Red Lighting the Green
Limited democracy seems to the only brand of democracy on the shelf at the political store these days. Despite the expectation that all participants should have equal air time, only the big names in politics are getting the much vetted air time they need in order to reach out to the apathetic voting public, most who are disenfranchised from media reports singing reiterating of the shallow corruption plaguing every pore and crevice of the dankest corners of our legislative assemblies.
As the largest names in Ontario prepare to take to the dusty campaign trail, which is a long one with thousands of handshakes, photo ops and debates, one party is being shut out of the first debate for reasons unknown. The party being shut out has thousands of supporters and is no less legitimate than the Liberals, Conservatives or NDP.
The Green Party of Ontario wants to make a difference but they are being sidelined.
According to Frank de Jong, the leader of the Greens, the choice of the broadcasters to shut the Green Party out of the September 20th debate, while giving airtime to the Liberals, Tories and NDP is effectively telling the public that those three parties are the only true options for the voting public.
For our electoral system to be truly democratic, the Green Party needs equal airtime along with the other parties who are vying for public approval. The Green Party needs a fair shot at the ballot; they should be given the time to tell the public what it stands for before the public casts its deciding ballot on October 10th.
If you ask anyone on the street they will tell you: `Yes, the Earth is in trouble and humans are the cause of it.’ The problem is the electoral system needs to modernize and we need to make sure the Green party is part of the leaders’ debate and is given equal coverage to other parties if we’re going to save this planet. ~ de Jong
Even if the Green Party was to gain no seats in the election but if they were given equal airtime at least then they would have been given a fair run. That’s democracy. You rise and fall on equal terms as your opponents.
What are the others afraid of? Are the big boys afraid that another small underdog party would unseat the old boy’s club?
