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Ecowrappin'
Vote---For Thievery, Fraud and Incompetence
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Another trip to the polls, for maybe half of those of voting age, is imminent. So we are currently being bombarded by promises that will not be, or cannot be, fulfilled---lies if you will. This chronically sickening rhetoric should be enough to tire the most avid political pundit. It is certainly more than enough to create a completely ho-hum event for the vast majority of the Canadian population between 18 and 30, maybe even older. Perhaps these young people are much wiser than they are given credit. A litany of pre-election lies and post-election excuses is nothing new to them. Maybe they realize that they would be charged with fraud and embezzlement if they tried many of the things that politicians regularly get away with.I have two grown children that do not give elections or votes, whether federal, provincial or municipal, a mere thought. It seems that they have no time for name- calling and finger pointing. They have learned, from the politically biased media, to associate politics with corruption and waste. And they are far from being alone. I do not think my wife has ever voted. She considers politicians and senior bureaucrats to be the most dishonest and self-serving low lives in society. I find it very difficult to put a positive spin on trying to convince them why they should exercise their right to vote. The old adage about choosing those who will give some direction to their future does not carry any weight with them. They do not listen to political rhetoric because they have learned not to believe it. And this is not the sole jurisdiction of the young. There are Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats out there that always vote for the same party no matter what the party line. Always have; always will. They have evolved to not knowing who or what they are voting for. Their party candidate could shit on their doorstep every morning of the year and they would still vote for him/her.
I have kept abreast of politics and elections for much of my life; hence, my unbridled cynicism. I do not remember any leaders before John Diefenbaker. I only know him as the man that cancelled the Avro Arrow project. I remember Lester Pearson as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and by all recollects, a pretty decent man. Robert Stanfield might have been one of our greatest leaders had he been given a chance. Pierre Trudeau took the country into massive debt and a socialist agenda and it is unlikely that we will ever get out from beneath either. Policies that he ensconced in the Constitution are continuing to take a toll on the pride and identity of this country. Brian Mulroney initiated waste and corruption that Jean Chretien and Paul Martin brought to unprecedented levels.
I will not make any comment on the current leadership candidates. They each have their pros and cons. All I know is; this election is costing my fellow taxpayers and I a lot of money and we are all going to be paying more, in lesser or greater amounts, depending on who the post-election leadership may be.
And what of the issues? The Economy is beyond the influence of any one man or woman in any one country; it is now influenced by a multitude of global factors. Gun Control, from day one, has been a very expensive, misguided diversion and a scapegoat for the real crime and security issues. Health and Education have annually higher budgets but it never seems to be enough. Excessive administration, inefficiencies and waste are the problems in these portfolios. Witness the McWimpy health tax; that additional $300 to $500+ per year that we taxpayers have had to fork out for quite some time. It was supposed to have solved the primary health provision problems in this province but has not even begun to correct deficiencies within the promised timeline. Yet that tax will always be with us. The name might eventually change but it will still be taking a piece out of you when you take that one-way trip to the granite orchard. And your estate is subject to some further embezzlement after you are laid to rest. Before you vote, perhaps you should do a little research to find out the political stripe of those vultures that enabled the government, past and present, to pick over your leftovers after you are dead. The Environment is always more on talk and less on results. It is one bureaucracy that has gotten very unwieldy and quite effective at delays and expense, especially at the provincial level. Yet according to whatever political parties are not currently in power; the regime of the day always has a failing report card on environmental issues.
And so, I will go off to the polls once again. Sadly, each time I go, it is with a little less faith in the system and a lot less faith in the candidates. And I do not think that I am alone. Far from it!
I was born on the Bruce Peninsula on July 20, 1951 and raised on a farm just south of the village of Lionís Head, which is located about halfway up the peninsula on the Georgian Bay shoreline. I graduated from Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Barrie in 1973 as a Resources Engineering Technologist. I was hired by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in April of 1975 as the first DUC employee in Ontario. Throughout almost 29 years I was involved with the implementation of more than 500 wetland projects and project complexes in southwestern and south central Ontario. Some of these habitat projects included important waterfowl and migratory bird habitat along the eastern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. Just three weeks short of completing 29 years with DUC, I accepted an early retirement opportunity effective March 31, 2004.
