We need a system that makes politicians listen

The political misuse of the term democracy has never been so rampant as it is today. George Orwell described the climate for this phenomenon as follows:

“In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic, we are praising it: consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they may have to stop using the word if they were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think that he means something quite different.”

Politicians also liberally make use of sound bites that tie moral values (e.g., fair, just, equal) to their version of democracy.

People tend to be more susceptible to propaganda when such tactics are used.

To alert the innocent and aid in countering such goings-on, a clear image on how to rid parliament of political hacks would be helpful.

What did people do in the past when a society wanted its members to eschew immoral and unethical behaviors?

They created myths of gods and heroes to portray the right path of conduct.

With this in mind, I draw your attention to one such hero, Hercules. Like Hercules, we too are only given one clean-up day to reach our goal.

Augean Stables, in Greek mythology, was owned by Augeas, king of Elis, who possessed an immense herd of cattle, including 12 white bulls kept in stalls that had not been cleaned for years. One of the 12 labours imposed on the Greek hero Hercules was cleaning the stables, unaided, in a single day. He did this by diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to run through them.

If we want to help create a tidal wave that ushers in true representative democracy, one that redresses the manipulation and influences by party executives on the nation’s affairs and the very character of those who comprise our polity, it’s now or never.

We can start by forcefully advocating the adoption of voter parity across ridings by province, for both federal and provincial elections. (See Madsen’s previous letters for an explanation of parity voting.). Then on election day, a favourable, decisive vote will help ensure our politicians become true representatives of their supporters.

An example of success in protesting government actions by disgruntled voters occurred when the B.C. government introduced the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) just days after winning re-election. What followed was unprecedented in B.C. politics.

Daniel Thorburn, like many British Columbians, got mad, really mad. He knew he had been misled by his government. He volunteered to be part of Fight The HST movement in hopes of forcing a referendum on the issue. Thorburn started out as a local canvasser but soon became a regional organizer, mobilizing 300 more canvassers.

Together they collected over 45,000 signatures. Other regions in the province were also successful. A referendum was held and yes, voters rejected the unpopular HST.

As Nietzsche said: “I’m not upset that you lied to me. I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”

It’s time for us to display our altruism and integrity. It’s time we step up and demand real representative democracy.

Albert Madsen, Kelowna