It's not Jason Kenney's fault, it's ours..Don Engen on our little Facebook group 'The Battle For Alberta' asks the question: "How do we know Danielle Smith will do what she says she'll do? Jason Kenney didn't.".It's an excellent question. In fact, it's probably the most important question we should all be asking ourselves of all the candidates, because it rests on a fundamental value: Trust. Here is my attempt to answer it..You see, character ultimately matters. We were promised one thing by Jason and got another. But, the same may hold true for any of the would-be replacement candidates. So, I put it to you that it really wasn't Jason Kenney's fault. It's ours, because we elected him..Unfortunately saying one thing and then doing entirely different things once elected has become standard operating procedure for every politician in the modern democratic world. Our current premier simply typifies this political truism: He often trumpets his Blue Book contains 300 political promises of which something like 85% have now been completed. And yet so many of the citizenry are still so very unhappy that so many things promised to be done, have been left undone. Why? Because many of those unfulfilled vows are the most important ones to Albertans. .You see, 85% of 300 means that there are still 45 promises yet to be honoured. To name just two, where are our Alberta Provincial Police force and our Alberta pension plan?.But the current crop of UCP leadership candidates fare little better on the integrity and character scale, if at all. The planks of their platforms posted on political websites are so sparse it's a miracle they can barely stand on them at all. This too is likely by design. In this day of the wayback machines and screen captures such political promises might prove embarrassing at a later date, and so it is far better to simply promise nothing at all, at least in written form. You see, political pledge books can just be a very clever way of not delivering on important promises. .However, after putting down our current premier and all those who hope to replace him, let's not forget where the real fault lies in this tragedy of democracy. It's not with them, it's with us..We let them lie to us. We have failed to do something about it. For some of us it's been going on so long that we think there's nothing we can do..But we absolutely can, and must. Just like exercise, if we don't flex our democratic muscle on a regular basis, it will wither away and die. Showing up to the polls every four or five years to put an 'X' in a box is not a vibrant democracy, but rather a recipe for authoritarian dictatorship to show up sooner or later..For democracy to thrive we must celebrate it on a regular basis. This is best accomplished at in-person events where everything is on the table. Politics, religion, and everything else we've been told are taboo topics, should be talked about at length and in earnest. This is not only a possible thing, it is absolutely necessary if we want our democracy to continue..Here in my hometown of Edmonton, democracy is on life support. A political party that represents the minority of its citizens currently rules the roost, boasting 19 of the city's 20 seats. They call themselves the New Democratic Party but this name bears little resemblance to the truth. It is neither new, nor democratic. Democracy is where the will of the majority rules the day, but the NDP cares nothing for what the majority wants, but rather what the minority covets. Case in point: almost every Edmontonian ultimately derives their income from the oil and gas industry, and yet these 19 provincial representatives seek to destroy that vital industry as soon as possible..But there is a glimmer of hope on the Edmonton horizon. Some of its citizenry are beginning to exercise their wilted political tendons once more. In fact they are gathering in South Edmonton this coming Friday to finally do something to right this wrong. If you would like to learn more about this merry band of Edmontonians, that the NDP deem to possess such deplorable and unacceptable views, then perhaps it might be a good thing to drop by..Who knows? You might actually have a good time. But that's entirely besides the point. It's a political fact: The rules are made by those who show up. That means going to an event where people value common sense over political nonsense is not only good for your family and good for your job, it's good for your neighbour too..I seem to recall a wise one suggesting that to be an excellent rule to live by..I hope to see you there..Vince Byfield is an Edmonton-based commentator and political activist.
