I
don’t know her at all well, but I’m confident I would probably like Michelle Stilwell.
Regardless of her politics, I’m confident she is a sound, compassionate and good person who is running for all the right reasons — to do what she sees as best.
Similarly, David Coupland seems like a stalwart individual and Barry Avis is dedicated and hard-working and equally determined to make the best case for the things he sees as important.
I believe Justin Trudeau to be a genuinely honest and talented man and that goes for Tom Mulcair and Elizabeth May as well. Similarly, I’m sure Stephen Harper has many positive qualities.
So that said, do you think we could please elevate the level of discourse out of the gutter and lose the penchant for character assassination politics? To be quite frank, I was completely disgusted with the eagerness with which the so-called Harper government took to the airwaves to attack Trudeau.
I’m heartily sick of the nasty, ad-hominem attack ads. They’re base, mean-spirited, vile and un-Canadian. Please stop.
Rather, what I would like to see is an honest airing of the different world views in play, with an even-tempered discussion of their various merits and deficiencies, so I can make a choice at the ballot box to vote for something, rather than against someone.
Politics has become so ugly in recent years it’s not surprising that people are staying away from the polling booths in droves. Why would anyone opt to cast their ballot when all the options have been repeatedly personified as scurrilous pieces of work not worthy of even receiving the vote of Joe the Drunk down the street?