Broken Governments.

The provincial budget was handed down yesterday, and I got to witness it behind the scenes for the first time working with the Saskatchewan government. It was pretty interesting stuff (although hectic), and I have been been exposed to a torrent of various levels of politics over the last few months as a result of the University of Regina CFS referendum, URSU elections, my job and constantly reading political news while at said job. Although I still possess a love and profound interest of politics, I believe there are many faults in our modern day political climate in North America.

Recently, I had a chance to watch Polliwood, a documentary by Barry Levinson about Hollywood celebrities attending the Republican and Democratic conventions during the 2008 American election. The main point of the documentary was to showcase how the introduction of television to society has completely changed how people perceive government. Citizens are more concerned about their affiliation with a political party or image of their political leaders instead of actual policy or intellect. Political media channels such as MSNBC and Fox News have replaced individual thought and constructive dialogue as opinion influencers. The media has blurred the lines between reality and partisan fabricated propaganda. This is more prevalent in the USA, but it is relevant to the Canadian people as well.

The sad reality of it is that many people are not aware of why they are voting for a political party or representative. The social pressure or desire to conform when a friend, TV program or respected peer tells us to "Vote for candidate A" often gives us an easy alternative to learning more about other campaigns or identifying flaws within our chosen party. I mean, It feels really good to be accepted and belong to a crowd of like-minded people with supposedly similar viewpoints, right? This is the type of environment that encourages groupthink, which can be counter-productive to electing and running an effective government.

It is disappointing that we live in a society where party politics trumps what should be the main goal of parties: working together to hold each other accountable and to determine the best possible scenario for citizens.

Healthy discussion and constructive conversation is a novelty of the past. Political parties are very stubborn, and are so engrossed in their party's agenda that they often neglect a good idea set forth by the opposition or the needs of their constituent they were elected to represent. We live in a time where slanderous political ads are the norm. Where politicians have lost all respect for fellow politicians in the opposition, and watching a question period is often more chaotic and ill-mannered than a WWE event. It is even more depressing that many people justify and encourage this type of behavior by arguing that "they started it first".

It is unfortunate that we live in a democratic environment with so many external influences attempting to alter how we form our political beliefs. YOU should be the ones forming your own opinions. Don't allow social pressures, party politics or group-think to sway you. Discover the values and beliefs that matter to you, and act accordingly.

Nick.