GOOD POLITICIANS

Good Politicians by Victoria Atmosphere

Are there good politicians? Yes there bloody well are! In fact, there are great ones and I would like to tell you about one of them. Tommy C. Douglas. When we discuss politicians in chat rooms, the question often comes up, or the conclusion is that all politicians are only in it for their own gain: corporate shills who may once have had a good reason to go into politics but forgot all their values once the lure of big money from lobbyists etc. stole their hearts.

Tommy was different… selfless, idealistic, extremely hard working and committed to the fight for social justice in Canada. Once asked why he didn’t join a mainline party in which he could attain power and wealth, he replied: “I don’t want power” unless he could do the things he set out to do. One of those things was to establish universal healthcare in Canada. And he did it, against great odds. He was of course accused of being a ‘commie’ and all the usual tricks were used to try to undermine him and his party (the New Democratic Party). Attempts were made, by sinister forces, to take over the party and absorb it into one of the two major parties in Canada. But luckily, Tommy won out and the NDP continues to this day.

I often think about Tommy, especially when people say ‘there are no good politicians’. And it’s true we have so many reasons to be cynical about politicians. I need only refer to Canada’s current Prime Minister to illustrate that point. But people like Tommy put my faith back in the system; I know that sounds hokey especially considering the malevolent forces of free trade and globalization that we face today. But how else can we fix what we’ve ended up with? Only with good people fighting the good fight. Maybe others have similar stories about selfless people like Tommy Douglas. I’d like to hear about them.