Dear Canada

[bjarvis]

Dear Canada:

I can't tell you how much I miss your elections. I've been living in Maryland for nearly 15 years now and have seen multiple election cycles so I think I've accumulated enough data points here to offer some comparisons.

Election campaigns in Canada are mercifully brief: they last anywhere from 21 to 42 days, tops. That nicely contains the insanity of the season into a compact portion of the calendar. If we can survive six weeks, we're in the clear for another four years or so.

Not so in America. Political advertising is now a 24/7/365 permanent blather. Sure, there are lulls in the battle in the 72 hours immediately following a major election but it picks up gradually again until it reaches full shriek for the three months leading up to election day.

And while Canada has had some whack jobs of would-be politicians, 99% got filtered out before ever being able to run for office and most of the last 1% were rightfully rejected by the public at the ballot box. A few nuts slipped through, of course --there's no denying that. What would we have done without the parliamentary psychodrama of, say, Helena Guergis?

Still, it seems Americans require their politicians to be insane. I don't mean just amusingly eccentric like British Columbia's Amor de Cosmos. I mean utterly completely bat-shit freaking nuts. The more out-of-touch-with-reality, the better it seems. Folks like Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle. It's like someone went trolling through the isolation wards of psychiatric hospitals, found the most delusional patient, took them off their meds and put them on the hustings with clean clothes and an unlimited checkbook.

No one has ever accused Canadian politicians (or runners-up) of being especially honest. Lord knows, there isn't enough space in this journal for all of the whoppers which have escaped the lips of the Dominion's political class. Remember the late 1980s when the NDP went on about how NAFTA meant America would begin draining the great lakes? Hasn't happened. I checked: the great lakes are still there.

Still, Canucks can't hold a candle to American politicians. Death panels! The gov't is coming for your guns! Your marriage is under threat! The president isn't an American! The president is Muslim! No, seriously: grandma may not be shovel-ready but facts definitely seem to be. Even a $600 million fine for health care fraud isn't a barrier to the governorship of Florida for Rick Scott or hiring undocumented workers while complaining about undocumented workers for California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

The thing I've loved best about Canadians and their political representatives is this: they're not afraid to be smart. In fact, the political parties frequently default to selecting an intellectually gifted leader, the man or woman who happened to be the smartest one (or nearly so) in the room. I want to vote for a person who is smarter than me, more aware than me, and more knowledgeable than me. I want a person representing me and making decisions affecting the country who is better qualified than I am for the role. Alas, most of these brilliant folks couldn't charm their way out of a paper bag --I'm looking at you, Stephane Dion-- but I'd rather take a risk on smart-but-unlikely-to-win than dumb-as-a-rock-but-electable. I want thoughtful solutions, not a smooth voice with telegenic hair. At the very least, I want them to be able to list all ten provinces and three territories.

Alas, an IQ above room temperature is frequently a disqualifier for American public office. If you can perform addition or read the US constitution, you will be branded an "elite" or "intellectual." Whereas you, my fellow Canadian, might think this a supreme compliment, it's a profound slur here in the land of the free, etc.. Rand Paul gives himself professional certifications he couldn't earn properly, Joe Miller uses thugs to control needling members of the press, Christine O'Donnell didn't know there was a constitutional separation of church & state, Sarah Palin thinks seeing a country makes her qualified to negotiate treaties with it, and so on.

There isn't much good news to offer from the US at the moment, but there are some tidbits. With a little luck, the loonies won't take the Senate even if they grab the House of Reps. The White House isn't up for another two years. Many of those who thought they could buy political office with their personal millions and/or billions seem to be on the road to failure. If nothing else, the extreme campaigning will go dormant for 48-72 hours, giving us all a much-needed break.

And then it will start all over again.

Comments

[pectopah.livejournal.com]

Well said. So much has to do with campaign financing, which allows for neverending election cycles.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

In spite of what is sure to be dire news in the US election results, my own frustrations with our ridiculous electoral process, my concern over perceived Canadian elitism, the continued dumbing down of politicians, I'm thinking I'd still rather live here than say, oh, Cuba, for instance.

Not that I don't want the process to change (shorter would be astronomically better). Now.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

I want to vote for a person who is smarter than me I, more aware than me I, and more knowledgeable than meI.

=)

You're right though… As I mentioned to my friend Den on Flickr:

"I've lived here for over 20 years, and I still don't understand this fascination with intelligence being a liability, and something to vote against. You'd think people would realise political office is a difficult job, and *just maybe* someone smart, from a good school, and with a well-rounded background is better qualified than some idiot who believes Obama is a secret muslim, born in Kenya. "

I love the US, but they can be so myopic at times.

[pklexton.livejournal.com]

I vote for "smarter than I am" and "more knowledgeable than I am." Without the extra (and I understand technically unnecessary) verb it sounds excessively formal to my ear. I know the "me" form is technically wrong and would never use it on a grammar test, but in my experience it is increasingly used in informal conversation, even among well educated people.

My two cents: I think American anti-intellectualism is related to Americans' deep mistrust of authority and elites in general. In many ways, that's a good thing, though it does have its negative side.

:)

[trawnapanda.livejournal.com]

from another online conversation, I think part of the political approach difference may be because party discipline is much stronger here in countries with a Westminster / parliamentary system. I'm not in the states, so I can't say for sure, but there doesn't appear to be much control over the label "democrat" or "republican", so you end up with the whack jobs.

although who could forget Nova Scotia's own Roseanne Skoke? she who was so disapproving of "homosexualists".

and we've just elected Rob Ford here in Toronto, who rode into town on a wave of suburban anti-eliteism. his numbers seriously don't add up, but he's Mike Harris II come back to haunt us.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, party discipline makes a huge difference. Each party in the US congress is largely a loose association of people, not a solid voting block. There are many so-called Democrats who would be mistaken for Republicans if one examined only their voting record, and vice versa. Westminster-style parliaments typically have little patience for that kind of political heterodoxy. I'm not sure if it makes for better policy, but at least the Parliamentary style yields more stability, consistency and predictability, things I personally prefer over governmental chaos.

I'm not too worried about Rob Ford though. While he has the bully pulpit as mayor, he lacks a legislative majority. He will be forced to compromise in ways Mike Harris never had to consider. The people have, for better or worse, spoken so he does have a mandate for massive changes but if Ford wants to try for a second term, he's going to have to learn pragmatism quickly.

[pklexton.livejournal.com]

Brian, this is a great little essay. I think someone like Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Dish (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/) might be interested in it.

the loonies won't take the Senate

I'm confused. I thought a loonie was money? :)

[brunorepublic.livejournal.com]

Well, you could always come back and bring your men with you. :)

(I know, I know, easier said than done... but I just couldn't resist saying it)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Well said!

[canseefour.livejournal.com]

Our election campaigns may be shorter, but right now, our government is just about as scary as the one south of the border. The last of the "Red Tory" ministers has just resigned, leaving our government farther to the right than ever. Here's one take on it from The Globe and Mail.