The Pain In Election Campaigning, But Don't Forget To Vote

I am currently finding myself grateful for my Netflix subscription.

I am a Canadian, and I am currently embroiled in watching the fight go on for leadership of the country. I also get to see, from time to time, snippets of what's happening with the American campaigns, as I do follow social media. These are the hazards of being a blogger.

However, the beauty of having a Netflix subscription is, I do not have to listen to the crap that many election campaigns have become. For me, it has gotten to the point that I would sooner hole up somewhere and watch something "fluffy" until Election Day rolls around because campaigning for many of the individuals vying for Canada's top position - or at the very least, the position of leader of the Official Opposition - has become a matter of insults and snide remarks rather than discussing what each party can actually do.

I'm not saying that there is no discussion whatsoever about what each of the prospective leaders can do for our country. However, I am disgusted by how many nasty remarks come out from the leaders instead of honest debate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said to People's Party head Maxime Bernier during one of the debates, "Your role on this stage seems to be to say publicly what Mr. Scheer thinks privately,” according to CTV. This would, of course, be a clear swipe at both Bernier and Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer. Bernier has made it clear during his campaign that he is not supportive of Canada's current immigration levels, per a CBC news article.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh decided to take on both Scheer and Trudeau, saying, "I want to say this directly to Canadians, you do not need to choose between Mr. Delay and Mr. Deny."

Scheer has been taken to task by the media for stalling, in particular, on the hot button issue of the day, climate change, but also has gotten some heat for not releasing his campaign platform until October 11 (according to CBC) when the other parties released their platforms prior to that point. Trudeau was referred to as Mr. Deny due to his own stances on climate change, where he has held the previous Conservative government at least partly responsible for Canada's role with climate change currently.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May was clear with Scheer during the debates, according to CTV, when she told him outright that he would not be prime minister. When he said he'd prove her wrong, she told him, "I'll take bets on it."

Now, I realize that campaigning for a cause does mean that certain passions will be aroused and that sometimes, things are said. I am not so naive or so sensitive to believe otherwise. I do, however, have a real problem when the focus becomes name-calling and nastiness rather than a candidate saying outright that they will do X, Y or Z.

In short, I have had enough of elections and of campaigns.

It's gotten to the point where I only feel like paying the slightest attention to what's going on with each party, and I despise discussing politics, whether it's at the provincial or federal level. The whole show makes me angry and gives me a bad stomach to boot. I want to see people in charge who actually know what they are doing and don't have any interest in finding dirt about their fellow candidates and chucking it at them.

We have all made mistakes, and hopefully, we have all grown from them.

It's gotten to the point where even the public has gotten into the melee caused by candidates making comments about each other and will deliberately dig up their own information about the leaders. Granted, some of the dirt is not so hard to find, but by the same token, let the person run on their own platform and point out the good about that platform rather than saying, "You need to follow me because the other person sucks."

While voting is incredibly important - my parents used to tell me if I didn't vote once I turned 18, I didn't have the right to complain about the leadership, which I still believe to this day - the poor behavior of the leadership during campaigns is one reason why I think people are becoming increasingly disenfranchised and disconnected with the political landscape. For my part, I try and do my own exploration of the parties, but with how candidates continue to denigrate each other, I can see why the youth of today are scratching their heads and wondering why they should even vote at all.

Who wants a leader of a country who behaves in ways that would have gotten us grounded when we were children?