Sep 12
7
Bullets, ballots and the politics of frustration: Rod Taylor
We live in frustrating times, in confusing times, in desperate times. From municipal politics to provincial to federal and certainly in the minefield of international politics, there is a growing angst as well as a disappointment in the process of choosing leaders and policies that are hoped will improve and not diminish the human condition.
Human history is littered and stained with collapsed empires, slaughtered peoples, slavery and dominance, opulence and poverty and the steady undertone of downtrodden people “yearning to breathe free.” The human heart longs for justice and the human mind and spirit strive to achieve it. Periods of disconsolate acquiescence to seemingly permanent injustice are interspersed with flashes of brilliant and engaging upheaval as classes or races or clans or guilds or nations stir themselves in an unusual display of unity to reverse decisions, to replace assumptions and to renew that ageless quest for recognition, respect and reward.
Just on this side of the world we see our neighbours to the south agonizing over who shall hold the reins for the next four years even though—by most accounts—the next four years may resemble a train wreck in terms of economic developments. Payments are coming due as surely as the chickens come home to roost and the unfortunate heir to the highest office in the most powerful nation on earth will, without a doubt, have to disappoint many, fool some and accept compromise on many fronts in order to accomplish anything worthwhile.
On this side of the border, in a land far from home, the citizens of Quebec have just elected (by a small margin, with a small percentage of the eligible voters) an alternate to the Liberals who have governed Quebec these past 11 years. The Parti Quebecois, under new leader, Pauline Marois, were elected on Tuesday night and are forming a minority government. While separatism is part of their platform, many feel that voters were not choosing separatism but rejecting former Liberal leader Jean Charest. It’s happened before. In the “orange crush” of 2011, Quebeckers surprised the nation by electing a whole raft of inexperienced NDP MPs in a move that showed not so much their loyalty to Jack Layton (though now, a year after his death, he has been lionized and made an icon for many), but rather their unhappiness with the ruling Conservatives. In the Spring of this year, Canada was shown, night after night, the misguided mayhem of the student revolt in Quebec and the “solidarity” movement that it sparked no doubt was a key in solidifying the public opposition to the fading Liberal government.
And now, in the aftermath of Tuesday’s return to power of the PQ, Canadians are once again being forced to deal with the tragic events of that night. When the ballots were counted and the PQ was seen to be in the ascendancy, one man gave vent to his frustration by shooting to death a fellow Canadian, a sombre reminder of the high stakes in play when clashing worldviews produce levels of disappointment verging on despair. In spite of the frustrations and disappointments with politicians and the political process, Canadians must resolve to maintain our confidence in the “supremacy of God and the rule of law.”
We extend our condolences to the family and friends of Denis Blanchette. We extend our congratulations to Pauline Marois and her new government. Like all governments in human history, they have been granted an opportunity by God—the one who raises up governments and can bring them down—to enact just laws, to represent their constituents well and especially the weakest and most vulnerable, the children of Quebec, born and preborn. What they spoke of during the campaign is not as important as what they do with their mandate. May they not squander it.