"Our Broken Democracy" - If you feel like there are problems in our political system, this 40 minute video is well worth the watch.
Posted Mar 29, 2014, 12:42 PM UTC
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x posted to r/lectures, many thanks for the share
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Great. Now how do we stop the hegemony in order to make those few recommendations at the end a reality?
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Call your MP, regardless of their party, and ask them to support Micheal Chong's bill.
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It doesn't matter if you write your MP. They're tethered to their party and their platform. They're concerned with keeping their jobs. Our concerns are not shared by them.
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It's in their own interest to be free of the domination of their parties. But there is a collective action problem where if only one MP tries to break-free they will get the smack down. To avoid this, as many MPs as possible need to act together. The more support we show for this Bill, the safer they will feel in supporting it, and the more likely they will reach the critical mass needed to act collectively.
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I kinda wish Mr. Coyne was in politics, now this is a man I would vote for.
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Andrew Coyne: "I alluded to the media's role and I'd be amiss if I did not dwell on that a bit because we make an invaluable contribution to ruining virtually every election that comes our way".
That's just the beginning of his tirade about the media. I don't think you actually watched this lecture before commenting :-/
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He does mention journalism's responsibility in the video. He says "when news organizations say there were no knock-out blows what they really mean is there were no usable clips"
He goes on to say "I alluded to the media's role and I'd be remiss not to mention it. We make an invaluable contribution to ruining every election that comes our way"
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If two wolves and a sheep vote on what is for dinner. Does that mean the sheep agreed to be dinner? After all he had a chance to vote.
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I see that you have just spammed this comment in 4 different posts. What precisely is your point here? How does this relate to the video? Instead of spamming a generic response to several different posts, why not write one that specifically deals with the post at hand?
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He's saying that the entire basis our present implementation of 'Democracy' is bullshit. 51% of the people can fuck 49% sideways? Is that right? If 51% of the population was against gingers, and gingers made up 49% of the population and there was a vote to make gingers second class citizens without any rights or services is that ok to you?
That's how the basis our busted ass political system operates. Over 60% of our population is NOT represented on the federal level! It doesn't even have to be as cut and dry as 51%-49% thanks to the wonderful first past the post system we use! 60% of Canadians are un-represented right now in government. Is this right to you? It's touted that democracy should be for all around the world, that it's the greatest thing to happen to modern society, but here it is failing Canadians! It's not that -our- democracy is broken, it's that the very ideal itself is! No one has the right to choose what is best for -me- and no one has the right to inflict their will upon me either. With that, I also do not have the right to inflict -my- will upon others, or to violate the rights and freedoms guaranteed to them as human beings. Democracy tosses that aside in favour of the majority. I don't agree with that what so ever.
Edit: Actually, I don't -know- what the poster above me meant for sure, he could mean he dislikes all democracy, or our present iteration. I personally have a problem with our present iteration, and would like to see us improve our democratic system to serve its constituents better.
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If 51% of the population was against gingers, and gingers made up 49% of the population and there was a vote to make gingers second class citizens without any rights or services is that ok to you?
This is a poorly constructed straw man argument. We can have a democracy with constitutional protections to prevent this. Just like we already have, right now, in Canada. This sort of hyperbole is ridiculous. All it does is highlight that you have no idea how our current system works.
In terms of your comments regarding a lack of representation. I completely agree with you. However, those problems can be mitigated, and have been all over the world in countries which have abandoned first past the post voting systems.
No one has the right to choose what is best for -me- and no one has the right to inflict their will upon me either.
Tell that to your parents. This is not such a black and white issue. I could easily come up with scenarios where I am almost certain I could convince you that this is completely wrong.
I'll provide an example. Let's say there is a deadly plague spreading across the country, something horrific, like Spanish Influenza. The government institutes temporary quarantine on some area of a city, say Toronto, which has been particularly infected to prevent the spread of the disease to the rest of the country. You live in this area of Toronto. Yes, our society is collectively screwing you over, we are, inflicting our will on you, as you put it. We are doing it to save the lives of countless numbers of your neighbors and Canadians in general. As far as I am concerned, we are wholly justified in doing so.
This absurd notion of unlimited freedom is completely childish, and no nation on Earth has been stupid enough to implement it.
I completely agree that democracy in general isn't a perfect Utopian system of government. To be frank, it is the best system I've seen, particularly when it comes to rights and freedoms of individuals.
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This is a poorly constructed straw man argument. We can have a democracy with constitutional protections to prevent this. Just like we already have, right now, in Canada. This sort of hyperbole is ridiculous. All it does is highlight that you have no idea how our current system works. In terms of your comments regarding a lack of representation. I completely agree with you. However, those problems can be mitigated, and have been all over the world in countries which have abandoned first past the post voting systems.
I have a pretty good understanding of our current political system and am fully aware of Section 15 working to prevent acts of discrimination. I'm also pretty familiar with Section 8, and how little our government gives a shit about that, so why should I trust that -any- of the Constitution Act 1982 really means anything?
We both agree that first past the post system is not working for Canadians, though, and that's a pretty solid starting point on working to a solution. I mentioned in another comment that we're never going to have 100% satisfaction at all, and we're never going to have 'unlimited freedom' either; I'm not asking for that either. I'm not entire certain what -would- be a good balance myself either, but I know what we have isn't working for me!
Just because you feel democracy is the best for you, does not mean that it is best for everyone nor does it mean that it cannot be refined into something more acceptable to those who would otherwise not be comfortable with it. You and myself have identified a problem we both agree is a problem, now what do we do to get anything done about it? I've had an awful hard time holding my elected officials accountable to their campaign claims and to the oath of office they've sworn to. With that I would have to say we need to also focus on the accountability of elected officials, and come up with solutions to keep them accountable to their constituents and dole out repercussions should they fail to conduct themselves accordingly.
I also can't say I wouldn't agree to a quarantine in such an instance, but that is an extremely .. well.. extreme case. There are times when extraordinary measures must be taken, but I could say in the instance of the Boston bombing... door to door searches would be absolutely un-fucking-reasonable to me. Others may accept this invasion of their privacy, I however do not.
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How come socialists always use examples that tell us when it is OK to kill some one else? How come violence and the threat of is the only means you guys have with dealing with problems?
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Wow you're awful great at forming an intelligent rebuttal. I don't have a solution, it takes more than one person to come up with one. I don't know how to fix a broken rod in an engine, but I can sure tell it's broken! I guess by opening a dialogue with my friends and neighbours I can work to a solution to fix the broken rod in my engine. Gee.. ya think maybe we could tackle our political problems the same way? By engaging our fellow constituents and working to a solution that actually works to the benefit of more than the mighty 51%!? It's not perfect, it's never going to be 100% acceptance, there will always be those who are unhappy but it's pretty fucking clear that our current system doesn't work. It's time for something new, and until we try new things we won't find out what works best for us. We have identified the problem, it is now time to work to a solution.
How about you stop and think for a moment before letting your fingers make you look like a fool.
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The question explains what is wrong with democracy. If you have a suitable answer I would love to hear it.
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The question doesn't explain anything, it presumes one voter has predatory intentions on another, instead of merely disagreeing. It's a piece of lingual fluff that you think makes you sound clever.
Edit: It does help in one regard: how many times have we all lamented "I can only downvote this once"?
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It does matter because all votes are binary either for or against there is no none of the above option. Its always a lesser of two evils choice.
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"explains". lol
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Well tell me how it doesn't apply to our democracy.
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I think anytime I get correspondence from someone in politics, I'm going to send them a reply asking them to watch this video and to write back what they think about it. In fact, I've got some paper and a flyer from Malcolm Allen. I guess I'll start with him.
Yes Mr. Putin, you teach that man about democracy!
Malcolm Allen hates me, I've messaged/called and even been to his office on King more times than I can count.
I've attempted similar years ago. I have received so many canned responses it disgusts me. I have zero faith in our elected representation.
Hell.. recent correspondence between myself and CRA in regards to a slight EI overpayment has come from 3 different people so far, but all the same signature! The signature doesn't appear to match any of the names it's signed for either. Fucking dicks took 6 months to get me any money, spent all my savings, lost my apartment, had to move to the sticks an hour away from any job because that's where my dad lives, making it harder to find work and they're after me for 400 bucks NOW from almost 6 years ago? Go fuck yourselves CRA! I'm not giving money to a government that is just going to use it to fund breaking Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In R. v. TELUS, the Supreme Court of Canada found that the reasonable expectation of privacy protected by Section 8 of the Charter applies to modern communications technologies such as text messages, even if the data in question is located on a third-party server. The government itself must not have got that memo.
And before the sassy bastards start chiming in, yes I pay for the roads I use with fuel taxes, I don't -use- healthcare (1x in ten years), I don't -use- public schools, I still pay income tax, I still pay into CPP (you're welcome to all my money Babyboomers, too bad there won't be any left for me!) and still pay into EI. It's bad enough they're getting as much money from me as it is, I don't want to add fuel to their illegal actions! If Tim Hortons spent some of its money illegally spying on you (and they probably do within the law [hopefully] due to consumer metrics being of utmost importance in commerce) would you continue to wait in line every morning for your double double?
I sure hope not. The only vote that counts in this country anymore is the one you make with each dollar you spend.