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Jocelyn’s Jottings: The beginning of election season

Democracy is flawed, and that is never more apparent than during an election year.
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Democracy is flawed, and that is never more apparent than during an election year.

Watch as big money is dedicated to things that everyone loves, like veterans, education and national parks, as the government ministers travel out to small towns they have never been to in order to make funding announcements.

Not that veterans affairs, education and national parks shouldn’t get funding, I’m merely suspicious of the circumstances around the announcements.

I can just imagine a public relations team putting up a calendar and strategically planning when to give money to which near-to-the-heart cause.

But maybe I am just cynical. It probably comes from years of asking politicians questions and getting long-winded responses that don’t provide any answers. Or maybe it comes from reading about the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Election years frustrate me. The underlying worry around losing or gaining power seems to come to the forefront of our decision makers’ minds instead of their main job of running the country.

I don’t know how Americans can stand the two year campaign period. Ours is usually just over a month, sometimes two, and that is enough for me.

The whole thing sometimes seems like an out of control Halloween party with a four-year hangover afterwards.

I suppose I kind of understand. If I knew I might be losing my job in October, I would be working hard to convince my bosses that I am worth keeping. Now imagine if you have 37 million people who felt like they had a right to tell you what to do.

I admit that would be a lot of pressure, but in my opinion that is where communication is key and secrecy bites everyone in the butt.

Living in the public spotlight and having everything you say scrutinized must be difficult. I imagine private meetings are nice, to have a chance to say whatever you are thinking without worrying that someone on the internet might threaten your family.

The problem with secrets, if they are revealed, is all trust is lost. All that work down the drain.

As much as I complain about elections, I also enjoy covering them. It feels like an important job to muddle through the glitz and glamour of flashy promises, expensive suites and forced smiles, to get at the real issues that Canadians are concerned about.

The arguing and the finger pointing is also very entertaining. It isn’t productive, but it’s nice to see even the most practiced show their passion.

So, as the funding announcements roll out and the members of the opposition point out the mistakes even louder, don’t forget to look at the four years as a whole.

Just because one party leader looks better than the other now, it doesn’t mean that can’t change six months from now when the interview lights are shut off.

In the end, even though I have to stifle laughter at campaign events and I shake my head while transcribing some of the debate speeches, I admire people who want to be politicians.

They have the belief and hope that they can make a difference on a much grander scale than I do, and they risk a lot for their work.

Such a beautiful idea with such an ugly reality.


 

@JDoll_Revy
jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com

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