It is like a whack-a-mole game. Every time you think you have settled the ignorance of one person proposing proportional representation, another pops up like an unwelcome termite in your house. You would think that more of us would want to protect our democracy. It sometimes feels like apathy is winning over democracy.
And where do these foolish people get off saying that proportional representation is more democratic? That is ridiculous. And what special knowledge do these people have to suggest that our first-past-the-post voting is a bankrupt system?
We should always remember that proportional representation is mainly used in countries with high rates of illiteracy. Because Canadians are literate, we get to vote for people, not just parties. We can send the best person to represent us and not have to just vote for a political party. We really do not have to elect the village idiot because he or she represents a certain party leader. Why would you want to give up the right to vote for a person?
What is most confusing about people mouthing slogans for proportional representation is why they think more people would vote under that system. Why? Do they believe that people only need less to think about so that they will be more eager to vote?
It was Edmund Burke back in the 18th Century who said “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” We should certainly try to remember that it was proportional representation that introduced Nazi Brown Shirts into the German Reichstag during the short life of the Weimar Republic. The Brown Shirts were not there to help.
But what is wrong in our electoral system is the control party leaders exert over their party members. The party leaders have far too much control over who can be nominated and who gets what position in parliament. And as for the Prime Minister’s Office, it is currently micro-managing the entire federal government. It is getting so bad that party leaders are telling potential candidates how to think. This is not only wrong but it goes against all the principles of how our government is supposed to function.
And now we have all these nincompoops saying that proportional representation will solve our electoral problems. What we do not need are unelected party officials in back rooms making up lists of people they want in parliament. These would be the people appointed by the parties to fill proportional seats.
Our parliamentary system is not broken. It just needs to have democracy restored.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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