TED MCMEEKIN
A Liberal veteran acknowledges his government failed to listen
“And in our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair and against our will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God” — (Aeschylus)
I chose to pen this piece some 40 days after the provincial election. Forty is a good biblical number. The Hebrews were said to have wandered and wondered for some 40 years in their wilderness journey to a promised land.
Clearly the Ontario Liberal Party has just exited our promising place as government and landed in our own political wilderness. It is a fate that was well deserved.
All the good intentions in the world are for naught if you fail to effectively communicate the things you are doing. In a partisan environment where every action taken is open to criticism, a failure to respond authentically to critique, both fair and unfair, can lead to disappointment. Reflecting back, I cannot recall a single caucus meeting where the issue of the need to communicate policy and political decisions more effectively was not raised. In hindsight our government moved too quickly on too many policy fronts, often with less than appropriate consultation and little regard to explaining the what and why of our actions.
Bobby Kennedy once opined “good judgment is based on experience and experience invariably on bad judgment.” It’s now time to learn and grow from those mistakes.
After 15 years a government of any stripe can become so full of themselves that they fail to listen and learn. Soon they come to believe they are right about everything all of the time. They become detached and arrogant. No one is guilty but everyone is responsible.
When our government finally woke up to the fact that we had alienated just about everyone: teachers, doctors, farmers, hydro users, police associations, union leaders, parents with autistic children, home builders, small business people and others, it was too late to recover. A burgeoning sense of ‘mistrust’ had developed. With that loss of trust came the political decimation that followed.
This was not an easy piece to write. To be clear I’m incredibly honoured and proud to have served my community as MPP. There are many accomplishments worthy of celebration and it was a blessing to contribute along the way.
I’ve always kept the thought of a special friend posted above my desk: “we stand on the brink of the unknown which is to say everything is normal and still permissive of joy.”
Rest assured that our time in the wilderness will see the emergence of a new vision, not of a promised land but rather of a ‘promised time’ — a time when justice, kindness and compassion can be spoken about with integrity as we journey forward together.