CAPP Rally Speech Barrie, January 23, 2010
The greatest threat to democracy does not come from the outside, in the form of terrorism. It comes from the inside, in the form of apathy and cynicism. One of the most dangerous statements I’ve ever heard is, “All politicians are crooks, so why even bother voting?” I can understand why it happens and how it happens. We all lead busy lives and it’s hard to figure out the complexity of many issues and to know whom to believe. We are disappointed when we feel our politicians have let us down, so we give up in despair.
Several years ago I read a book called Ten Stupid Things People do to Mess up their Lives. The author was a counsellor who empathized with her patients when they listed all the terrible blows life had dealt them. But then she looked them straight in the eye and asked, “What are you going to do about it?”
And that’s what we’re seeing today – ordinary citizens saying, “ I’m going to do something about it.” I can’t tell you how heartened I am to witness the re-birth of participatory democracy across this country, especially here in
We are using the internet, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and even old-fashioned letters to the editor to share our ideas and to organize quickly. We are discovering that there are many other who think as we do and we are mobilizing them
This change is exciting! But there’s something else that needs to change as well. We need to leave behind us the word “enemy”. We need to leave behind us the mindset that they are always wrong and we are always right. We need to leave behind us labels such as “right-wing bastards”, “tree huggers” and “left-wing bleeding hearts”. We need to remember that we are all Canadians; they may not see things as we do, but they are nevertheless our sisters and brothers.
I think it’s fabulous that here today I see colleagues from the Liberal Party, the Marxist Leninist Party, the Green Party, Labour Council, the Council of Canadians, the NDP, young people and old. And I’m sure there are supporters of the Conservative Party as well. It reminds me of a story I once heard about John Turner when he was the Minister of Justice under Pierre Trudeau. Before tabling legislation in the House of Commons, he would invite for dinner the justice critics of the opposition parties to ask their opinions on his proposals. What a fine example of using great minds from all sides for the betterment of the country!
Unfortunately, we have a log jam in Parliament today. We need politicians and their parties to be more respectful of each other and to put the needs of the country first. Perhaps then we can attract the kind of people we need to replace Tommy Douglas, Pierre Trudeau, John Diefenbaker and their like.
So I challenge you when this rally is over to read a newspaper with a different point of view; read a blog by someone who argues from the other side; watch the news on a different TV channel. Engage your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers in meaningful political conversations (whether they like it or not!). We must dialogue if we are ever going to get them to change their minds.
Coming here today is an example of what Canadians need to be doing. We need to be informed and involved and encourage others to do the same. Only then will our country re-gain its democratic strength.
