Seeking Respect and Understanding Policies: Week Two of the 41st Federal Election in Canada...
April 10, 2011
I am Asking for a Respectful Process
Let's take all the personal slights out of it for a second! Here are four great Canadians who share a a whole heck of a lot in common, but who also represent substantially different philosophies and strategies on some key issues.
Yes, there is a lot of emotion and intensity in politics, especially in election campaigns, but I think it helps immensely if we come at it all from a place of respect. The all or nothing, my way or the highway arguments may cause many people to stay away for fear of making the "wrong" decision. I've heard the fear of making the "wrong" decision from a few people. And it is a true shame, I feel.
I myself have been fretting over this with my own personal voting decision. Are the major political parties in Canada really all that far away in their policies and platforms? I am just going to do the best thinking I can and then vote accordingly. If we don't, as citizens, continually ask for respect from our political leaders, political candidates and importantly from the media, the message will not get heard.
Trying to Wade Through the Policy
All the 4 parties who are running candidates from coast to coast to coast have now unveiled their policy platforms. All these documents are long and I doubt many Canadians would want to read them from beginning to end. People might also legitimately question whether the politicians will keep their promises, as parties of all stripes have betrayed the trust put in their words. This is a true dilemma. A real big hairy problem, in my view. I kind of like Andrew Coyne's suggestions in this regard. But, what do undecided voters who are trying to figure stuff out do in this election?. Well, my best suggestion today would be to read through the online introductions to the different party platforms. These introductions offer a broad brush overview of where each party stands. Then if you are interested in more depth on the platforms or on specific policies, you can easily find out more. Here are the links to the platform introductions:
Photo Credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmajane/4459642795/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattjiggins/5593394428/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kashmera/3679933265/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ignatieff/5604197211/