Hello and Welcome.
This post is going to be quite a bit different than past ones so brace yourself… or don’t. Its gonna be short but plenty sweet, and you will have a thorough understanding of exactly what I am trying to convey by the end.
After discovering and researching some flaws in current politics, our PLP 10 class was split into groups to form a political party different from all others. Using my previous post, and all I gathered from it, I brainstormed critiques, questions, and ideas about how to make our political party stand out.
For this post we were asked to answer a series of questions that would help us answer the driving question for this milestone:
Why should people vote for you?
After brainstorming I decided that the best way to answer this question while giving the most info, was to make a good old list. I will go more into detail on certain points although, as a reader, the best way to convey my answers is to give them to you strait and with little dots beside them.
The first question we were asked to help get a better understanding of our party, was actually quite difficult. The question: what makes your party unique? Ended up leaving me and my group members quite stumped. We had so many ideas, but almost none of them were really that different than already-existing party’s ideals. We all valued left and progressive views but we really weren’t much different that the current Green Party of Canada, or the National Democratic Party. This question took a lot more thought and research, but after really thinking outside of the box, we were were able to dig up some points that have never been used in previous governments. This was exiting because it was then when I realized how important doing that extra bit of research is, and how much it can make future work easier. I also was able to appreciate the Zettlekasten system and that with it, I was able to connect observations or opinions to make new and better ideas.
A while back I had come up with the idea of what I thought was a “cool” political party name. The United Party of Canada. Although, back then that’s really all the thought I gave: A cool name. Flash forward a few weeks, we were well into our Think You Can Do Better? project and that’s exactly what we needed. I quickly pitched the name and my group within minutes agreed. The only problem was, it was just an empty name. I quickly got to thinking because I knew that there had to be something that could go along with it. And then, almost as if someone shot the idea into my head, I relized exactly what it would be. Although we have much more progressive/left views on the political spectrum, I know that in order to have a working government, there needs to be unification. From there on that was our theme: How could we keep our core values, while providing a little for everyone. This was also the main factor that makes our party unique. Unification of all people, no mater your background, you economic standings, or even your political ideologies. We just want to create a party that would make Canada the best it could be. Finally, I made my list. This list has in depth ideas on how we, as a party are unique and different. Although we are constantly revising our plans, here is what we think will answer the original question above.
In the past, political parities are usually running for a certain crowd, only trying to pull a small number of voters from other parties. Once a political party ends up getting elected, sometimes more than half the population complains and waits un-patiently for the next chance to vote for their leader.
+ Our party plans to unite every body, no mater where they are on in the political spectrum, and solve problems as a nation.
+ This calls for much more citizen involvement as well as government support
+ We believe that if everyone’s basic needs are met we can progress as a nation together
+ Unlike other parties, we believe that there is no need for proving ourselves better by promises or putting others down and feel that with a concrete step by step plan on how we will solve each problem with strict set of core values to guide us to our answers, we are going to bring the nation to a better place in the future
+ We ask for constant direct democracy to allow all Canadians to have their voice heard
+ We stand for our promises and will always keep them at the forefront until they are met
+ We value the future of our nation and we make decisions based on the lasting health and growth of our economy
+ We bring in new ideas such as a green economy and a new money distribution system to help everyone
+ We put a new image on government and how much a government can do with the population’s help
+ Although we have very progressive and Left values, we accept all views and will publicize concerns and be open on how we will solve these issues
+ We also will explain why we make every decision so citizens can understand the impacts of decisions on our future
+ We will make everyone feel they have a place in our society in not only making thier life, but the life’s of Canadians better
+ we will make sure that all Canadians can have a sense of equity without discrimination by having much more government outreach
+increase of government positions = more jobs and cheaper fees
+ make the government an ally to Canadians instead of just the ones making all of the decisions
+we will implement the proportional representation system to have a more involved population
The next question we were asked was: Why should I vote for your party? Currently in our world we are going through a time that will be remembered forever. The past couple of years has shown us the good of the world, as well as some of our worlds darkest times, but if there’s one thing that I think everyone should take away from these times, it would be the fragility of life. I don’t just mean peoples life, but also the life on our planet. As humans, we do have an impact on our world, and withought knowing it we have been knocking our world out of balance for quite a while. It just happens that the recent years have been when the horror has been finding its when into our lives. There also is a really important lesson in these past few years. It is true that as a human race, over time, we can change history negatively, but together, we can also change our future to be very positive. As humans we have to think bigger than our lifetime and even bigger than a few generations, because the earth, well that’s been hear a lot longer than we have, and will be around a lot longer than we will. We need to think of innovation as not just something to help us now, but something to lead us further to the future and we need to realize that small actions will in fact lead to unseeable changes. As humans we have seen how much we can negatively impact our earth over time, but we also have to realize how much we can positively impact our earth as well. That’s the main Idea of our party.
When you read our statement of intent you will see that one of outer top values is the future. When we say this, we don’t just mean throughout the four years if we were elected, we mean the future of our nation as long as it stands. We know that the changes we have seen so recently in our world are only going to get worse, so that’s why we stand for the future. We can understand why certain issues are important to solve but we also know that we could very well be the way to save our future. That’s why you should vote for us. Because we know what needs to change and we know how important those changes will be.
I have also added another list of reasons you should chose us. Like the previos Green Party leader, Annamie Paul had mentioned, which I thought was a very important point: these times call for you to be bold and vote for the government that you know our country needs.
- We are understanding of all types of people
- We embrace citizens by providing accessible help
- Our plan isn’t only to strengthen our economy, but to strengthen the lives of Canadians
- We come at everything with a thought-out plan
- We embrace the voices of our population
- We know what it is going to take to do our part in the climate crisis
- We understand that times will be hard but we know that in unison, we can overcome the hardest things
- We know how important conserving our future is
- We use the brains of our nation’s best to think through solutions
- We are optimistic and we are bold but we are ready to work
Relating back to previous post on why Canadians didn’t vote for the Green Party this past election, I was able to appreciate the work I did their and how it helped me now. The final question asked that exactly. How can you relate this to your previous blogpost? The biggest influence the past post had on this one was amount of time I spent researching the Green Party. I have always felt I most related with that party, although, like most citizens my age, I really didn’t know much about them. I made the decision a little before writing that post to really dig deep on the party’s main beliefs, values and visions for Canada. As I said, they really surprised me with not only the diversity in their values, but also how much backing and depth their platform had. Then the idea for the blog post came to me. I deeply wondered: in the current state of our world, with the more and more obvious signs of the climate crisis, and with the priorities of the party, why did the Green Party get so little support? As the answers came, I relized how much of an influence my research would have on creating a party. I knew I wanted our party to be similar to the Green Party but I also knew that we would have to change a lot of things first. Ideas such as the unification aspects as well as a green economy were all influenced by the previos post. I also was able to take more specific notes from their most recent campaign, such as how to avoid infighting, and why it is important to be open with your party members. I also took note on smaller aspects such as their slogan and the message their were trying to convey. I researched how important it is to have one strong message and when your campaigning a more radical set of beliefs, how important addressing the fact that the voter will have to be bold and choose for what they feel is risky but necessary. I truly feel that with all of the knowledge I had gained from that assignment, I can truly provide important ideas that will help us make the strongest party possible.
I also created a list of all these points so as a reader you can see exactly what I took from he previous post.
+ I saw what flaws the Green Party had, and I can see what the current issues are in our current leader
+ We know that strength in our party leads us to success and constant collaboration can lead to the brightest ideas
+ We can incorporate some of the promises and plans of the Green Party since our values are similar
+ Since the Green Party had already done research on the different issues, we can use them, and share them to the public
+ We understand what citizens need to hear and we will convey those messages in our campaign ads
+ We will be open to all views within and outside our party
+ We don’t identify as a Green Party we identify as the party to unite
Well there you have it. I guess that ended up to be quite lengthy 😶, but you know what they say… or at least someone probably said: an important question calls for a thorough answer. I hope you will come back to read my final post on this project which will have our campaign video in it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and as always, make sure you comment any thoughts or questions you have on this post.
Hey Ryder,
Nice job presenting your vision of The United Party of Canada and its platform of inclusivity, ecological integrity and positive change for both present and future generations. It’s cool that you’re thinking about politics in terms of real-world challenges – and not just memorizing facts – that face government and citizens alike and suggesting how best to address those issues, such as climate change, by working together and innovating while staying true to core values.
You pointed out how important doing extra research can be. I agree. I think that getting informed is key for engaging in public debate or arguing in favor of some or other policy, such as an environmental regulation, that may be controversial. Being able to state empirical evidence and data-driven results from trustworthy and credible research can sometimes really help make the moral case for legislative action. Do you agree?
Also, you mentioned the Zettlekasten system and how it was useful for connecting observations to make “new and better ideas.” I’ll have to read about this system sometime and see what it suggests. I’m glad to see that you are continuing to consider ideas and issues from multiple perspectives and then finding ways to synthesize and discover novel insights. This is possibly, too, a real benefit from PLP? What do you think?
And in today’s world with all the amazing complexity, interconnectivity and rapid change, this way of thinking – across disciplines, looking through many different lenses – is so valuable in the pursuit of finding effective solutions.
I like the Unification Party idea because cooperation is so important for solving problems. And it’s cool that your group adopted the name. I wonder if having one of the main goals of the party right there in the party’s name might help achieve that very outcome by drawing support from folks across the political spectrum? Do you think so?
As you stated, this unification is necessary for there to be a “working government.” I’d be interested to know more, sometime, how you see the party achieving agreement and compromise by its elected officials who often represent constituencies with diverse backgrounds and economic interests?
You know, I really appreciate your reflection in the ‘why should I vote for your party?’ section. This really is a unique and challenging time, and, I agree, will be remembered for a long time. I agree, these many months have seen much benevolence, generosity, and courage; yet, still, the darkness of deception and greed persisted too.
I think that you are making a very wise observation about the “fragility of life” during these times, both for people and for the living earth. Fortunately, an intrinsic resilience of life is interwoven within its very fragility… Do you think so?
I agree with what you said about humans having such an immense impact on our world and knocking the planet out of balance; though, I would add, too, that many people have actually recognized this ecological disruption happening for many decades… even the idea of Earth Day goes back to 1970 and, even as far back as 1872, Yellowstone became the 1st US National Park… but, I agree, in more recent years, the visible signs and impacts are becoming ever more undeniable and real-time experiential.
If you haven’t heard of the ‘planetary boundaries’ model yet, you might like to check it out. This scientific analysis is yet another useful way to consider how the planet – the biosphere – is changing due to human activity and identifies specific areas that need social and political attention.
So, this really is a time for ‘bold’ political action, as you suggested. And I really appreciate your perspective that, together, people can shape the future, even the distant future, positively – and by taking one step at a time. This is great. I think that your considering how the planet will be for others yet born is admirable and this reminds me of a term very relevant to climate change: intergenerational justice.
Yet, taking the long view presents one of the most profound questions ever imagined: What will this future look like? You know, how will humanity choose to do science and innovate, as you mentioned, and apply, or not, those technologies to society (like social media or AI), as well as, to the world of wild nature with all the myriad biodiversity that shares the planet with us?
Well, excellent post again, Ryder. Thanks. So much thoughtfulness, focus and insight abound.