Political Minefield

It's said that there are three topics one should never discuss at the dinner table: sex, religion, and politics.

Sex and dinner don't mix, unless you've got some kind of food fetish, in which case I wish you'd keep it to yourself. Politics and religion are very similar--indeed, certain religions (such as Islam) do double duty as political systems--and both tend to heat up debates to the boiling point and beyond. It's enough to give you indigestion.

I see this country slowly sliding into the cesspool that is the United States, where everything is political and the media does all it can to divide "us" from "them". It bothers me to no end that it is growing increasingly difficult to have a reasoned and reasonable discussion on politics; it bothers me even more that political parties are actually working hard to exacerbate the situation. Canada used to be about consensus and tolerance. My Canada still is. It's hard to watch my Canada receding in a haze of "reckless coalitions" (as if co-operation was somehow an evil thing) and vicious personal attacks.

The fact is, most people with any interest in politics at all incorporate views from all over the political spectrum. Rare is the devout Marxist or the truly committed libertarian. Most of us have to hold our noses at least a little when we're voting, whatever vote we cast. This is inevitable because political campaigns reduce complex issues to simplistic slogans, but voters can't be similarly reduced. I may disagree, and strongly, with the Whacko Party's stance on a particular issue, but I'll still vote Whacko. Or I might agree with the majority of the Loony Party's platform, but feel that the Loony leader is a pompous windbag with the trustworthiness of a toad. Meanwhile, because I've voted Whacko, people make all sorts of unfounded assumptions about me, many of which may well be wrong.

Local representation confuses matters further. How do you vote if you like what your local MP has done for your riding, but have grown to despise her party? Or vice versa?

All of these scenarios have played out in elections past for me, and some will undoubtedly play out again in this one. I'll be endorsing a party closer to May 2nd, and when I do, it'll be with reservations. I'll also be sure to tell you that you're not an idiot just because you're voting Conservative, nor any less a Canadian for casting a Liberal ballot. I'd like to have a sincere and opprobrium-free discussion of each political party and their values 'round this here Breadbin, and alienating any of my guests isn't the way to go about that.