As our government becomes more and more polarized, what can we do to ensure that facts and data hold out?
I’m not suggesting that lying should be illegal (in fact, it’s often unintentional), but when an MPs statement can later be proven to be false, shouldn’t they be forced to publicly apologize?
At this level known lying should be something like perjury. And by known lying, I mean hypothetically like if Trudeau said he didn’t pay his family through that foundation, but there is proof he did, that is just lying and he knows he is. Compared to somebody who might make a mistake and say there is no missing funds in account x, but then later realizes they have an outdated sheet…then that is more like mispeaking error and should not be same level of accountability.
It’s difficult to police, who decides what is right? If Danielle Smith was in charge then anything pro-science would be considered lying. If Polievere was in charge then anything pro-minority would be considered lying
How do you make an impartial committee? Before both sides would approve positions back and fourth to keep others in check but we can see the US Judiciary to see how that no longer works when one side is dishonest
Truth is less important than pack mentality. With polarization, it matters that you’re showing you’re part of the in-group more than overall truthfulness. So a bell ringing when a lie is told probably wouldn’t help.
Politicians follow social media trends, because that gets them clicks. That causes showboating in Parliament, since they get to use CPAC clips to their followers. But they don’t tend to lead the trends.
MPs are under a lot of pressure to fundraise. Since union and corporate donations have been limited, MPs need to mobile their followers to send money. The best way to do that is with polarizing content on social media.
Outgoing Conservative leader Erin O’Toole said similar things in his final address to Parliament: MPs are chasing social media engagement, and that drives polarization.
The problem always lies with money and power … remove the need for money and power and government will act a lot differently than it does now.
If all funds were somehow nationalized and shared among all politicians so that no one group or individual could wield more power than anyone else … things would work out a lot differently.
I’m not saying it would be better or solve all our problems with government, it would just change it from what it is now … a forum for power and control where whoever has the most funds or access to the most funds, gets to decide where government will head.
And don’t get me started about how our government is not influenced by money … it is completely influenced by money and powerful interests. It’s so prevalent at this point in Canada as well as the US and every major nation in the world that it is a joke to even refer to any of them as democracies.
Money is just an IOU. The only thing it introduces is the ability for trades to take place over longer periods of time.
If, for example, we agree that you will fix my sink and I will feed you lunch for your efforts, but you’re not hungry while you’re at my place, I can give you an IOU – money – to redeem for food at a later point in time when you are hungry. Without money, I would have to feed you when you are full in order to satisfy our deal, which is less than ideal.
Why is that beneficial deferral at the root of of all problems?
remove the need for money and power and government will act a lot differently than it does now.
The Communist Manifesto suggests that once we enter a state of post-scarcity, government will no longer be needed. Why do you think it got it wrong?
YES; punished by the electorate. The problem we have is, they don’t. In fact, they like to be lied to. The more scared they get, or the more privilege they enjoy, the more they want to be lied to.
I would go after non answers first, that’s what they do the most during the question period. If the speaker started throwing out MPs who don’t answer the questions they’re being asked you would see shit start to improve real quick.
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