Good Morning Mr. Akin,
It has always been my contention that one has a duty to vote. It is a right that has been earned again and again through the sacrifices of our servicemen during the many conflicts this country has participated in since it's founding. I make a point of voting in every election, because I believe I should. But I also believe that there should be someone to vote for. For too many years now, our politicians have lost sight of their responsibilities! Their duties are to be stewards of our rights and freedoms, lobbyists for the betterment of our lives, and above all, they should be honest. Unfortunately, none of those duties are being fulfilled, and haven't been for entirely too long. They've saddled us with untold debt (children being born this very day arrive in this life with a debt greater than $16K dollars. That is unconscionable!) We're told the proper form of address is “the Honourable” or the “Right Honourable”, yet they demonstrate over and over again that they have no concept of the meaning of honour. They make irresponsible promises of all sorts of new “benefits” and “entitlements” each election, very carefully neglecting to mention that these promises are going to have to be payed for, and that the money to pay for them comes out of our pockets. They lie quite conveniently to get themselves elected, then once on their thrones, they renege and concoct all kinds of spurious reasons why they can't follow through with these promises (“Oh, we didn't know we were inheriting such a debt from our predecessors” is a good one, obviously Mr. Harper didn't take the time to do his homework, or he just plain lied!)
They award themselves all kinds of perquisites and benefits at the expense of taxpayers, saying that they work so much harder and in poorer conditions than the rest of us. I don't recall ever seeing any of them spend any time in the same isolated postings I “enjoyed” while I was in the Forces, nor hearing about any of them serving in war zones or hazardous postings. I know that I never got any time off without having to submit a leave request to account for every day of my leave allotment, and one started with two weeks vacation and earned extra by years of service. They seem to take whatever time off suits them, and many don't even show up for critical votes. A member of the Forces must work for at least 20 years before he qualifies for a reduced pension, while these “hard workers” qualify for full pension and medical benefits with only one term in office. Sounds really rough to me. And don't even think about dismissal. While in the Forces, I saw many cases of people get what we “affectionately” called “thirty, thirty and thirty” for relatively minor infractions. What the triple 30 means is 30 days stoppage of any leave (basically confinement to quarters if you were single) 30 days stoppage of pay, and 30 days of at least four hours a day extra work and drill. Dismissal from the Forces meant a return of pension contributions and you'll never have another government job. Dismissal from any Parliamentary position appears to mean that you get a golden handshake, full pension and benefits, and you get to go work as some sort of senior advisor or something similar. They're wasteful, greedy and childish, just watch how much each of the newly elected will spend to refurnish their offices, because they don't want anything to do with the trappings of their predecessors.
Another duty of a politician is to represent the wishes of his electoral district. When did that happen last? The lobbyists and gladhanders that haunt Parliament Hill get more attention and reaction than the voters who elected the politicians, and we have so many politicians who “vote their conscience” instead of voting as their constituents demand. When I first heard of this years ago, I knew then that our political system had failed and that this country was doomed. Anyone, voted into any position by a majority, be he dog catcher or sheriff or Prime Minister, has an obligation to represent the feelings and interests of the people who elected them. “Vote your conscience” is a deliberate and unequivocal insult! What it says is “I don't care what the rest of you say, my way is better and I will do as I please!”
The other problem with our political system is that, despite Mr. Harper's assertion that we can “vote him out in four years if we don't like what he's doing”, that still means we have to endure four more years of bad management. We have no means, short of another election, of getting rid of politicians who lie, cheat or abuse their privileges. At least in the United States, Americans have the right to “recall” any politician, right up to the office of the President. We need an immediate means of holding our representatives to account for their actions. When you discipline a child or pet, you do it immediately if you want the message to stick. Otherwise, they forget what they did wrong, and maybe you did as well, and waiting makes them wonder what they're being punished for. It's the same with politicians, we need to be able to say “you screwed up, one more time and you're outta here!” Otherwise, four years down the road, we've forgotten the incident or they've dismissed it as trivial, and they get re-elected to do the same thing to us again.
One more thing that I don't understand is this contention that most people have “my grandfather was a Liberal, my father is a Liberal, and I'm a Liberal” (or Conservatives or whatever.) Where is the sense in that? If you don't study the issues and then vote for those that make the most sense, then you're just wasting your vote. If you are so locked into voting for the same party all the time, you miss the opportunity to better the system. You're stuck with the same-old, same old.
As I see it today, the biggest problem with Canadian politics is that we really don't have any choice. It doesn't matter whether one is Liberal, Conservative, Bloc or Green, they're all tarred with the same brush. They'll lie, cheat and promise “cakes and ale” to get elected, then renege the moment they're in office. We really need a response box on the ballet for “None of the above”. As far as election promises are concerned, we can't afford any of what they're promising, and they know it. I'm 63 years old and in relatively good health, with a bit of luck I might make it another 20 to 30 years. I can't say that I'm enthusiastic about the future though. The way these liars, wastrels and profligates are spending our money on promises and dreams, instead of figuring our how to fix the mess we're in, I truly believe that Canada is going to become a third world country before I die. That saddens me immensely, we have so much going for us but we're being led down the garden path by fools and liars.
I intend to vote in the next election, I don't know for whom, there isn't one of them that I believe in or trust, but as I mentioned earlier, I'll be voting by the issues. The one who comes closest to promising what I believe to be realistic is the one who I'll vote for.
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