Poli-ticky

There are a handful of people in this world that I can talk politics with, and on a really good day that number includes my wife. Which isn’t to say she’s not interested and informed in politics, she is, it’s just that given an opportunity to talk politics I’m likely to dominate the conversation with it until a) I get hungry or b) sleepy.

So, unless a particular issue is really sticking in her craw she’s liable to leave that topic of conversation alone, to preserve her sanity if nothing else.

But I tell you, with what passes for informed discourse these days I’m becoming more and more disgusted with the whole process.

It’s a point of pride with me that no one knows how I vote. Although my father likes to take the piss out of me by pretending that I’m some hard core left wing socialist I’ve never told anyone, ever, how I’ve voted in any given election. Part of that is because I don’t want to be pigeon holed as some sort of one party sycophant. Once someone identifies you politically in their mind, that’s who you’ll be to them forever more, despite how your political needs and opinions might change over time.

But I’ve wandered off topic here.

What spurred this post was my growing annoyance with the Toronto Star’s recent decision to allow comments on all their online new stories. Now every time a political story is run the comments section heats up almost instantaneously with idiots hiding under the guise of electronic anonymity, blasting writers and political parties simply for being ideologically different than they are.

Even the most objective information is blasted with partisan vitriol and hostility.

What the hell happened to mature debate? I’m old enough and mature enough to look at all the political parties out there and see something in each platform that appeals to me.

Green Party – Environmentalism
NDP – Urban Issues
Conservatives – Smaller Government
Liberal Party – Um. Environmentalism

I can respect a different point of a view from own, as long as it’s presented to me in a mature and grown up manner. It’s called life. Someone is always going to disagree with you, that doesn’t automatically make them the anti-christ.

And yet the bashing continues as if anyone who thinks differently is a criminal of the worst sort. If you identify online with one political party, then a free for all dog pile of hate, scorn and public shaming begins. It’s impossible for anyone to engage you like a human being. It’s not just the anonymous yahoos either. Or political leaders, our so-called role models, routinely bash each other or any special interest group they deem unlikely to support them.

Take a look at the sustained Conservative attack on Ontario. Feeling unlikely to win many seats in the province the Tories feel like its open season on our politicians, our policies and our province. The only way they can make themselves look big is by knocking around someone else who can’t compete with them at the same level.

I’m not naïve. I know that politics is a blood sport, built more around political parties staying in power, as opposed to a nobler calling. It takes a strong stomach to wade into the mess and separate the wheat from the chaff, finding parties and policies that work for you, rather then just picking one party and sticking with it – cause, you know, it’s easier to do that than put any real thought into what’s happening around you.

I just can’t help but feel like this sustained e-bashing is designed to make the whole experience even more exclusionary, driving the moderates and the mature into the shadows, unwilling to take on the ravenous partisan appetites of those who troll the internet looking to make a point. And that’s a shame, because democracy is about hearing from all voices, espeically the ones you don’t like.