First an Arabian Spring and now an American Fall
By now everyone knows about the amazing chain of events in the Middle East that started in Tunisia where a grassroots revolution through civil resistance over widespread governmental corruption leading up to the self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in the mantra of "Ash Shab Yurid Isqat An Nizam", ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, continues through Algeria, Lebanon, Mauritania, Sudan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, Western Sahara, Palestinian National Authority, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria and has likely now ended in Libya with its raging civil war and the dramatic overthrow of its head of state Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Al Gaddafi that ensued within, together called the Arabian Spring in the East.
I would now like to argue that turning from the Afroriental expression of independence, freedom and democracy, one not exactly like the prepackaged globalized United States marketed product sold abroad colonialistically through Western styled education, health care and human rights then outsourced back to us through budgetary cost benefit analysis and contracting using the low risk and high reward tradeoff principle, we now look to the Americoccidental spectre of a coming American Fall in the West. Politically, a promise of hope and change has lead to just more of the same, leading jokers on the left to Occupy Wall Street like 1929 and clowns on the right to repeat the Boston Tea Party like 1773 in protest, yet no one wants to face the realities of 2011, where from lobbyists to legislators, a nation continues to be overpromise, underestimate and nondeliverable as "Mission Accomplished" becomes "Assignment Incomplete". Add this to the obvious twinning of both economic and defense aims, ways and means into undesirable strategic ends, whose consequences domestic and foreign bring no one closer to its original stated goals, one can now understand how government, not the citizen, has given up on its supposed commitment towards achieving cultural goals through the traditional democratic processes in America.
The politically elite powered triumvirate which is the military industrial complex, and not the White House or its President, may still call the final shots in a direct line, from Wall Street to the Pentagon to the Beltway, but that same old iron triangle establishment of the status quo is slowly bending to the will of, by and for the people though current results do not show it, with every Tea Partier, Street Occupier or some other kind of unaligned independent protesting citizen joining their brave new civil rebellion and their own mantra of "Do Not Tread On Me" against big imperialistic government, excessive taxation with no special representation, treatment or service for the people yet ballouts its special interests using political collusion, correctness and bias, the gap between those legally represented by vested interests in their society and those without any of all of this grows wider and deeper, until one day the rule of law and the power of interest will no longer be.
Democracy is as democracy always does
Democracy is as democracy always does, even at just less than 50 percent strength last night in Ontario, historically lower than any provincial vote ever before since Confederation in 1867, which meant the parties that have been delivering status quo to the taxpayers of the province would end up getting the majority of the vote actually made, while those promising citizens hope and change would have to wait until next time to try again.
Also just less than 50 percent was the colouring of the Saugeen riding Tory blue by the voters there, while the province itself remained Grit red with 53 seats, albeit by a supposed major minority of 37 percent, with an opposition of 54 seats made up of 37 Progressive Conservatives at 35 percent and 17 New Democrats at 23 percent, fringe parties took the huge brunt of the blow, where even the Greens free fell five points to 3 and Reform did not even register a point at 0.
In the end, the electors of Bruce Grey Owen Sound, who decided collectively who their representative individually for the next session of legislature would be, felt safe with more of the same in Walker, rather than taking the chance at change with a choice for Jolley and bucking against the status quo, thus enacting a Bill of Rights rather than a Shane of Responsibilities.
Minority and Resilency equal Opportunity for Independence
As we state in the opening preamble of our own 2011 Ontario provincial election camapaign statement of principles, Bruce Grey Owen Sound is home to independent minded citizens with the resilience, endurance and perseverance to find new opportunity in the face of difficulty, indeed these are difficult and tumultuous days we live in. Unknown are the environs we move towards, in various areas, economically a slowdown is all but guaranteed, how deep no one knows, politically a minority is also in the cards, whose it will be for sure, with Tweedle Red and Tweedle Blue neck and neck tied, is completely uncertain.
With such a history of resilency economically and knowledge of a minority politically, now is the right time for Bruce Grey Owen Sound to declare its political, economic and cultural independence, with a vote for Independent Shane Jolley.
An Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park will have no mandate, rudderless without any clear sense of aim, lacking the people first principles an Independent can give it. The lone common voice of the Bruce Grey Owen Sound people could finally be heard in Toronto independently, finally making a real difference, especially during this era of fiscal and economic insecurity where critical thinking, not party platform parroting, to begin getting out of the hole we have dug ourselves into. An important vote for Independence could give Bruce Grey Owen Sound the kingmaking power and control of the 107 seat Assembly in that minority government, if we decided to properly use the local resiliency we have always had to bend yet not break, to simply be strong and resilient in times of trouble and thus must resurrect the maverick political spirits of United Farmer Labour Agnes Macphail, Liberal Red Grit Eddie Sargent and Progressive Conservative Tory Bill Murdoch by voting Independent again with Shane Jolley for a more responsible citizen, community and country across the Province of Ontario.
