Letter to the Editor: Political Geometry

Dear Editor,

Although most of my main stock of books is elsewhere and inaccessible, some computer disks have followed me to my durance in a wheelchair in Eatonia Oasis Living. Yesterday, I found a column I wrote 12 years ago. It is still pertinent. I hope you will agree.

Yours truly,
W.T. Wardill

Had citizens of other countries been able to register their votes in the 2008 US presidential election, the Democratic candidate’s margin of victory would have been enormous. Canadians who have an awareness of what is happening in world affairs are all Obama-lovers, whereas most Canadians who dislike Obama are firmly mired in the outward political pattern of the past. The talking heads of airwaves, on both sides of the border, constantly refer to political parties and the governments which are derived from them by how far and in what direction they have strayed from the center. We hear Center Right and Centre-Left. The trouble is that the political center is not a fixed point. It moves.

The talking heads are telling us that, under the new president, the US will have a Center-Left government, while the government of Canada, under Stephen Harper, is Center Right. This, they will say, reverses the pattern of relationships that have endured for almost a century. What they say is true, but in this instance, what they say doesn’t really matter.

In his acceptance speech, the American President-elect brought ideas and promises out of the realm of Common Sense. He appealed for a new national dialogue and purpose, for a nation to set aside political squabble and ingrained prejudices in order to face its real enemies, both at home and abroad. The new reality he envisions is still only as solid as a shadow. The challenges he faces are enormous, but at least he is saying wise and hope-filled words. Because he has been a principal actor in the necessary presidential election, mandated by the constitution and vital to the well-being of both his own country and the world, the long election campaign was a dramatic and exciting process. Contrast this with the brief contest that was Canada’s unnecessary election. It was as exciting as a bowlful of cold mush.

Canada’s elected representatives are still jousting in political tournaments.