“We have a real choice this election”

May 31, 2018 · 0 Comments

(Re: Brock’s Banter, May 10)

One thing that hasn’t blown away is the bias toward the two main parties. Nowhere in a column about the forthcoming election are Andrea Horwath and the NDP even mentioned.
Tommy Douglas once called the Liberals and the (no-longer-progressive) Conservatives, the “Tweedle-dum” and “Tweedle-dee” of Canadian politics. We should recall that, according to Lewis Carroll, they “agreed” to have a battle, assuming that whichever prevailed no basic change would occur.
US novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote this about the similar situation in the US (Harper’s Magazine, November, 1972): In the United States there are two imaginary political parties – the Republicans and the Democrats; there are also two real political parties – the Winners and the Losers. And, since both imaginary parties are run by the Winners, in every election this much is certain: the Winners will win.
We needn’t be so cynical. We do have a real choice – not between tired, corrupt Liberals and blustering, hypocritical Conservatives. We should stop being in thrall to the imaginary parties notice that there is a real option.

Howard A. Doughty
Oak Ridges