Why Politics Matter

Politics matter because the stability of our country depends on it. Canada is changing and in an effort to remake ourselves, we want to make sure our political leaders are fighting for our rights and upholding the values we believe in. We all want a liveable world we can happily give to our children and grandchildren. In Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, Haidt writes, we are divided politically because of our innate differences and that we all suffer from confirmation bias. He says that we make moral decisions intuitively then justify them with rational arguments. For example, I can see why I’m a right of center person politically. I come from a blue collar working middle class home. I was educated in the school of hard knocks. There was no coddling in my household and nurturing someone’s self-esteem was considered laughable. There were no freebies. If I wanted something I had to go out and earn it. My upbringing, the era I was raised in, and my education has led me to this place. The world has changed but I have not. I feel like one of the most valuable things I can strive to attain in this lifetime is a well-rounded, informed mindset that expands my ability to see other points of view. Lord knows I’m trying but probably not as hard as I should be. I need to remind myself that we all come from different backgrounds and hold certain beliefs. When you spend as much time as I do online following politics you realize how easily we are divided into hostile groups each one certain of its righteous beliefs. The 24-7 news cycle can drive anyone insane. It puts so many contentious issues on repeat. How do we even begin to unite our own country when we have a media ecosystem that profits from dividing and demoralizing society? We should care about Canada as whole. Whether we align more right or left we can still elevate the principles of democracy, cooperation, and respect for our fellow Canadians. History is full of bad ideas, bad actors and bad policies and more will come but if we keep demonizing each other it will only lead to further destruction. Am I the only one?

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