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Being a writer, I write frequently. It\u2019s a nervous habit. The other day I was writing on a paper napkin, having rashly left the house without a notebook. What I was trying to figure out was the kind of country I would like to live in, and thus the kind of party I\u2019d vote for if it were likely to encourage such qualities.<\/p>\n
Like many swing voters, I want to vote for values, not for labels. I don\u2019t much care what parties call themselves or what they say they will do. I care about what they really have done, and the values they\u2019ve demonstrated by their actions.<\/p>\n
What I was looking for were qualities we swing voters might be able to agree on, no matter what \u201cparty\u201d we may have voted for historically. Suppose we had a party called the Common Grounds Party, or maybe the Common Decency Party. It might begin with the list on the paper napkin. Here it is. As you can see, there are pairs of opposites.<\/p>\n
And, since you probably can\u2019t read my writing, this is what it says:<\/p>\n
Where do you want to live?<\/I><\/p>\n
Open\/closed; leader\/dictator; inclusive\/excluding; generous\/mean; listens\/does not listen; takes responsibility about mistakes\/it\u2019s always someone else\u2019s fault; humanly imperfect\/always right, like God; humility\/arrogance; works well with others\/one-man band.<\/p>\n
There was a second page, which included things like \u201cFair\/unfair (laws and enforcement),\u201d \u201cAllows initiative\/control freak,\u201d \u201cGoverns for the welfare of all citizens\/non-party members are enemies.\u201d But then I ran out of space.<\/p>\n
Maybe my paper napkin is more like a description of what you might wish in a prospective roommate or a best friend. Fair enough: I\u2019d agree that a government, as opposed to an individual person, does need additional desirable characteristics. So here are some of the things I might add to the paper napkin. <\/p>\n
The ability to count, plus fiscal transparency. Parliament fell on a motion of non-confidence triggered by the Harper government\u2019s failure to disclose the real costs of budget items such as fighter planes and mega-jails. But voters need to be told what things will cost, since they pay for them. It appears that the planes may cost ten times what we were originally told. Why would taxpayers endorse a blank cheque for an astronomical ongoing expense with no ceiling?<\/p>\n
Either the government knew the cost and refused to tell us \u2014 thus no transparency \u2014 or it did not know, and thus cannot count.<\/p>\n
On women: plain speaking, no double-talk. This government is deeply traumatized by women\u2019s reproductive organs. At the G20, Harper claimed to be concerned about \u201cmaternal and child health,\u201d noting that \u201c500,000 women die each year in pregnancy and 9 million children die before the age of five.\u201d But his government is defunding Planned Parenthood, an international organization that works with the poorest and most marginalized women and children to improve their survival chances. (Yes, I know, Bev Oda says she just hasn\u2019t got around to the Planned Parenthood application for the past 18 months; but as Miss Manners says, no answer is an answer.)<\/p>\n
In addition, the Harper government\u2019s Senate appointees effectively squashed Bill C-393 that would have facilitated cheap AIDS drugs to 2 million children in poor countries; which calls to mind the A.H. Clough poem, \u201cThe Last Decalogue:\u201d Thou shalt not kill; but need\u2019st not strive\/ Officiously to keep alive.\u201d <\/p>\n
Harper says he will not allow a debate on abortion. But he should allow it. All aspects of this troublesome question \u2014 and it has been troublesome throughout history, as there are no lovely answers \u2014 should be thoroughly discussed. There should be clarity on Harper\u2019s attitude to women and children and their well-being. Let them die of malnutrition? Supply adequate diet, public support if there\u2019s no income, protection from rape and enforced prostitution, improved adoption procedures, education, better hospitals and access to drugs, new orphanages, enforced chastity, unwillingly pregnant women locked up in mega-jails, payment per baby if baby-making is service provided to the state, pace Napoleon?<\/p>\n
What\u2019s it to be? Spit it out. Let us know what may be coming soon to a neighbourhood near us.<\/p>\n
Respect for parliamentary democracy. The Common Grounds and\/or Decency Party would, I think, still assume that democracy \u2014 for which people in other parts of the world are risking their lives \u2014 is a good thing. But it could be that not every other party shares this view. Is Parliament just a fly making a bothersome buzzing noise in the ear of the El Supremo who dictates in secret from within the closed castle of the PMO\u2019s office? (This trend did not begin with the Harper government \u2014 it goes back at least to Trudeau \u2014 but it has been taken to an extreme under it.)<\/p>\n
And if we don\u2019t need Parliament, why not prorogue it indefinitely? Then we wouldn\u2019t have to be troubled by these pesky elections, which Harper assumes Canadian citizens fear as a fate worse than death.<\/p>\n
The Common Grounds\/Decency Party would think we should have the right to vote in free elections \u2014 as often as it takes to get a government that has the confidence of the House.<\/p>\n
So there\u2019s my checklist. You probably have items of your own. To qualify for the Paper Napkin, however, they should be things you think we swing voters might mostly agree on. Check the parties off against the common list.<\/p>\n
Then vote, and \u2014 as they say \u2014 cherish the moment. People elsewhere are dying for it.<\/p>\n
Margaret Atwood<\/B> is the author of more than 35 volumes of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent novel is The Year of the Flood.<\/I><\/p>\n
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(Through Rose-Coloured Glasses) Folks, this article is by Margaret Atwood, the famous Canadian author. Enjoy. Margaret Atwood Being a writer, I write frequently. It\u2019s a nervous habit. The other day I was writing on a paper napkin, having rashly left … Continue reading