But after reading the different stories and blogs and comments and tweets, it felt like it was time to rant a bit. So in no particular order:
#1. Canadians need to check their egos at the door. Anyone who claims that "we don't have US-style bigotry or hatred here" is living in a dream world. I see it every day. Read the comment section of any story involving Naheed Nenshi, Rachel Notley or Justin Trudeau. And it comes from all sides of the political spectrum. The keyboard warriors are alive and well here. This is no "Peace & Love" utopia and stop pretending it is. (Special note: For those who say "get a thicker skin" when it comes to politicians or media or anyone else, I have a fairly straight-forward question for you. Are you saying that we should all get used to the idea of being berated, belittled, intimidated or threatened? Because the answer should be "no." I don't care who you are, where you come from, or who crapped in your Corn Flakes, no one, and I mean NO ONE, deserves that kind of treatment, just because they're in the spotlight.)
#2. If you want to win in politics, simply trumpet something about "change." If the last Alberta election, Brexit or this US election isn't proof enough, I don't know what will be. In a weird way, I think the Occupy Movement has had a residual, albeit unknowingly profound, impact on the way everyone looks at "the establishment." We now question everything. The 99% are standing up and saying "if you don't serve us, we will gladly kick you out." That being said, people might not exactly know what that change will look like, but they know the current system is stiffing them. Which will set the bar for coming elections. If you're the Democrats looking to take power back, you'll need to be perceived as bringing about change. If you're right-wingers in Alberta, merging parties or not, you'll have to do the same. You have to be "The Agent of Change."
#3. Speaking of left-wing and right-wing politics, I have a bone to pick with the vast generalizations we're seeing (and we all know how much I love generalizations). In Alberta, just because someone is a little more right of you, doesn't mean they are a "Wildrose nutbar." And just because someone is a little more left of you, doesn't mean they are an "NDP/Libtard shill." I found some of the reaction from some Canadians to people claiming to be thinking about moving to Canada to be ridiculous. "We don't need any more Liberals here" seemed to be a common sentiment in a couple of comment sections I read. Whose to say they're Liberals? Maybe they're Republicans who felt disenfranchised by the Trump campaign. And maybe they are Liberals. When did it become so cotton-picking wrong to have a civilized debate with people from other political stripes to get a full understanding of where they're coming from. Which leads me to my next point...
#4. We gotta start listening to each other. I have friends on all sides of the political spectrum. Our conversations can get heated. They can sometimes be uncomfortable. But at the end of the day, I think we get a better understanding of why we support who we support. Somewhere along the line, we stopped listening to one another. There's a segment of the population that didn't feel like the system (under a Democratic president) was serving them well. There's also segments of the population that feel like a government led by Donald Trump won't serve their best interests either. Now, it is true that not everyone is going to be happy with every decision made. But this campaign really felt like everyone was talking into their own echo chambers. Instead of having civilized discussions about what was missing from each other's platforms, it turned into a giant game of "Marco Polo" where everyone was yelling, expecting everyone to find them in the sea of loud voices. Eventually, everyone just stopped listening. The Democrats weren't listening to those saying that the system wasn't helping them, while the Republicans weren't listening to those saying they feared the leader wasn't going to serve them. And the more everyone pushed, the harder everyone dug in.
#5. Everyone dug into their belief that their candidate was less corrupt than the other. And the trouble was, I don't think people realized that while they might have been standing for the good in their candidate, they were also standing for the bad. To get something, you had to give up something else. The candidates had a lot of baggage, which led to questions about how morally, politically, socially or fiscally bankrupt (or any combination) you were willing to be. It's no wonder the undecided voters had a hard time figuring out where to go. It's a dilemma that puts me to mind of this scene from The Newsroom, and how the two-party system is a little harder to navigate with shades of grey.
Don't get me wrong. This isn't a support piece for either candidate. Everyone has some soul-searching to do. Democrats, Republicans, pollsters, the media, even Americans. But it's Americans who cast their ballots, therefore they have spoken.. We might not like the outcome, but in a democracy, we have a winner and a loser. We can continue to be as divided as we are.
Or (and at risk of sounding like a hippie)...
We can learn from this experience and promise ourselves never to let this happen again. We're supposed to be part of a civilized, democratic world. We don't always have to agree. In fact, we need strong opposition in our political systems. But make sure it's effective opposition. Don't oppose for the sake of opposing or because "the other guys" like something. Give credit where credit is due. Agree when it makes sense for everyone. Come up with reasonable solutions to problems. Be good to one another instead of looking at our differences as a reason to hate. And govern the same way.
"I stand with everyone who isn't an asshole. Regardless of race, gender identity, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability and national origin."
You can add "political allegiance" to that list, too.
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