Archive for the ‘WhyImLiberal’ Category

The Sunny Way?

This is, of course, one of Aesop’s fables and a favorite story of Wilfred Laurier. It’s a story about persuasion being superior to force, to working with others being superior to shutting down debate, and for strength of kindness over the intolerant attacks on others. I’ve written the story out below.

One day the West Wind and the Sun argued which of them was the most powerful. Soon an unfortunate student with a large overcoat was passing through the area where the two were debating. When the West Wind saw the passing student he saw a way to win the argument. He said to the Sun that whomever could take off that student’s coat would be the most powerful.

They agreed and soon the West Wind blew in earnest, knocking the student clear over a park bench. Knowing full well of the harsh wind that had knocked her over the student clung tightly to her coat and struggled to be on her way. The West Wind saw this. “How could he take away the student’s coat?”, he asked himself. After a moment he thought of a solution and began to blow hard, much harder, and aimed to rip off the student’s coat with more strength and power. The unfortunate student clutched her coat and found herself shelter to weather the storm of wind that the West had unleashed. More time passed after this, with the West Wind pushing himself to his full extent to tear away the shelter and the coat.

Yet, nothing.

The Sun asked the Wind to stop, and he did, and then the Sun allowed it heat to fall down onto the student. Now quite warm, the student removed her overcoat and walked away tweeting about the weirdest of weather.

The Hon. Laurier used this fable to describe what the federal Conservatives were doing against Manitoba in 1895 during its languages and schools debates. The Conservatives, then in government as is now, is and was dictating to a province that it should destroy its policies and be subservient to the federal government. Laurier saw it differently: he wanted to go forward “with the sunny way of patriotism, asking him to be just and to be fair, asking him to be generous to the minority, in order that we may have peace among all the creeds and races.”

Why I’m a Liberal

This tradition in the Liberal Party and this way of conceiving of solutions is why I am a Liberal. I’ve asked this question to many, and have received as many answers. There is a way to go about government that is strong yet fair, focused yet lenient, visionary yet accommodating, and that is forward and firm without being forgetful or negligent. It’s the sunny way, as first articulated by Aesop, interpreted by Laurier, and that is ever as important now.

What Does It Mean For Us Now, Anyway?

The way the Canadian justice system should operate is through kindness and not simply blind, arrogant punishment searching to scare others away from doing acts. Vengeance, while initially servicing an immediate emotional urge, doesn’t do anything afterwards. Those who commit crimes rarely even conceive of its punishments if caught. Vindictiveness serves no one after an act has been committed: it’s healing, it’s changing, and rehabilitating that sets individuals back onto the right track. Note that’s this for both the victim and the perpetrator–both need to be involved in healing.

The better way to to focus the system on handling people and the individuals needs of each, rather than dolling out punishments from up on high with no common sense or thought to the context. The federal Conservatives have opted to restrict judges, enact mandatory minimums to do away with the common sense and expertise of people in the justice system, and thoroughly undermine the thinking, breathing, and growing nature of our thousand year tradition of laws and protections.

The justice system also needs to be integrated with the health care system. The kindness inborn of the Sunny Way should focus us on using proper techniques, like Insite and other programs, to develop an branch to those weakest in our society to give them firstly safe haven and then a path out. This means bringing back the prison farms, that let prisoners ply their strength to the soil and build something–a first in many of their lives and a track that they can follow after leaving prison. This is based on kindness and knowledge that people will generally act in such a manner.

It also comes into play with Senate Reform. Stephan Dion has been championing the Sunny Way on this front for a long time: the Conservative are running over the provinces to put into effect a scheme that is against the constitution, doesn’t allow federal parties to partake in those races officially, and force the provinces to pay for a federal set of elections that would usurp their own democratic authority on the national level. Mr. Dion even made a speech on this subject last week (which you can find at Open Parliament). A better way that Dion quite well highlights is the same as Laurier’s: bring the people for a full and forthright discussion. Bring the provinces into the discussion. British Columbia has already voiced its willingness to discuss senate reform. So has Ontario.

Another example of this is Ms. Redford’s move to shut down the legislature, just like Harper did (twice!). The shut down of debate, the destruction of the ability of parliamentarians to talk, and the subversion of the democratic process, is a hideous prospect. And something that is the antithesis of the values she has tried to run on in her recent campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives.

The Sunny Way is about fighting for what’s right, the right process, and to bring out a call to inclusion across all people. Redford, the Wildrose, the Conservatives, and the NDP don’t do this. It’s the Liberal tradition that does this and the Liberal tradition that should be brought to the fore again.

Bruce Payne, leadership candidate for the Alberta Liberal Party, talks about why he’s an Alberta Liberal.