Don't Let Me Down
I am still digesting the election results. I have been a New Democrat since well before I was old enough to vote. I remember taking Civics in junior high. I don't think they teach that any more. There was a federal election the year I was in grade 8. It was the year Joe Clark became Prime Minister, defeating Pierre Trudeau. I had to do a project that involved scrapbooking news articles about politics, and writing a summary of the ideologies and campaign platforms of the three main federal parties. Being an idealistic young person from a working class family, I naturally aligned myself with the NDP. I have been politically active all my adult life, although I have never been strident about it. I was an official, card carrying member of the NDP for many years, although I have let my membership lapse. I have been a campaign worker for several different NDP candidates, including John Dunsworth, Wendy Lill, and Alexa McDonough. I still cling to a faint hope that Ed Broadbent will come out of retirement. Broadbent and Trudeau were the two intellectual giants of Canadian politics in the 20th century. Brian Mulroney, Stephen Harper, and their ilk are an embarrassment by comparison.
But I digress.
The point I was about to make is that I ought to be jubilant over this long awaited NDP victory - a majority, no less! And yet, after thirty years of working and hoping for this moment, I feel less than exultant. I don't even feel cautiously optimistic. I actually feel quite cynical. I feel as though, after supporting this party for thirty years, it owes me something. It owes me its respect and regard. It owes me accountability. And above all, it owes me ethical, transparent, responsible government. I'll be watching carefully to see if it delivers.
But I digress.
The point I was about to make is that I ought to be jubilant over this long awaited NDP victory - a majority, no less! And yet, after thirty years of working and hoping for this moment, I feel less than exultant. I don't even feel cautiously optimistic. I actually feel quite cynical. I feel as though, after supporting this party for thirty years, it owes me something. It owes me its respect and regard. It owes me accountability. And above all, it owes me ethical, transparent, responsible government. I'll be watching carefully to see if it delivers.