The provincial GREENs are trying again. Annual convention, policy rebuild, new executive, more statements, more promises. New hopes and dreams. I hope they get it right this time. Mind you, the heart, soul and faith of the party is on the perimeter of the Gulf of Georgia (the Salish Sea) and the only elected Greens came right from the middle of it. But the Annual convention this year is in Kelowna. So, on the face of it, there seems to be a Liberal Party spy doing their convention arrangements.
Can’t win with the bad guys at the controls, guys. See: the Conservatives and the Elections Act?
Still, I have hope. I looked at the candidates for the executive board and some of them are capable people. I think. Resumes don’t always paint an accurate picture but they think they are great anyway. I hope they are. I voted for the cute one.
The last two decades of voting for the GREENs has reminded me of when I supported the Canucks. I dropped that silly effort-in-faith twenty years ago only to replace it with the equally as disappointing and under-performing GREENs. I may suffer from failure-to-prEdict contests and elections syndrome (FECES) – the acronym may not be too close but the feeling is). Both processes seem awfully similar to me at times. Both full of BS, too. Politics, professional sports…..all the same, kinda. And the champion is only champion for a short time before we go through it all again.
Like it was all just another business……………hmmmmm?
One of the best things about living off the grid is our daily indulgence in denial. We don’t hear, we don’t see, we don’t feel the omnipresence of BIG Brother every day- like we did when we were in the city. Of course, BB is still out there lurking, planning, screwing up and sending us the bill. That is what he does. And he makes his bullying presence known at tax-time and other rent collecting times but, generally speaking, on a day-to-day basis, HE is not here inflicting himself on us too much. There is not enough percentage in it for him. We are, for the most part, out of sight and out of mind. In a word, we enjoy and revel in governmental and institutional benign neglect.
Would the GREENs be better? Unlikely. They are simply not BIG enough to win against BB. For all their bad press, bullies are usually pretty good at being bullies and they know how to do their job. And they will. If the GREENs ever win much of anything, they will be punished for it. They won’t get big in my lifetime.
I think the real way to vote GREEN is to live green. Walk the walk, talk the talk, grow the greens and shrink the footprint. And, when you have the choice, vote for any one but BBC and his evil twin, BBL. The Liberals-Conservative big twins. I am almost as leery of their sister, the kinder, gentler but raised-in-the-same family, Ms NDP.
Call me crazy but that whole family reminds me of the FORDs of Toronto.
Our Off the Grid Home 
The Green Party eh. Have you read their 100 pages plus platform? I sorta read it but was not riveted by its promises of open source computer programmes,methane capture at land fills, or countless great ideas of the ‘ya can not make a buck off them variety’ and I start to worry about the capacity of most folks to get the Green’s vision. Would Canada benefit from a Green vision, without a doubt. Currently we see glimpses of lighter carbon footprints but nothing like the sea change needed to right the ship. I refuse the plastic shopping bags, try to buy in bulk to reduce packaging while, all the while a vortex of junk floating in the Pacific is getting bigger and bigger. It is so challenging!
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I vote GREEN because everyone else generates a gag reflex. Well, to be fair, I also like some of their platform…but then again, I liked some of Preston Manning’s Reform platform. There is even the faintest possibility that Harper once said something I didn’t hate. ‘Could happen. Maybe.
I think Elizabeth May is the hardest working, best, most logical and, by far, the only one worth her salary as an MP. Bar none. But I listened to her speech the other day and it had a lot of ‘blather’ and poli-speak thrown in. I hate that. I just wish they would all talk like they would to their spouse while looking in the mirror and eye-measuring their wrinkles and warts. “Geez, I gotta make a speech tomorrow and I haven’t a clue about the issue. I don’t even wanna go. But, waddya gonna do…..just tell ’em the truth? Ha ha ha. Gawd, I’d like to see the look on Harper’s face if I just told the people what they should know, eh? Think I got the guts?”
Honesty. Integrity. Putting the people first. Man, oh man. Wouldn’t it feel good?
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I’m not a big fan of Elizabeth May or the Green party.
She ran in Nova Scotia and didnt get elected and “POOF”! She’s on the west coast of Canada running for a seat.
The word “opportunist” comes to mind.
As for the party. Promising the sun on the backs of taxpayers doesnt foster a whole lot of empathy from me.
Live green. To hell with politics.
ALL political parties are a bunch of self serving, snuffling hogs when it comes right down to it.
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I share your sentiments about parties. I think we would all be better off with nothing but independents who align with one another over issues rather than fraternity/sorority.
But I do like Elizabeth. She seems genuine to me. Mind you, she WAS a player in the Brian Mulroney Conservative government. But she was younger then………..
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May is smart and tough. Opportunism is one of the corner stones of our society. I kind of like the novelty of a player trying to enrich what is left of diminishing societal values.
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“Opportunism” is a cornerstone of our society? WTF?
How about HONESTY?
Opportunism in politics essentially breaks down into “Which way is the wind blowing? How can I get myself elected? Who’s back do I climb over to win? ”
As for the statement “the novelty” of a “player”trying to enrich what is left of diminishing societal values”.
Pseudo-Socio babble speak pablum.
My values havent diminished over the years but a hell of a lot of politicians “values” leave a lot to be desired.
Politicians, self serving, trough feeding, grunting , squeeling, swine that would throw their best friend under the election bus if it meant success at the polls.
As for “opportunistic” politicians ……
My favourite was Lucien Bouchard.
Formerly a Liberal, then a Progressive Conservative, then a Seperatist…….
Give Elizabeth May time. Her political weather vane could swivel if the winds of change blow in another direction. She does seem to like the coastlines of Canada. I predict her next stop will be a riding the Arctic Ocean…….
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When I was a kid, there were only three things basically accepted for discussion at the dinner table (save what was for dinner, homework and on TV). And that was sex, religion or politics. We tended to avoid sex most of the time but religion and politics got worked over pretty good. I am still surprised that religion and politics can get under people’s skin, tho. Our family only got worked up over homework and who had to do the dishes. Politics was just ‘normal’. Mind you, our politics always were about ‘doing the right thing’. And that may be where the difference has happened – no one believes the politicos are doing the right thing. The thing is, most of them are not but all of them think they are! None of those people – even the bribe-takers, pork-barrelers and trough-feeders think they are bad. They are promoting their own way of ‘doin’ good and they love this country! Why not, they get $1000/day per diems and huge expense accounts? THIS country is workin’ just fine for them. They think it is all good. Good ol’ opportunism. Good ol’ market economy. Good ol’ Capitalism. The point: they do NOT SEE THEMSELVES as bad people. They think they are right. They think that people who don’t do well in their system are bad people. Harper thinks he is the best thing Canada has had in decades. Hitler thought that, too. So did Stalin and Mao (the great helmsman). Not one of these people think they are bad. They don’t think at all, really, but that is because they believe blindly in the crap they believe in. Like religion. ‘Keep the faith’. Don’t open your eyes. Don’t think. Just follow the mantra and drink the Kool-Aid. Seriously, how many people are in the place they wanted to be because they believed and kept the faith? The 1%, mainly. Most others ‘settled’ and were ‘disappointed’. “I was not good enough to succeed in the system. If only I was born to be 7′ tall, eh? But I wasn’t. So, I work at Walmart. But I believe in free enterprise and the American Dream! And don’t talk to me about that commie crap – I got enough problems with my mobile home blowin’ away again and the meth lab next door!”
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What has happened the concept of the common societal good? A collective good! For the good of all persons?
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I have no idea. It may be simply no longer having to strive for something…like food and water. That kind of challenge makes people pull together. But, when most everyone has ‘enough to be comfortable’, then complacency sets in and we no longer unite in common cause. Maybe. Could be money, I guess. There is something inherently selfish about money. Whether you have too little, enough or too damn much, the very idea of having and getting money separates us. Barter brings us closer together – especially in the local economy – but money is a go-between and separates. Hard to relate to global corporations. I think.
Could also be technology. Those electronic screens separate us….at least in public places. They get the attention – not the people around you.
Or maybe it is just Malthusian – we are no longer trying to survive, we have proliferated to the point that most people think there are too many other people. 7 billion is a lot of people – who cares if a couple of million die off? Apathy for others could somehow be Darwinian? One of my personal favourites is the collection of lies, hypocrisy and lack of morality that seems to pass for truth. We laud some BIG shot as IF he or she was a good person because they were BIG…NOT because they were good. ONLY because they were rich or powerful. That makes people seek celebrity over substance. ‘Better to be famous for something’. Think Son of Sam. Unibomber. Any terrorist. Tin Pot dictators. The goal is to be known nowadays – not loved.
Where are the Gandhi’s? The MLKs? Mother Teresa’s? No one follows that path anymore. No percentage in it.
The good news? Common Good is not forgotten. People demonstrate it all the time….but at a local, personal level now. Unselfishness is NOT dead, just NOT getting celebrated. Seems Chicken Soup is just NOT interesting enough to get twittered.
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I agree with you people need a community to act in the best interests of all. It is challenging as you know we can pick ours friends but we can not pick our neighbours.
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I hear in the boating world it’s a virtue to change directions as dictated by changing conditions.Being able to adjust, change course, reconsider, evaluate, catch the favourable tide and act with intelligence. If only politicians were granted similar leeway. Such a politician ought to be seen as capable of learning not as lacking in conviction. Futility is continuing to do the same thing all the while expecting a different outcome.
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I agree. Being a politician is a tough job and they do it badly. I am not so sure that doing it well would make it easier, tho.
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