I am not a politician, nor do I play one on television. And I am sufficiently politically aware and socially involved that I can point out where I disagree with and disapprove of decisions made by those in government (at any level).
But I also feel sorry for politicians. To misquote Rodney Dangerfield, "they don't get no respect".
One of the reasons I have no desire to run for office is that I have no desire to put up with the, to put it bluntly, crap that politicians get, particularly at the municipal level.
In a small community municipal leaders are, by and large, people who have offered to take a chunk of time out of their everyday lives to provide leadership and guidance to the whole community. And in exchange they get vilified at a regular basis for decisions that they make. These are our neighbours. They deserve respect. They deserve to be treated fairly.
I have never lived under a government whose decisions I always agreed with. I admit that I have spoken disparagingly of decisions and those who make them. But we owe them better. It is possible to think that the decision is wrong without calling the decision-maker names. Let's give it a try.
Good BAB Gord.
ReplyDeleteI think I can agree with you in regards to municipal politicians. Most have other day jobs and probably wonder at times if they need the hassle of politics.
However, politicians at a higher level of responsibility tend to get the respect they deserve. For example -- Stephen Harper has, in his short tenure as PM, cut funding for programs supporting children, women and the elderly. There is just to integrity to be found in that, and therefore, no respect.
Thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd two of them, even!
I agree, too. It's hard to separate the criticism of the idea from teh criticism of the person, but very important.
I don't know SUe. THe scary part is that the cuts announced since the election are part of Harper's integrity -- they follow directly from the neo-con point of view. THe lack of integrity comes in insisting that they wouldn't be made during the run-up.
ReplyDelete