This short booklet is a weekly journaling of discovered revelations learned while taking a course on democracy and at the same time comparing it to the democracy the Canadian government was presenting to the citizens.
In 2013 the difference was already vast and democracy had been relegated to the back burner of politics while the federal government took unprecedented control by exploiting loopholes in the parliamentary system ad infinitum.
This guide shows many of the HOW’S that allowed an authoritarian mindset to infiltrate our system and expose its weaknesses, as well as the WHY’S that Politics does not mix with Oil, Poverty or Religion. It also shows the WHAT’S we can do for immediate change, starting with our minds.
It helps one envision what a high-quality democracy looks like and why it’s the ideal we should be striving for. We need to keep the right picture at the forefront of our minds and not the one the corrupt politicians wants to show us, because theirs is not a pretty one, as we all know.
The topics covered over these ten weeks of learning include: Democracy & Legitimacy; Consolidation & Culture; Economics & Society; Democratic Transition; Constitutional Design; Electoral Systems; Ethnicity & Federalism; Bad Governance; Future of Democracy.
The bottom line: When you know what a civilized democracy looks like, you just can’t settle for anything less…ever again.
TOC
Week 1 & 2: Democracy & Legitimacy
- Secretly switching the system
- Democracy best for human rights
- The bigger picture for Canadians
Week 3: Consolidation & Culture
- Clear indicators of bad behaviour
- Citizen participation imperative
- More individual action required
- Our cultural diversity
- The global picture
- Religion and politics don’t mix
Week 4: Economics & Society
- Egalitarians know best
- Bad economics = wider gap
Week 5: Democratic Transition
- Regressing from democracy
- Zero government representation
- We need to act!
Week 6: Constitutional Design
- Flightless partisan priorities
- Open minds find more solutions
- Where there’s a need
Week 7: Electoral Systems
- Betting on the nag
- Economic misrepresentation
- Poverty and politics don’t mix
- Inspiration for change
- Getting past the hurdles
Week 8: Ethnicity & Federalism
- Ethnicity a key factor
- Large scale ethnic diversity
- Unethical ethnicity
Week 9: Bad Governance
- Canada’s ‘Predatory Politics’ now playing
- Worse stink-bomb ever
- Look down first, then look forward
Week 10: Future of Democracy
- The Harper Scheme
- Scheme signature signs
- The common sense of crime
- Finding representation in the challenge
- Bottom line right now
