On Politics and Love

Current events news flash: Canada just had a federal election! Crazy, huh! Michael news flash: I’m actually incredibly interested in old men bickering! I’ve always known I’m a little obsessed with current events (see my last post), but I didn’t actually realize how into politics I was until this election. Last year I was super bummed because the federal election was on October 14^th, inconveniently exactly one day before I was legal to vote. (That makes me feel really young…weird). I really wish that the one Poli Sci class I took in my first year had been a better experience because I feel like I would have really enjoyed going further into that field. BUT IT’S OK, because that’s what the Internet is for. :)

In order to get a better understanding of who my MP candidates were I attended the “Indecision 2011” event that my university hosted. It was super interesting to say the least. It started off quite unpromisingly with the host asking each of the candidates a generic question about how they were trying to engage the youth vote. The candidates awkwardly attempted to answer how they were each engaged with youth (one candidate mentioned how he was in a youth group when he was a youth… not really sure how that… yeah, ok) but it wasn’t long before people started lining up to ask questions. It became pretty apparent that the audience was going to run the show so the host gave up the floor to the open mics and tried his best just to keep the MPs from rambling.

And man, were there ever some good questions. I was impressed by how many people were informed and passionate about the questions they were asking. Perhaps Internet forums have jaded me but I expected to hear a lot more below the belt remarks and derogatory name-calling.

Let me break the candidates down for you: (Side note: I desperately wish that the Green candidate had been able to make it but apparently she was sick that day. Considering she is a 19-year old first year with blue hair, I was incredibly intrigued to hear her opinions. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be):

On the far right was Mark Sandilands, NDP candidate. At first, I approved of his choice of raunchy wool-knit sweater, until I realized that he was not wearing it ironically. A quick encounter with him before the debate (where he handed me a hand-grip-jar-opening-thingamahinkey—which, I must add, stated “Get a Good Grip on Government, Vote NDP—mmm, delicious) revealed that he had a very vacant stare. He didn’t actually look at me but through me into my soul, so I started off with a bad vibe. But, as the night progressed, his answers proved that he was not as spaced out as I had originally assumed and he did a very good job of stating his position.

On the opposite side of the table, was the Christian Heritage candidate, Geoffrey Capp. He looked exactly as you would expect a Christian Heritage MP to look, basically. He actually did a lot better than I thought he would. Originally I had written this party off as a single-issue fundamentalist group, but the more he spoke the more I was actually impressed with his ideas. Granted, he was able to say a lot of really great things because he will never actually have to hold his promises accountable, but for the most part he was articulate and to the point. He even took on a polite question from a lesbian lady who asked how his party could represent a secular society, and answered it quite gracefully.

To his right was Liberal candidate, Michael Cormican. I actually almost forgot he was at the debate because he didn’t really do anything. He answered almost every question by reading straight from the party’s platform. Props to him for showing up, but I assume he understands that the chances of him getting voted in to a constituency that’s been conservative since the dawn of time is not very likely. He really just spent the vast majority of his time just reveling in the train wreck which was Hillyer.

And that’s exactly what Jim Hillyer, Conservative MP, became. When he began the debate, I was excited because he was the only one who looked even slightly close to my demographic. He was sporting a leather jacket that screamed, “I’m young and relatable! I’ll represent all you university students as I bring your issues to Parliament in my new Suzuki GSX-R1000!” Unfortunately, the hip, cool look only lasted him approximately 15 minutes before he realized that almost everyone in the room was opposed to him. Over the course of two hours his answers degraded from strong promises to weak defenses to ensuring that he was, in fact, not the devil incarnate. Like I said, the questions were informed and appropriate, it was just impossible for one man to defend the errors of essentially the entire parliamentary system.

And that’s where my lesson of the day came in. As the night progressed, it was easy to see that the government makes for a wonderful scapegoat. As citizens, it is incredibly easy—almost expected even—to blame issues in society on the government, but I think we need to give them more credit than we do. After a barrage of particularly biting questions, one man stood up and pointed out that, at some point, we as citizens need to take responsibility ourselves. We can blame the Canadian government for being so irresponsible with regards to the environment, etc., but we have to consider that are just as much a part of the solution as they are. It was hard to hear, but a refreshing change of perspectives.

The man who went up after him was my favourite questioner. He pointed out that Canadian campaign tactics are beginning to degrade to the level of America’s, full of smear campaigns and hate ads. He noticed in particular that NDP and Conservatives were constantly pointing out each others’ flaws. So, in order to counteract this, he insisted that the Conservative candidate say something nice about the NDP, and the NDP candidate say something nice about the Conservatives. I wanted to give that man a hug. It was enlightening to see these 50+ year old men being forced to resort to tactics that my mother used to stop my sister and I from bickering.

I read this wonderful article (shown to me by Kerry Precht) which points out the advantages of a minority government. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed that the election did not end in a minority government, but I’m praying that the Conservative majority will result in a more efficient government. I don’t intend this to sound trivial and demeaning, but as a whole, I think Canada’s Parliament—citizens included—needs to learn a lesson in cooperation. As a nation that prides itself on its peacekeeping capabilities, our government is not a reflection of this.

After three hours of great discussion, the debate was over. As I was walking home and contemplating everything that I had heard, I noticed that the couple walking in front of me included the lesbian girl who had asked the question. This girl is also in a couple of my classes and we’ve talked before. I listened in on their conversation for a bit and heard them talk about the Christian Heritage party and how all they wanted was to be treated as equals. The more I listened, the more my heavy my heart grew. I felt called to go up and talk to them, so I swallowed my pride and approached them.

After introducing myself as a proud, passionate Christian, I stammered out a sincere apology for any hatred or resentment they may have ever received from the Christian community. After my rambling apology they thanked me and then did something I wasn’t expecting: they apologized for if I had ever felt hated or judged by the queer community. I thanked them and mumbled something else, then uttered a quick goodbye and left.

What a refreshing conversation! As I was walking home I reflected on how much power there is in treating others with love instead of with division. My good friend recently showed me this interview and I couldn’t agree more with what Tony Campolo has to say:

I've already seen a lot of division result because of this election. Regardless of who we voted for in the election, I think it is our very strong duty to support the government that we now have (whether we wanted them or not) with our words and with our prayers.