Civility in politics is essential in order to have productive conversations and debates that will improve the quality of life for people that we are elected to serve. I fear our democracy has been weakened through our collective failure to be civil toward those who may adopt a different partisan affiliation from ourselves.
In the first week of the current election period, I have already seen signs of a troubling level of political discourse in our community. Commentary on social media in our own communities is already making analogies between our campaign and the holocaust, suggesting our slogan should be “Re-elect ISIS”, or stating that politicians don’t care about children. Within the first few hours of the election, two large signs were broken down in front of our campaign headquarters.
Truth be told, these individual acts do not bother me greatly, but they reflect a recent trend in our political discourse that I find deeply concerning. Ordinary debates between left-leaning liberal ideologies and right-leaning conservative ideologies have been become sharply divided and are increasingly characterized by over the top accusations against the character of those who do not share our opinions or worldview.
The conversation around many modern political issues has become difficult, and at times, hateful. As social media has become a primary driver of the political narrative in Canada, we are seeing deep divisions in our communities along partisan lines. We are fed a stream of content that tends to confirm our predispositions rather than test our beliefs. The echo chambers we are exposed to only serve to deepen the divide between different sides of the political spectrum.
We too often treat those we disagree with as our enemies instead of our friends and neighbours.
Disagreement in our democracy is healthy. In fact, it is essential. It is by considering the viewpoints of others that we are better able to inform our own opinions and grow as individuals. I fear that the healthy debate that once characterized our democratic discourse has become poisoned. Politicians are incentivized to pander to an audience, rather than provoke thoughtful ideas and innovative solutions that inspire Canadians to think differently than they did previously.
I have no problem with a spirited debate, or even an impassioned defence of a partisan policy or position. But, when we abandon reason or decide not to listen to those we disagree with, our debates cease to make a contribution to our collective well-being and can actively do us harm. As a local representative, I believe it is essential to vigourously critique the ideas of my political opponents when those ideas would do harm to my community. But, it does no good to attack the person who puts those ideas forward. The tenor of our debates has moved on from healthy political discourse toward hatred and disrespect.
The notion that we can equate our political opponents to nazi-Germany, or that they sympathize with terror organizations, or that they don’t care about our children is outlandish. The destruction of property belonging to a campaign you do not support is entirely unacceptable. People in our community make donations to help a candidate or party they believe in. Volunteers of every party dedicate their time to putting these things in place. I would ask those supporting our campaign to avoid turning this election into a slanderous affair and respect the property of our challenger’s campaigns.
The hateful commentary directed towards our campaign pales in comparison to the disproportionately hateful response that women in politics receive from members of the public on social media. Harassment has become par for the course for many of the women I have worked alongside over the past four years. Most recently, one of my colleagues who serves as a cabinet minister was in the news for requiring personal security after the hateful and threatening comments she has grown accustomed to online moved from twitter into the real world in her own community. At times these hateful comments have been directed towards her in the presence of her children. In another recent example, a female colleague from New Brunswick had election signage vandalized with images of swastikas. This kind of conduct is reprehensible and causes good people to avoid choosing a career in politics.
My hope is that we all remember that the traits we have in common as Canadians are far greater than the differences that divide us. The golden thread that binds the social fabric of our nation cannot be found in the comments section of social media. We can find what makes us Canadian in our collective desire to take care of our neighbours. We can see it in the spirit of volunteerism that followed our recent experience with Hurricane Dorian. We can find it in our shared belief that the less fortunate deserve the support of those who have done well in life. We can find it in the sense of pride we all feel when Canada plays a leadership role in solving the great challenges facing our world. We can find it in our desire to ensure that people are not discriminated against on the basis of the circumstances of their birth. We can find it in thousands of daily examples of Canadians coming together for the common good, no matter their difference of opinion.
Let’s remember during this election cycle that it does no good to throw personal insults, misrepresent the positions of our competitors, or spread hate towards others.
Let’s instead put our competing ideas on the table for our community members to consider. Let us have reasonable disagreement, and engage in a spirited debate. Let us each make our case as to why we should have the privilege of representing our communities in the House of Commons and let the electorate send the candidate of their choice to represent us in Ottawa - and let’s be civil throughout the process.
After all, that is what democracy is meant to look like.
SeanFraser
Liberal Candidate for Central Nova
