Wearing a label seems wrong. While we are often willing to bestow labels on others, we know that we are more complex. And if you live long enough, you know that nobody is perfect. It should concern us that those who choose to wear labels should chose those labels with care. I would suggest that, in Canada, we are getting careless with political labels and we need to pay more attention.
For today, I think we can have a discussion on progressivism. It is an easy topic, as I think of myself as a left of centre liberal, or, in a single word, a progressive. In North Korea, I would likely be considered a capitalist deviant and a troublemaker. In the United States I have been told I am a deviant socialist, and a troublemaker. And that is just because I agree with Bernie Sanders.
The problem is that there is no place for a true progressive in either a communist dictatorship or a capitalist-dominated republic. Dictatorships have non-malleable management. The American Constitution was written by the elite landowners of the colonies and the country has been run by their progeny ever since.
Republicans in the U.S. and conservatives in Canada are similar in that they have come to think of progressives as people concerned about their entitlements. They think we want too much. I guess we do. That does not mean though that we want more than the country can afford. We have to set priorities. Medicare was a priority. It was not to save money. It did, but that was not the intent. Medicare was an entitlement for all citizens. It saved lives. The only priority was the seriousness of the need. And a government that recognized the fairness of Medicare passed it into law in Canada. That was a government for the people, elected by the people, to serve the people.
I think the most serious concern of Canadian progressives today is the approach to adding dental care to Medicare. Piecemeal puts it at risk. We have to go all-in.
One of the concerns for progressives in both Canada and the United States is that both countries are constrained by their constitutions. We need change, not just amendments. Amendments are patchwork that cause problems. Democracy is government by the people and for the people. We have to get back to democracy.
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