Democracy needs its people
This section is dedicated to creating awareness of what democracy is and how important it is that citizens are actively involved, because everything our government does directly affects us all.
It is clear the cornerstones of democracy in the business of both our province and country have been disintegrating before our very eyes for some years.
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My activist years
Form 2011-2016 I was totally dedicated to learning how our political system was supposed to work since for many decades I sensed something just wasn’t right about it. And I was right, and now I know what that was…and still is. I needed to know what I could do as an individual to get our democracy back on the right track, or actually better, because ours was formed from an elitist angle, which is unbalanced as it is.
The pages of this section show what I did to educate myself on the political system, what I did about it and what I do now about it.
From university courses to civil disobedience training to joining an organization that was founded by such greats as Tommy Douglas, Margaret Atwood, Farley Mowat, David Suzuiki and Maude Barlow.
I was on the local Council of Canadians chapter board as treasurer, plus event planner, website manager, newsletter writer and protester.
One-woman campaign
And I didn’t stop there! I ran my own one-woman non-partisan campaign to unseat Stephen Harper with my inspired message. I was spurned into action by a passionate love for my beautiful country. I was defending & protecting it like a mama bear protecting her cub, not from hate, but awareness of the danger.
Harper or Canada? You can’t have both!
I had a website, T-shirt design, social media page, fundraising campaign and a table at events. I was driven, not by anger, but by protectiveness; of my province and country…like a mama bear with her cub.
The details of that campaign I kept for posterity and as an example of what one person can do with the right message coming from the right place.
The Clue is in the Cutbacks
Any bookkeeper or accountant would know the tell-tale signs of poor financial management when cutbacks become the norm in a company’s business practices. Those were the first real clues that really niggled at me and my sense of being deceived.
- what’s terrifying, is when all you hear about the company is cutback after cutback being necessary to offset a huge financial deficit.
- what’s even worse, is when these cutbacks are directed towards basic social services that a healthy society requires, like medical and educational programs.
- what’s even more terrifying, is when those same cutbacks are then redirected to fill the bottomless pockets of the fancy pants elite government officials that created the debt.
The Signs Becoming Clearer
The sign then is one of corruption, which is a component of every other political regime except democracy: authoritarian, totalitarian, dictatorship, et al. These alternative political systems are represented more in parliament today than at any other time – and the signs are very clear.
In all fairness, to some degree we didn’t have knowledge of the underhanded undertakings being usurped by our unscrupulous upper echelons, mainly because most were simply not aware. Now we have awareness through social media and stronger activism, but mainly because the system is clearly failing the people.
Awareness is the Answer
This is where the need for the awareness and involvement of many more citizens is crucial and the call to action for all citizens is to:
- Embrace the components of high-quality democracy as a way of life and build on them
- Stop the authoritarian political direction our current government is taking itself and the people
- Demand the Rules of Law in democracy from each and every political figure
- Guard against regression into an outdated fundamentalist mindset
- Strengthen our democratic diplomacy by fostering fortitude in others
Personal Responsibility to Each Ability
In general, the citizens have avoided any involvement in politics in the past, because they were led to believe their only part was to vote and if the wrong person got in there was nothing they could do. Also, they were deluded into thinking that government officials were supposed to be competent at the job the citizens hired them to do through the voting process. They figured their part was to take care of their family and community, and the government was capable of managing their job of distributing the tax dollars in the public’s best interest, but they were wrong – go figure.
Now, we all know better and are backtracking to catch up on all things democracy by noticing the common non-sense in what we see happening on the political scene and voicing our common sense opinions. We’re learning what we can do more than just voicing and voting – we can educate and share. We’re learning what the best political picture should look like and how we should feel when we look at it and demanding change!
Writers can best share what they learn in lay terms so that everyone can understand how this system is supposed to work and attempting to transform the taboo of talking about politics into a yahoo of sharing high ideals for the common good.
The difference between high versus low in the quality of politics is a perfect example for proving the ages old adage of ‘knowledge is power’.
About the logo
Designed democracy logo from Adinkra Symbols of West Africa
A small circle at the center with two large ellipses on either side meeting at the edge of it by arrow points at top and bottom.
This symbol represents: Participatory Government, Democracy and Pluralism and the Maple Leaf was added for Canada.
The ‘Face of Canada’
You don’t have to look too hard to be able to make out features in the Canadian landscape that resemble a face. You can see from where Hudson Bay is the mouth: Nose – NU; Cheek – YT & NT; Jaw – BC, AB, SK, MB; Chin – ON & PQ; Goatee – NB, NS, PE, NL
