The expression of critical opinions a valued part of our society
By Lethbridge Herald on May 31, 2023.
Editor:
I am writing this before the May 29th Alberta election. Whatever the result, I predict the situation I am writing about will remain relevant.
Some people complain about an opposition party member criticizing the government.
“Can’t she say positive things about the government?” And I say: She must be doing a good job.
To criticize the government is the job of “His Majesty’s Royal Opposition.” Not criticizing means they are neglecting to perform the duty as the opposition. When the opposition party stops opposing, our democratic political system will not function as it should.
Not allowing criticism is a dictatorship. Nazis and the Soviet Union sent those who opposed to a gulag or to death. We got rid of such a draconian system in most of the industrialized countries last century. It took two bloody wars that took the lives of millions of people. They paid the ultimate price to win the right to oppose the party in power. Thank goodness those days are long gone where we live. So let’s stop reminiscing about those bad old days.
News media is another story. Many of them are quite clear about their positions like CNN and Fox. They don’t hide their biases.
But some of them try to present themselves as neutral. They have a tough time because party politics have become tribal warfare and quoting even one critical comment causes accusation of partisanship.
I have to admit, however, that it’s annoying to be criticized or questioned. But it is the way of democracy. Both conservative and progressive people must listen to the voice from the other side.
You don’t have to agree. It’s not war. It is a family affair. We must remind ourselves that the mark of being humans is that we are all different. It is like a thousand people have a thousand different faces. No two persons have exactly the same face: Likewise their opinions.
Where we have different opinions, disagreement between us is normal. There is something wrong if two persons have exactly the same opinion. Annoying and irritating as it may be, an important thing about democracy is to take criticism as normal. You don’t have to accept it. It is OK to be annoyed. You should be able to say we are different and agree to disagree without hating each other. It is an important skill to have when we accept that difference is normal. Stay away from people who tell you you’re arguing or even fighting every time you try to express yourself.
The mark of being a civilized human is to be able to find the way to live with difference without hating each other. Killing the difference is the law of the jungle, not of the civilized human society. It is important to remember that to be able to compromise is the mark of a mature human.
Furthermore, the most important thing to remember is: we are on the same boat. We belong to the same family – the human family. We argue in order to find the best for all without destroying the opponent. There are many examples in history where a party won overwhelmingly and the whole nation ended tragically. It was when the power of the winner was so overwhelming that there was no opposition. The overwhelming victory of one party can destroy a country. Fascism in Italy, Nazis in Germany, the military in Japan are good examples. It happened during the last century.
It is also important to admit that we can be wrong. I personally have always been on the side commonly known as progressives. I don’t mind being called “lefty.” However, I must admit we have a bad habit of thinking that we are always on “the right side of history.” We haven’t. It is dangerous to think we are always right. To believe that what you have is the only absolute truth and all others are false is arrogance and is idolatry. We must admit we can be wrong, therefore we must allow dissent and feel free to disagree with friends. If we live in the bipartisan system like many English-speaking countries, we will have to fight within the party and compromise for the sake of party unity. Personally, I much prefer the multiparty system prevalent in many European countries.
But I live in Canada and have to live with the system given. Compromise is the key to successful functional democracy. It is a frustrating system. But so far it is the best one we have. That’s why it is important to have critical opinions alive within the system. Let hundreds of flowers bloom among us, and celebrate diversity.
Tadashi (Tad) Mitsui
Lethbridge
18-17
Democracy has been militarized and exploited. I do agree that the Opposition is there to hold the party in power in check. So criticism is needed. However, speaking for what I see in Lethbridge, there is a difference between criticism and criticizing for criticizing sake.
When you need to hear your own voice and it becomes all about you, then its time to switch off the narrative. I switched off Shannon Phillips long ago. Most if not all her criticism is incorrect, or at best done so for personal gain.
Trying to make a story out of a non story is her specialty. Doctors is one example, as you say its a nationwide shortage and was not created by the UCP no matter how many time it is said. Yet she was more than willing to say it over and over and over again.
The other reason I have turned off Phillips is her complete ommission that she is the representative for the Downtown. Lethbridge West for those that do not know extends to 13Street of London Road area.
So while gangs fight through the night for supremacy in the drug world and “Hot Shots” or Hot Pockets (killpills in Europe) as referred by some are circulated creating the perfect murder to get rid of their opponents. She says NADA, ZERO, NOTHING at all!
She pretends to represent Lethbridge and accused Nathan Neudorf of not representing Lethbridge to Edmonton but she has never done it either. She takes no “real concerns to Edmonton” but she does take as many photo-ops as possible explaining how wonderful she is.
Now this would not be fair, if I did not include Neudorf. Neudorf creates all the drop terms that are needed to be heard. Safety, and Security being two popular ones at the moment. However he omits the fact that the reason we have a security and safety issue is beause he and his government are doing the same thing that has failed for 25 years because they are just not able to think outside the box. So as the inflow of Addicts occur into our downtown, the UCP have been unable to come up with one plan that would remove them from the downtown? At the sametime, Phillips if she was doing what Tad suggests (criticize) then she would be all over this, but she is not, and she is not doing her job.
It is pretty simple and you just have to sit back and ask how can people who assume they are pretty smart be so stupid? If every other city in the world, and I can vouch for most of Europe and Eastern Seaboard, have destroyed their downtown by installing services in their downtown over the last 25 years. Would you not think that the meeting of the minds should not occur?
For 25 years nonprofits that pay no taxes, are servicing people who also pay no taxes to watch people that do, lose their Safety Security, their home their business, their buildings. So what do we do? The exact same thing under control of the UCP, with not a word from “Shannon Phillips”?
So you completely know what is happening here politically. UCP is forcing the city to install these services “Shelter and housing” into the Community Care Campus. That is to be Stafford from train tracks to 5th North. and Stafford to 13 street with various services intermingled throughout.
What does Phillips say about the destruction to businesses? NADA
What does Neudorf say about the process? His number one priority is Safety and Security of residents. A Safety and Security issue his party created by not “thinking outside the box” and a Safety and Security issue that Shannon Phillips fails to address.
So TAD you are right about the Loyal Opposition but ours is not doing its job, they remain suspiciously silent, its almost like it is a personal interest of Shannon Phillips to see her own constituents screwed, why?
PS I quite realize some have turned me off too and I speak of Doomsday scenarios but ignoring this issue is not the answer.
After watching how well off we were under Peter Lougheed and Don Getty and the billions they were collecting for the well-being of people how can you not bash these phony conservatives for what they have done to us and are still doing it. As lawyers, accountants, oilmen, bankers and former conservative MLA friends have pointed out Albertans have allowed themselves to be screwed out of hundreds of billions of dollars and to sit back and allow it to happen is just plan stupid. But as we have seen the stupid people just keep winning and letting it happen, and our children’s future is gone. Most of our friends children have left, they know where this is heading.
The fact that Lougheed’s former Energy Minister Bill Dickie was a brother in-law of one of my uncles and the MLAs I got to know proved to me howbad the situation really is and my trips to Alaska and Norway have proven what we should have had and it’s sickening.
While Alberta produces twice as much oil as Alaska and Norway combined why does Alaska have $75 billion in their savings count, Norway $1.1Trillion in theirs and Alberta $16 billion in theirs, and Alaskans have received some $50,000.each in total annual oil dividend cheques since 1982 proving how badly we have been screwed and you want us to sit on our ass and ignore what these Reformers are doing to our future. Where is the intelligence in that? Apparently you aren’t man enough to help, right?
I guess you think your daily or weekly rant here is doing something about it? I vote local I look at the local candidates only. I am a one issue voter (Drug addicts in the downtown) , why? Because I did get off my ass ( https://lethccc.com )as you say, and did something about it! No one can say the same about you. What did you do? Where is your real name that we can attach an amazing effort by you to stop the UCP? Did you talk to all the dead politicians you frequently claim knowing? Any alive ones?
In my case, Myashiro would have ensured another SCS, in fact he thought it was amusing. So I had one choice, UCP or burn my vote. Is that difficult to understand, do you need more explanation?
As for Phillips, she really only wants you to know she represents Lethbridge West because not saying she represents downtown allows her to make it look like Nathan Neudorf does, but he hasn’t figured that out yet.
Blah blah blah, you hate Shannon, we get it , but you know what..she beat the ucp fence-post-of-the-week handily. A lot of us like Shannon. So, instead of rambling on about the past (and by god do you ramble!) you can hand her the same free passes you give Smith for her past garbage. Let’s see what kind of record these two will put out over the next 4 years. Meanwhile, Dennis, keep on SAVIN’ Lethbridge ::rolleyes::
Savin Lethbridge? That ship sailed weeks ago. As for Shannon Phillips, I do not hate her? That takes too much energy. When things go bad in the Downtown, which they will, we will then find out the excuses she has for not even trying to stop it, no earlier
Weeks? You’ve been pounding this for years on the old Herald.
And this..”while gangs fight through the night for supremacy in the drug world” Where exactly, sir?
How about the Cowley hillbilly that flipped out on the north side a couple days ago.
SAVIN’ Lethbridge. Have at it.
She won’t offer any excuses. She may not feel that any explanations are required.
Shannon only won by 220 votes last election. As for future results,it depends on who is doing the so called record keeping.
Just perhaps, your possible job and high end mostly white area doesn’t need saving?
What are you even talking about??
Tad, the problem with your exposition is shown at the outset. It is not ” His Majesties Royal Opposition”. It is in fact, ” His Majesties LOYAL Opposition”. That operative word is what us missing in the NDP’s pattern of conduct and in particular with the west side whiner. Opposition to everything seems to predominate , loyalty to the Federal NDP [ of which the Provincial NDP are, by their own constitution, a subservient minion ] and ignorance of the effect of their proposals on the locals who were silly enough to support them are key . Loyal? Certainly not to the people of Alberta and the interests of the citizens of this Province. Loyal to Singh, Loyal to the code of the woke, and bound and determined to spend everyone elses money and tax us all into a uniform level of poverty…as socialist as they come.
I agree observance and criticism of governemt is valid, but the criticism must have substance and come from a source with credibility. The NDP lack the first and have lost all semblance of the second.
Please review your Social Studies notes and consider revising your comment regarding socialism.
would these be the revisionist herstory notes or the ones documented, verified and recognized by thinking people as reflective of the facts?
I guess if you believe it to be so, then it must be so: The NDP are an unholy cabal of raving, radical socialists. Never mind the long-standing classical definition of the term. Obviously we live in an Uber-relativist time where anything goes. All opinions are deemed equally valid.
What I hear you saying is that only “thinking people” see things the way you do. Any chance you would consider being a little less presumptuous?
How come it’s a well know fact that the NDP and their supporters are from former true conservative families and know that these reformers, pretending they are conservatives, have got to be stopped. We aren’t interested in letting them destroy what our conservative hero Peter Lougheed created for us and that’s what they are doing. The only people dumb enough to compare them to the Federal NDP are the ones dumb enough to believe the lies of these Reformers. So where is your proof?
FC, your reliance on ” well known facts ” { i guess if you believe it it must be a fact ] and presumption to speak for anyone but yourself weakens your position considerably. If you want to live in a world of Lougheed worship and run about in your Ronnie Reagan pj’s have at it.But dont try to turn fiction into facts by asserting NDP is conservative and Conservative is an evil to be stopped…
You ask for proof of connection to the Fed NDP and the Prov socialists…have you bothered to look at the Constitution of the party…it states, clearly, that the Prov party is subservient to the Fed party and where conflicts arise the Fed party position prevails. You can try to say thats not what it means, but think…who is the liar when they say the contrary.
From what my senior friends and I have been seeing it’s manly our fellow seniors who are believing their lies. We find it disgusting that they aren’t a lot smarter. Apparently comparing them to Nazis for daring to get vaccinated didn’t effect them at all, they don’t care.
what fascist govts have failed to acknowledge is that opinions tend to be rather useless, save for being a valve to ease the pressure cooker of mass angst and opposition to sleazy govts and leaders. our system allows for opinions, while still allowing the unelected oligarchs/multinationals to run the brunt of the show. kick out one set of bums, and put in the other…you know, the one’s we kicked out before for being bums, which will get kicked out again for being bums, only to be replaced with the other bums we have kicked out so many times already.
our system is a smoke and mirrors game of deception, legitmised with the signature of the illiterate “x”. proof: year over year the planet ends up further compromised and impoverished, as do the masses, whilst the top of the food chain keeps ringing in record “wealth”.
people keep hearing the blahblah but fail to see the reality of it all. thus, who/what is our democrappy serving? but, as we get further sickened by trudeau…here comes a poilievre! haha! a saviour, right?! right?!! seems the gravy train is the very last to derail.