THOMSON: 'Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold'

Earlier today, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon dissolved Parliament, setting the stage for Canada’s 45th General Election. But unlike those that preceded it, this election will not only decide what sort of country we are, but ultimately whether or not we remain one.It’s my opinion that this election might be the most significant we’ve had in a generation, maybe even several generations. I say this not only because I think our national unity is at stake, but because there is a perceptible energy in the air that’s been absent from our past electoral contests.The problem is, it’s not a positive energy.If I had to describe it, I would say it’s ominous or maybe foreboding. I would liken it to the feeling you might get if a heavy fog rolled in unexpectedly while you were out hiking, making you disoriented.But instead of suspended water droplets obscuring our vision and sense of direction, it’s a metaphorical cloud bank saturated with anger, and angst blinding our collective reasoning and ability to think clearly.I think that’s where Canadians are right now; lost, confused, angry, and not thinking clearly.The problem is whether you are lost in the fog, or blinded by your emotions, the decisions you make in those situations can have serious consequences. They’re also occasions where you can’t necessarily rely on what you’ve always done or what feels safe and familiar..In Afghanistan, settling into a routine was tempting because it was easy. But, it could also prove fatal. Doing the same thing over and over made you predictable and easy to target. You needed to be adaptable, flexible, and critically assess your situation and surroundings before undertaking a specific course of action.[Editor's note: Canadian Army veteran John Thomson served three tours in Afghanistan.]This same mentality ought to apply to voting habits and political parties, the risks are no less significant. But that’s a thought process that only comes with training and conditioning, and most Canadians are creatures of habit when it comes to voting..John Bradshaw outlines this mentality in his book, Healing the Shame That Binds You.“Human beings are creatures of habit. As we humans act in repetitious ways, necessitated by circumstances relating to survival, these repetitions become habitual. These habitual behaviours soon become socially acceptable ways of behaving. They are socially agreed upon. After a while these socially agreed upon habitual ways of behaving become what sociologist’s term 'legitimized.' After being legitimized for a while, they become unconscious. The unconscious legitimizations gradually evolve into laws of reality. We no longer question them. We accept them: they are predictable. They ensure our security. If someone tries to change them, we get very upset.”This might help to explain why after 10 years of Liberal governance some people would want to continue to vote for them, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It’s what they know, it’s a habit, and if people are going to try and change that, they get upset.To many, the Liberals have become the de-facto government and the indisputable face of Canada. They have been unconsciously legitimized to the point that many no longer question them, including a considerable number of journalists and columnists in the Canadian media..It’s this mind-set that’s brought us the “Team Canada” branding and “elbows up” sloganeering by the Liberals and their supporters. It wasn’t actual patriotism; it was a devious campaign to harness people’s emotions to further the unconscious legitimization of their political brand purely for self-preservation.And while Canadian’s have just cause to be upset in the face of annexation threats, and the economic quarrels we’re engaged in with China, the US, and India, that in itself is not a justifiable excuse to meekly lapse into habitual voting habits and avoiding cold hard facts.Those facts are these:The Liberal government has presided over a ten-year decline in our collective standard of living.During the Liberal time in power, violent crime has increased by 43.8 per cent.Monthly visits to Canada’s food banks reached an unprecedented zenith of more than two miilion visits per month. A combination of Liberal radical anti-energy policies and a complete indifference towards Chinese tariffs impacting prairie canola growers is fueling the flames of support for a serious western sovereignty movement.That there was hardly a year in the past ten, that wasn’t rocked by a significant Liberal scandal which either weakened our democracy, undermined our sovereignty, or embarrassed the nation on the world stage. The Toronto Sun has compiled a fairly comprehensive list of these worth reviewing.If you can look at all the evidence of the Liberal government's record and say to yourself, “yes, I support what they did and want more of it,” then I really don’t know what to tell you other than offer this warning.How you cast your ballot carries consequences beyond your riding. That’s not a threat per se; it’s simply the case. And, it's food for thought. Canadians should always vote how their conscience tells them... but only after they’ve assessed all the available evidence. Voting should be informed. It should not be done blindly out of habit, or fear.This election there are only two key questions which should act as a lighthouse beacon to Canadians lost in a fog of emotion, trying to decide what country we are and whether or not we remain one.First, is ‘Team Canada’ a place where we abide and reward a decade of incompetence, malfeasance, and corruption, or not?Second, is ‘Team Canada’ a united confederation where every region is supported to prosper economically to its maximum ability for the benefit of the collective, or not?If the answer to those questions returns a Liberal government to power, then so be it.Canadians will have clearly defined what kind of a country Canada is, and why it’s no longer worth being a part of.

THOMSON: 'Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold'

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