Out in Left-Centre Field

Hey, everyone.

I'm sorry I haven't been so diligent in keeping things coming regularly. I'm back at the University of Waterloo for a summer term, thanks to co-op in the winter; and with that has come lectures, labs, tutorials, homework, assignments, quizzes, tests, impending midterms, interviews for the next co-op term, residence events, class events ... oh, and living, breathing and maybe sleeping in and around it all. I have yet to find a satisfactory balance.

And then there's the CYA. I'd love to do more if I could, but Engineering schoolwork being what it is, I'd be reckless to do so. I'm not even a CYA candidate, if you can believe it. I may yet take the plunge, but not knowing the date of the upcoming election makes a big difference when one follows a four-months-school, four-months-co-op system. It's chaotic, and even when the CYA does hold its first election in 2010, I'll already be 21 (and thus I won't be in the candidate age range for too long).

(Don't worry, the regional explorations of the 177 riding system will continue soon. Just not today.)

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And then there's the drama among the CYA members themselves. There was a bit of a furor sparked recently over a longtime conservative who wanted to run for the ANDY (a social democratic/progressive party) in the CYA's Model Parliament, as a bit of an "experience" (his words). This did not go over well -- quelle surprise. We decided to at least consider his offer, which unfortunately rankled multiple long-standing members of the ANDY whom this conservative had feuded with over his long time with the CYA and the old YPC. He got hammered on by other conservatives for being too left-wing. We got hammered on by other parties for being too tolerant. In the end, this ex-CYPCer proved he couldn't show humility and put those old feuds six feet under, and we rejected his offer. He subsequently left the CYA, period.

The end result? The damage was done. The CYPC has plunged into yet another contentious leadership race. We (the ANDY) lost at least three long-standing members -- two over considering his offer, and another who was put off by the drama and posturing. Make no mistake: as the leading voice in wanting to give a man a chance, I'm still kicking myself over even letting it get so out of hand. Does tolerance really have to cost this much? Or are we just too prone to kicking others when they're vulnerable?

I'm not going to lie -- the whole issue has made me long for the day when the CYA can recapture the momentum the old YPC once had and when these posturing, melodramatic few can be kept in check by the tolerant majority whom I know are out there somewhere. We need to take the "crisis du jour" mentality and stick it where we will never dig it up again. At the risk of sounding cliche, can't we all just get along? Does it have to be about the egos and the rivalries and the feuds of the past? Are we here to backslide into the flawed, overly partisan mentalities today's political leaders espouse, or are we here to bring a new and more inclusive attitude to the high honour of public office?

It's up to us to decide -- and we don't decide with words, but with actions.

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On a totally separate note, I bet you all heard about the election out in B.C. -- the one where nothing changed (hmm ... 2008 anyone? sound familiar?) and the MSM are singing the praises of the voters for rejecting electoral reform. Never mind that the media claim 39% for STV as a "crushing defeat", while 37% under FPTP nearly gets you a majority government. Never mind that almost half of the B.C. electorate couldn't be bothered to cast a ballot. The good ol' MSM could at least try addressing the holes in their scare tactics -- but that would require innovation and coherent thought. But that, really, isn't my point.

Lost amid the furor over that vote is the fact that Nova Scotia is having an election too. And the most recent polls may surprise you: it's a three-way race. Yes, likely a minority government -- but one more likely to prove such things can work in the interests of all. Believe me, I'll be up late on the 9th, watching the results crawl in. The national media seem to have no interest in covering it, but I should think it will be far more interesting and instructive than B.C.'s election could ever claim.