Gambling with country’s future

Dear Editor:

Recently I listened to Kenny Rogers singing his hit song, The Gambler. The following lyrics stirred my imagination: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away; and know when to run.”

Although the song is about the irresistibility of card-game gambling, Canadian voters will soon be “gambling” in the upcoming federal election. The stakes are high. Who will be the better leader to run our country; Justin Trudeau or Pierre Poilievre? (Jagmeet Singh will inevitably be an also-ran.)

I suspect the majority of Canadians would not want to sit down at a table to play a friendly game of poker with either Trudeau or Poilievre. Trudeau would play recklessly with taxpayers’ money and Poilievre would play recklessly with the truth. You could also say Trudeau would stack the cards to benefit his friends and Poilievre would have no qualms about calling out others while dealing off the bottom of the deck.

Trudeau is so desperate to stay in power he is willing to mortgage our country and leave others to clean up his financial messes. Poilievre is so desperate to gain power he will bombastically criticize anything and anybody, but lacks the courage and integrity to reveal his own solutions for Canada’s growing list of problems.

These two exasperating individuals might tempt some voters to focus on 10 words from the aforementioned song; namely, “... know when to walk away; and know when to run.”

But by not participating, reluctant citizens only insure things stay the same. In my daydream, a capable business minded individual, who is willing and eager to play an honest game of political poker, will some day be openly dealing cards off the top of the deck.

Lloyd Atkins Vernon