Politics can be a blood sport.
A firm approach is often necessary, but it’s also an easy tactic to go from passionate, respectful argument to division, crude attacks and negativity.
It’s the nature of the game to, at times, turn to cutthroat tactics to defeat a rival. However, they don’t always work. Many argue a negative approach cost the Conservative Party the 2015 federal election.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Andrew Scheer, MP for Regina-Qu’Appelle appears to be taking a different approach.
“I believe that in everything we do, everything that we believe and everything we speak to, every time we speak to Canadians we have to be doing it in a way that doesn’t seem divisive and doesn’t seem like we’re playing one group of Canadians off another,” he said during a visit to the Western Wheel office on Nov. 25.
To be clear, this editorial is not meant to be an endorsement of one candidate over another. It is a definite endorsement of the tone and message of Scheer’s statement.
People need to be free to criticize government policy and the decisions of government and public officials to hold them accountable. This can be accomplished without resorting to negative, and sometimes, offensive attacks.
Former Alberta PC leadership candidate Sandra Jansen quit the party, joined the NDP and spoke out about abusive language directed at her. People can justifiably debate her decision to cross the floor and whether or not she should resign or stand in a by-election. It can be done without resorting to words some would not utter in their daily lives, but seem happy to use on social media.
Sadly, this is something that may never change but it’s a direction that can come from the top.
Whether Scheer becomes the leader of the Conservative Party or not, here’s to hoping people in the political world take his message to heart.
