Dear Editor
The last time the Liberals were the governing party in Canada, a political scandal in Quebec was often cited at the time as a major reason for their losing their mandate to govern. That was less than a decade ago, but Canadians seem to have become much more tolerant of political scandals since the Harper Conservatives have been in power.
One reason may be that the Harper government scandals have been much more numerous and wide spread than those of previous governments, so much so, they have become “old hat” to many, resulting in a kind of political tone deafness. Things that are that commonplace tend to lose general interest.
Another factor may be the growing tendency for many to think all politicians are corrupt and generally devious. And that kind of thinking by the electorate is certainly not good for any kind of functioning democracy. If “they are all rotten,” why bother to try to understand the real differences between political parties or political leaders? Why should busy ordinary folk take the time to find out which party would be best for the country? If they are all bad, why vote?
Or worse yet, poorly informed people could vote out of anger and frustration for a power-hungry devious demagogue who uses that anger to get personal power. History is full of examples of what happens to democratic government when that kind of person gets in power.
Politics matters. There can be no better insurance for a well-functioning democracy than a well- informed electorate.
Russell Lahti
Battleford
