Toward civility

I intend to vote for Jagmeet Singh in about 10 days from now. I have never voted NDP before. Not in 40-some years as a voting aged citizen. I confess I write this column not because I seek to influence your choice but more to understand my own. When embarking on an unfamiliar course, I find it helps to consider the pros and cons out loud. Column-writing as therapy.

To be clear, and to head off any notion that this is evidence of further decline in my capacity to reason, this decision likely reflects a temporary reorientation of my personal political compass rather than a permanent shift leftward in the way I see the world. Nor do I believe it signals a reckless use of my vote in a democratic institution in which I believe devoutly. This is not a frivolous choice. It is not done as an emblem of a political or social statement. It is not a protest, nor is it done in spite.

I am at this crossroad because I find Jagmeet Singh to be a decent person. Smart and well-spoken for sure. And when he speaks, he seems to believe the words that come out of his mouth—a feat neither of the leaders of the two leading parties seem able to manage.

At this moment, decency matters enormously. More than policies. More than promises. More than strength. I have a hunger for a return to decency. Honest disagreement. Discussion. Passion, for sure. I am hungry, too, to see the end of the desperate need to annihilate those with whom we disagree.

It has been a dreary and disheartening election so far in this regard. Neither of the two main leaders’ hopes to form a government have inspired optimism for the next four years. Neither has offered a compelling vision of where they want to take our nation. Neither has persuaded me that they deserve my vote. Both seem bent on obliterating the other.

The turning point for me came, however, when Singh encountered a voter at the Atwater market in Montreal a few days ago. The NDP leader was shaking hands and canvassing for votes on a crisp fall morning. He heard a voice to his side and turned to say hello. An older, heavy-set man had tried to get the leader’s attention. “Good to see you. Are you okay?,” Singh asked. It seemed a sincere greeting and a genuinely caring question rather than a cloying attempt to win a vote.

The older man, then leaned into Singh’s ear to suggest the NDP leader would have more success in Quebec if he removed his turban. It was hurtful and thoughtless advice, though from his twisted point of view, likely wellmeaning.

Singh’s pleasant demeanor did not change. He simply told the voter that he disagreed.

“I think Canadians look like all sorts of people,” Singh responded with gentleness and kindness. It was true. It was honest. The gentleman pressed his point of view. Singh assured him, “This is Canada, you can do whatever you like.”

I will admit that my heart swells each time I watch that encounter. Singh had responded, in that split second, the way I would want my best self to have done. With grace. With dignity. Pointing to a better way of thinking about politics.

A small encounter for sure. Hardly the typical foundation upon which to cast a vote in a federal election. Yet, from that moment on, I listened to Singh’s words more closely. To his speeches. Paid attention to his writings. I disagree profoundly with many (perhaps most) of his policies, yet, I hear in his voice, a man who believes the words he is saying. I hear a person who genuinely wants to make Canada a better place. That is good enough. For now.

Political campaigns of this era seem plagued by calculation and degradation. Polling has become so precise, that Justin Trudeau or Andrew Scheer know that offering a pony to a narrow constituency offers the possibility of shifting fortunes across a broad region. The only trick is to understand how many ponies, what colour and upon whom they should bestow these gifts—in order to generate maximum effect. We have, in turn, become complicit in this arrangement. We are all much too eager and willing consumers of this political racketeering— queuing up to be bribed with our own money. With nary a thought about the mortgage we are loading up on our children.

Meanwhile, the leading political parties, prodded by social media, work to demean their opponents with sickening machine-like predictability. It is stomach- churning that the weakest moments of our lives have become the currency of election campaigns. Oppo binders are created months earlier and sprinkled selectively, according to a schedule. Their only purpose is to debase, diminish and defeat.

The purveyors of these techniques believe themselves clever and effective. They are likely both. But they are also a blight upon the political landscape. They seek to erode the trust we have in each other. They need us to believe that those who carry different political viewpoints, must be naive, thoughtless or evil. I reject this notion utterly. Completely.

So in this election I am choosing decency. I am casting my vote for Jagmeet Singh because I believe him to be an honest and sincere person. I can live with the wackier NDP policy plans, comfortable in my faith in our institutions—that they will blunt the sharper corners of those policy ambitions.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Bell is a bright and energetic young person I would be happy to represent me in Ottawa.

These are choices I can live with. I choose decency.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca

Correction

In my column last week I complained that the majority of the funding for the Picton Library addition was coming from municipal coffers. I was wrong. Approximately $800,000 has already been raised in the form of bequeaths and donations. Expansion proponents intend to raise an additional $1 million dollars toward the proposed $2.7 million project. This means the bulk of the capital costs will come from the private sector through donations and contributions from individuals and businesses. Sorry.