Hollis Linschoten: It’s time for something different than destructive politics

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      All right, friends. It’s time we had a chat about politics. A real one. I’m not talking about the vote for me and I’ll be your lesser of evils kind of chat. I’m not talking about the train wreck that is the provincial Liberals or the NDP is gonna save us kinda chat. I’m sure the Conservatives are out here somewhere too.

      I’m talking about you and I’m talking about me. I’m talking about you and me in our larger community. I’m talking about where we’re going and why we’re in such a hurry. I’m talking about time. I’m talking about the quality of the life I want to be living, the quality of the life you want to be living, the quality of life we want to be living.

      Truth is, I don’t want to be the one doing most of the talking. Sure, I’ve got some ideas about a quality of life that isn’t based on accumulation of wealth or access to luxury on the backs of populations that are suffering. I’ve got some ideas about a quality of life that can be achieved without the enslavement and destruction of our environment, our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our time. I’ve got some ideas about the importance of family, creativity, community, picnics in the park, and sleep. I’ve got some ideas about working less and living more. Truth is, I still don’t want to be the one doing most of the talking.

      Now you probably want to say, but Hollis, why are you standing up there, why are you in the papers, why is your name on the ballot if you’re not going to lead us to a better and brighter future like all of these other politicians are promising to? Well, I’m standing here to make a point. Our system is not just broken; it’s been built to keep us out.

      And our politicians, our government? Well, they’ve tricked us, they’ve beaten us, they’ve grabbed the power, and they’ve built fences and ivory towers. They’ve dressed up a dictatorship as a democracy; they’ve peddled their promises every few years and called it an election. It’s time for some disruption.

      Truth is, I am not a politician. I am political. Just like you are political, just like our community can get together and be political. I don’t have all of the answers—neither does any one person, any other candidate or politician running in this city, in this province, in this country, anywhere, ever. They sure like to think they do though; they sure like to act like they do though. And why should we let them?

      It’s time we take our collective seat at the gilded table. It’s time we dismantle the thing. It’s time we consider what we want and how we want it. It’s time we get together with our neighbours and our community, our friends and our family; it’s time we consider the destruction this political game is wreaking. It’s time for something different, something for you and for me. It’s time for everything.

      Comments

      8 Comments

      Christoph

      Apr 9, 2013 at 8:41pm

      Monetary systems... Regardless of your ability to dismantle the beast of them, what is your opinion on monetary based economies? Are any of them "good" or "efficient" in your opinion? And if so, which ones and why?

      OMG

      Apr 9, 2013 at 8:58pm

      Watching Portlandia reruns on Netflix. Seems more real than this this goofball's world.

      Bob

      Apr 9, 2013 at 9:06pm

      thank you for this incredibly insightful commentary on the state of our province. God bless the courageous young people fighting the good fight in our province!!!

      Lucy Alexandra Howson

      Apr 10, 2013 at 1:29am

      Utopian Socialism ;)

      RUK

      Apr 10, 2013 at 9:14am

      Our parliamentary system is built on debate. It is adversarial by design. Our contemporary pols are actually wimps, verbally, compared to the acid-tongued haranguers of yore.

      What is destructive is when a party determines to block another rather than to argue. The correct response to that is not to lay back but to fight back - civilly of course.

      You may want to have the system be more accessible, but it isn't. Are you ready to play with the big kids or not?

      How to say nothing.

      Apr 10, 2013 at 12:42pm

      This sounds like a warmed over version of Hillary 'King-Kong' Clinton's "It takes a village". "We're" (whoever that is) going to sit down and talk, well a lot of good that'll do! We need an overturning a complete turnaround from 50 years of Thatcher-Reagan-Clinton-Harper-Obamaism, and that'll only happen with confrontation.

      Innocuous drivel

      Apr 10, 2013 at 7:39pm

      So this is what Work Less comes to, a cute guy, great hair, in a soft core glam shot, spouting vapid limp liberalism. A waste of space. Even David Eby or Christy Clark would be better than this insipidity.

      Thank you

      Apr 11, 2013 at 4:04pm

      I hope the depth of your message is heard and acted upon; it may be difficult to hear a person running for office say that the office must be shut down, but that's what I heard and couldn't agree more.

      12,000 years of this insanity is more than enough. Of course, the system ain't gonna let you or any of us stop it easily, but you don't get anywhere without taking one step at a time...