A cannibal's picnic

Our electoral process has become a cannibal's picnic. 

"You're not ready."

"You're an opportunist."

"The polls suggest getting new tape for your hockey stick."

The bait to join the picnic includes a variety of sauces in old packages with barely new names.

My mentor in navigating such matters has Down Syndrome and at best, a rudimentary command of any language saving "heart".  In this language I am, compared to him, illiterate. 

His name is Jonathan and his Dad is the one writing this note to you.

My son's intuitive wisdom frequently takes our breath away.  Without being able to read one of the legion of books I ditch about the house like an alcoholic caching hooch, Jon daily nudges his parents in better directions.

I have high regard for both the Liberal and Conservative candidates in our riding. Although having neither met nor heard the Lady in Orange, I'll bet she'd make a great sister-in-law.

I beg you to consider the one thought that has eclipsed all others during the present campaign for a place of influence in the sun.

It really is all about the Canadian social imaginary. The recipe of values, institutions, laws, symbols, music, art, and the corresponding social mosaic through which a people imagine their social whole, produces our 'social imaginary'.  You will notice in these words a resonance with Wikipedia and the work of Charles Taylor from McGill University.

Who is both responsible, and required for the creation of our national social imaginary?

Everybody. 

Everybody includes admirers of Tommy Douglas, Lester B. Pearson, Sir John A. McDonald, Preston Manning, and those with a focus on the brand of Green birthed in "Small is Beautiful.” And oui, oui, oui, fans of the Montreal Canadiens and their relatives.

Everybody includes every bit as much those represented by "None of the above".

Without any intent to defend my position, and like kids in playing in the sandbox, it's time for someone else to have a turn for awhile.  

It's time to pass the puck or we run the risk of losing the game.

Crafting a compelling social imaginary demands input from all of us.  Sometimes the complexion of the PMO and the benches of parliament will give one deep contentment.  Others will rot your socks to the point of no return. 

National health and future prosperity at every level will require sacrificial and careful input from every last citizen in the country, not to mention every person who loves our home and native land.

I bring this brief reflection in for a landing on the runway of the initial picnic metaphor.

On October 19, 2015 I will be voting for my new friend Stephen Fuhr (Lib), in favour of my good friend Ron Cannan (CPC).

I am so proud, grateful for and respectful of Ron for his conduct on the Hill and his hard work on our behalf. Should we select him to carry on for another term, he will have my full trust and support.

Choosing Stephen will contribute to the re-calibration and nurturing of another indispensable element of Canadian society.  Like Ron, he has character and commitment in spades. 

If their respective constituencies in concert with all Canadians choose to wake up and embrace what is suggested by the word 'collaboration', we will recover one of the most powerful and compelling social imaginaries on the planet.

Jonathan loves having jambalaya from the same restaurant every Tuesday for supper.

Politically, many of us would love to have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It beats the hell out of having to stomach last week's barbecued leader rotting in the sun.

With confidence in our future and gratitude for being a Canadian,

Stan Biggs