomorrow? My choice is to fight for a better tomorrow.
I believe that the solution starts and ends with us. Change will not come from blaming the politicians for their behavior but instead looking at ourselves for accepting this behaviour. I challenge the readers of this letter to demand that our politicians act in our best interest, not theirs. Once politicians know we are watching, are making informed choices, are not willing to put up with these behaviour(s) and vote accordingly, things will change.
These comments can be criticized for being ‘too simplistic’, for ignoring some very real barriers and for being overly optimistic. I accept all these potential criticisms but remind the reader that I have not claimed to have ‘the answer’; I’m only focusing on who can make the greatest difference.
As always, I would make the same statements for any government making similar decisions.
Regards
Dan Cunin
