Don't Let Me Near the Kids
I refuse to tell students political fairy tales.
I'll just scare them.
Recently I was invited by other former MLAs to visit classrooms and explain to bright-eyed children the important role played by members of the British Columbia legislature.
Now it's not that I don't like kids. But I'm not eager to tell them certain fairy tales. So letting me near the idealistic youth of today is probably not a good idea, as I'll explain.
From December 1975 until February 1981 I was an MLA, and until a few weeks before I resigned as an MLA, I was in cabinet. I have very fond memories of my time in the cabinet and, without exception, of my colleagues -- even those with whom I, from time to time, profoundly disagreed.
That said, I have no nostalgia arising out being in the legislature because most of it was an utter waste of time.
I'm a member of the Ex-MLA's Association. I pay my dues but have little interest in it. I recently received, along with many other MLAs, a letter from Doug Symons, Doug having been an MLA during the '90s. I don't remember if he was in cabinet or not. If he wasn't, he's terminally naïve. If he was, he's serving up a huge plate of horse buns.
Here is his letter:
The Association of Former MLAs January, 2008 Dear Former MLA, At a recent meeting of the executive of The Association of Former MLAs of BC it was agreed to canvass the membership to see what support there might be for a "Former MLAs Speakers Bureau." The intent being to form a list of members who would be interested in going into schools (if invited) to speak to a class/classes of students about the workings of our provincial legislature. A little history on the layout of the legislative chamber, the passage of bills, what various MLAs do within the legislature and in their constituencies, as well as questions and answers from the students could be possible topics for a half to one hour presentation. [Emphasis mine] A few of us will be putting together a suggested presentation outline and possibly some visuals to aid those interested in participating . . . If you are interested there are a few other points worth noting: . . . I cannot emphasize too much the need to keep your remarks in the classroom non-partisan. By the time a comment goes home, embellished, and then to the school board some little comment can become a big issue. [emphasis mine] Finally, if you are interested in this enterprise, please let me know so that I may supply you with further materials and keep a register of those participating. Possibly at a later date, we can share experiences that may be beneficial to each other. Thank you, Doug Symons |
What I wrote back
My immediate answer was simply "not interested." I then wrote Mr. Symons as follows:
I think I should flesh out my refusal. Kids should learn that the legislature/House of Commons is theatre only and that to pretend that it serves any purpose except to shed figurative blood rather than blood on the street is fraudulent. Bills pass because governments (cabinet) want them passed. Committees meet if the government wants them to and then must deal with issues as they are instructed (exception being Public Accounts). Paid whips are farcical let alone paid deputy whips. Parliamentary secretaries are appointed so that idle hands don't do the devil's work. There is no such thing as debate in [our] legislature if by debate you mean trying to bring people to your point of view. In five years I didn't hear anything even remotely like a debate. I heard a lot of bullshit -- and contributed my share -- for the record or in hopes of promotion from the backbench. Kids should learn that 50 per cent + 1 in the legislature/Commons gives 100 per cent of the power and that with the exception of the power for a limited time to delay, opposition members can only hope to catch the ear of the media. Kids should know that 'responsible government' is bullshit and that instead of it being power up, it's power down. They should know that party leaders can bounce recalcitrant MLAs/MPs from caucus and prevent people properly nominated from running under the party banner. For the above and countless more reasons I have refused to help the Youth Parliament -- not because I don't want to help young people but because I don't want to lie to them. Rafe Mair |
Sorry kids, the facts
What I said in my letter is of course the truth. If members of the legislature, cabinet and backbenchers, opposition and government alike, pretend that I'm wrong, it's all make believe for the obvious reason that they don't want the public know the farce in which they play an integral role. If it were otherwise, a member voting against his party wouldn't be a big deal; whereas, in fact, unless it's a rare free vote, it's a very big deal indeed. And if it involves a money bill, the government MLA is shown the door.
But what about committees?
Apart from Public Accounts, they are chaired by a government member who, with his colleagues, perform under the party whip. Nothing of embarrassment to the government is put on the agenda and if, somehow, opposition members get too close to the bone, the chairman simply adjourns the committee sine die (with no date for re-convening).
To see what happens in real life take the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, which had an opposition chair and an opposition majority. They laboured mightily and tabled their report in the legislature. That report contained a finding that fish firms should go to closed containment. You would think this would force the government, if not to act, at least react.
But Louis XIV and his government have simply done nothing.
And nothing will be done to unsettle the fish farm companies, all of which have an abiding cozy relationship with the government.
A better message
The Association of Former MLAs of British Columbia should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for wanting its members to present to students a version of provincial governance that bears no relationship to what really happens.
This same organization could perform a truly worthwhile exercise by informing the province's young people what really does happen.
They should urge those students, as they move along in life, to insist upon reforms so that MLAs do indeed have power to act independently in a legislature constituted for that purpose rather than perpetuate a parliament like that of Poland before the wall came down.
Related Tyee stories:
- Let's Teach Kids Philosophy
You really can't start too soon, I've found. - Nice: The Most Useless Word in Politics
Carole James doesn't understand the legislature's limited purpose. - A Chance to Cut MLA Pay in Half
They earn too much for a part-time gig.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
siamdave
27-01-2008
me neither!
This is exactly what is talked about in the indoctrination chapters ( http://www.rudemacedon.ca/dlp/box/box04-indoc1.html ) of They're Building a Box - and You're In It - http://www.rudemacedon.ca/dlp/box/box-intro.html - how complete falsehoods about the way our society operates get spread through the population. Apparently the MLAs writing to Rafe are sincere enough - they actually believe that their government operates like it does in the civics books, and want to go and explain it to the kids, who will then believe it too. But it is all, as Rafe notes, a pack of falsehoods, and not the way things work at all. But most people will grow up believing this, and tell their kids the same things, and their kids, and on and on. And the box gets ever stronger as fewer and fewer people are left who understand what is happening.
Now if you want to really begin the education of some children, get this poster http://www.rudemacedon.ca/dlp/box/poster.pdf and spread it around a few school bulletin boards (it won't last long, of course, as the purpose of schools is to keep kids inside the box not teach them how to get out and thus to the school masters this poster would be like Satan visiting the Little Catholic Indoctrination Meetings or something - but any small hole in the walls is potentially a dambuster.)
ME2
28-01-2008
But you sung a different tune then, Rafe
And if the elected backbencher feels redundant, what about we the electors whose wishes are ignored until election time rolls around, which prompts a new set of lying promises destined to again be immediately forgotten by those elected?
And that applies to the slippery bunch you were closeted with as well, Rafe.
KGR
28-01-2008
While I agree that children
While I agree that children shouldn’t be presented with a sanitized version of how their government operates, I think Mr. Mair has allowed his cynicism towards government to cloud his judgment over what, in reality, is an honest and decent attempt to educate.
What Mr. Symons is proposing, as far as I can tell from his letter, is not to have ex-MLAs march into public schools and tell kids “fairy tales” about how wonderful and noble their elected officials are. Rather, he is simply seeking support in teaching the youth of today about the most basic structures of their provincial government, simple things like "the layout of the legislative chamber" and "what various MLAs do." Call him naïve, if you want, but I doubt Mr. Symons is unaware of the nastier sides of government to which Mr. Mair refers. He just recognizes that part can wait for a more advanced lesson in politics.
What Mr. Mair seems to be forgetting is that you have to understand government before you can become cynical about it. And, the sad truth is, the majority of school-aged children don’t know the first thing about how their government works. They couldn’t tell a committee chair from a caucus retreat. That’s a failing of our public schools’ curriculums, and that’s where the blame should be directed – not at ex-MLAs like Mr. Symons who are trying to pick up the slack.
To become properly critical and, if they wish, cynical about politics, today’s youth must first learn how it works. That’s a tall enough task on its own, as I’m sure any teacher who has tried to teach a civics class to a bunch of 14 year olds with short attention spans will tell you.
So I hope Mr. Mair, with his eloquent and infectious cynicism, does stay away from our young people. If we turn them off from politics now, they’ll never want to learn about it, and the widespread apathy that plagues our democratic system will only get worse.
slim
28-01-2008
Too bad you won't go on the speaking circuit
Rafe,
You should have accepted the offer to go to schools and other places where young people hang out (like The Gap) and spread the holy Gospel According to Rafaël. The truth must be told.
Grumpy
28-01-2008
The truth hurts
Tell the truth Rafe, tell the truth to students that we live in a benign oligarchic dictatorship, where the elites pretend that they govern BC. In reality we have 1 ruler or tzar, who's word is law. The tzar can sell province's assets at will, tax at will, do what ever he wants, with little or no fear of any scrutiny.
Then after 4 years, we have a soviet style 'showcase' election, where the process starts over again!
Democracy in BC? No bloody way!
Jeffrey J.
28-01-2008
Right On Rafe
What a stunning breath of fresh air! Rafe, you rock. We live in such a cloak of hypocrisy and carefully managed messaging that I grinned from ear to ear reading this column. Long live the Tyee. Can you IMAGINE if this article were printed in the Sun? It would be revolutionary. Speaking out is the only possible way to dilute the concentration of propaganda. We must all do our share. Thanks again.
bc4me
28-01-2008
KGR writes, "If we turn them
KGR writes, "If we turn them off from politics now, they’ll never want to learn about it, and the widespread apathy that plagues our democratic system will only get worse."
KGR, I hate to break the news to you, but young people (anyone under 35) are so mightily repelled by our current political system and its partisan system of tricks and knavery that it's difficult to attract anyone in this age group to to any event that features the p-word (politics that is) including assisting in campaigning.
Rafe is absolutely correct but I'd assert that this situation, this massive political turn-off, has reached critical proportions, and it will not be remedied until we adults (over 35) take responsibility for fixing it. Remedy #1 is 'truth-telling' and being candid about how our faux-democracy is farcical, crooked and exceptionally wasteful (of money and life-energy). Remedy # 2 will involve serious makeover, as in instituting a system of proportional representation at the least, to be packaged with some minimum accountability standards on how democracy is actually to be practised.
I wouldn't bother with even discussing politics with younger people until #2 is well under way. Then we can safely package up some scary fairy tales for camp-fire fodder: "And then at midnight the big bad party whip took out his Blackberry and text-messaged the complicit and docile media with a lie that was repeated throughout the land until everyone believed it."
Now I'm scaring myself. More's the pity that this conjecture is our sad, broken reality.
Van Isle
28-01-2008
I've been saying this for
I've been saying this for years and have written my beliefs more than once in various comment sections in the Tyee. Democracy is a myth that is propagated by our politians and mass-media. If some people want to be a little more enlightened spend 2 hours and watch a movie called ZIETGEIST.
alive
28-01-2008
wrong track again Rafe
What you accomplish Rafe is to make the public apathetic about politics and elections!
Certainly the government calls the tune, (providing they achieve a majority), but it is very important that people do vote simply to ensure that their choice of party gets represented fairly.
If more poor people would show up at the polling booths, our present dilemma would not be happening!
What you should write about is how the media make people regard elections as a popularity constest and vote for the candidate who manages to look and act more like a celebrity!
In fact we would be better served if personalities were not promoted but actual policies instead!
Skywalker
28-01-2008
Not to fear, there is little demand for this.
I can just imagine the outrage from parents if a guest, former MLA or not was to do as alive suggests. Even if one were to do a very clinical discourse on the differences between parties you would get into serious heat from parents and consequently school administration.
There really won't be much demand for this kind of thing. If it is just on how the system works then teachers will elect to do that themselves to avoid the heat from parents. Most teachers are far too afraid to rock the boat professional by allowing a discussion of partisan politics regardless of how impartial the discussion is set up. Get a former Liberal into the classroom and every NDP parent with a child in the room will get annoyed. The reverse is also true.
So in a sense Rafe is right. If all he is suppose to do is talk about how wonderfully well the system works then it is a waste of his time and that of the kids.
gglave
28-01-2008
MLAs and MPs Navigate the Morass...
While I agree MLAs and MPs are useless in their respective legislatures, they are occasionally helpful when you need assistance navigating bureaucracy. For example, my MP's office recently helped track down an errant passport application.
G West
28-01-2008
excellent point gglave
But have you run a cost/benefit analysis on that small but important service?
Gustav
28-01-2008
Hallowed nonsense? Not so fast!
KGR is right to take Rafe to task for appearing to rubbish the utility of civic education, particularly for school-age children. I teach political science at the college level and, believe me, first-year students have a lot to learn about the basic principles of parliamentary government. I presume they either didn't learn it in school or else forgot it very quickly. If a class visit by a former MLA can spark some interest in the subject, I'm all in favour of it.
To reiterate KGR's point, one has to have a sound understanding of the history and basic structure of political institutions before one can critique them in an informed way. Unfortunately I find that many students who consider themselves to be well informed about politics are too quick to dismiss legislative assemblies as useless talking shops.
Such cynicism, while fashionable, overlooks the important work that legislatures do. It also forecloses serious consideration of what should and could be done to enhance the role of backbenchers and of parliamentary committees.
The first point can be easily illustrated. Last month, the Campbell Government was intent on imposing new terms of reference on the Electoral Boundaries Commission because it didn't like the recommendations the EBC had published in its Preliminary Report. But such a change in the Commission's mandate required legislation. The Government could have used its majority in the Assembly to have its way. But it was astute enough to recognize the political importance of securing the support of the Opposition New Democrats. In the debate on Second Reading of Bill 39, it soon became clear that such support would not be forthcoming. As a result, the Government abandoned the Bill and the Commission resumed its work under its original mandate.
Other examples can be cited, none of which requires one to buy in to fairy tales about the power of backbenchers. The Executive does indeed wield extensive powers, and yes, the epicentre of that power lies in the office of the Premier or the PM. But even the most powerful governments can't always act with impunity, especially not in a period of minority government.
So let's not, even inadvertently, foster the impression among youth that legislatures no longer serve any useful purpose. That would do a disservice to the students and, in the long run, undermine the cause of meaningful parliamentary reform--including electoral reform.
Skywalker
28-01-2008
"legislatures no longer serve any useful purpose".
Anyone who thinks otherwise should tune in to watch the debates on TV. Better still spend a day watching them from the legislative gallery where you see it all. You would see very quickly that "People who like sausages or the law should never watch either being made." If Rafe agreed to participate in this superficial explanation of the legislative process, he would be restricted from saying what he truly believes by the same constraints that govern any teacher from having a real political debate in the classroom. All the information on structure and committees etc. can be better done by the teacher. Anything else depends on whether the teachers want to brave the risks.
You want students to learn about democracy. Then start a discussion about what is wrong with BC's. Assuming that it still is anything close to one. Nobody has the guts to bring that into a classroom.
frank2
28-01-2008
What If we followed Rafe's idea
It's all very well to bemoan the ineffectiveness of MLAs.
Consider the results if we got rid of the legislature.
Everyone on this site, including Rafe, would come up with innumerable instances of legislative "productivity."
I agree, it's not enough, but much better than the alternative, which is only too common in this world
anarcho
28-01-2008
It's all true!
Rafe is right on! What we have is an elected dictatorship, not a democracy. I don't feel, contrary to some other commentators, that telling the truth about this necessarily will lead to cynicism. NOT discussing it sure as heck does though. Critique comes first, then a search for alternatives.
anarcho
28-01-2008
Some ideas...
Minimally, a proportional ballot or some other system which allows for every vote to count. Every issue of major importance to the province as a whole, or to a local area should be ratified by the people through a referendum, either general or local. To stop corporations from putting in millions into "their side" of a referendum, both sides of the question must have equal funding. All issues of development and the environment should be decided at the regional district or municipal level, subject only to minimum provincial standards. These issues should also be decided by the district through referenda. A healthy democracy at the lower level would also invigorate democracy at the higher level. We should, as they are doing in Venezuela, set up neighborhood committees – these could develop out of existing Community Associations - and they should be given the power to make changes in their areas.
greengreen
28-01-2008
Frank Oberle, an MP for
Frank Oberle, an MP for Northern B.C, did some work in this area, attempting to explain the set-up and working of the national government. Good stuff.
The whole idea of government should receive much more attention in the provincial curriculum. Kids at the elementary level eat it up.
Rafe, I understand your cynicism, and agree that you should not be part of any such effort.
By not acquainting young people with the "ideal" how the hell can they judge what they see as being absolute crap? Without an idea of how things are supposed to work, they can hardly be expected to react when idiocy reins. (Isn't that kind of the state we are at?)
Des
28-01-2008
legislatures
What is needed to improve the function of legislatures in general is just to move them closer to the people.
City and Municipal councils should be the first line of defence against super-governments, allowing local decisions to be made by local residents. At present, municipalities are creatures of Provincial governments, and have no powers to deal effectively with each other and with the Federal government.
Provincial governments would then be seen as superfluous entities and could be eliminated entirely. Wouldn't Provincial Parliament buildings make beautiful museums?
The Federal government would then be beholden to the wishes of the ordinary voters in their millions, unable to use provincial vanities to play off one part of the country against another.
Just think of the amount of money (read taxes) we could save.
Mr. Beer N. Hockey
29-01-2008
Wisdom
Rafe is beginning to remind me more and more of my late grandmother. She was an early supporter of W.A.C. Bennett before decades of observation of the political scene edged her into the loving arms of the Parti Rhinoceros.
SharingIsGood
29-01-2008
You can talk to my kids anytime, Rafe
As a matter of fact, I've already shown our kids articles you have written on more than one occasion. Though my wife and I decry as criminal the current politicians running the provincial and federal governments, we lead our children by example through protesting, contributing, volunteering, writing, and remaining hopeful that ordinary people can and do make a difference. Without trying to overburden them, we school them into understanding that they must work even harder than we have if they hope to save the planet from the destructive forces of fascism and objectivism (whether the particular party in power calls itself Liberal, Conservative, Socred, Republican, Democrat or Labour).
After all, if we don't show them how to think critically, they can look forward to being ignorant fools. My wife and I spend more time questioning our children how they arrived at their beliefs/thinking than telling them what we think. They read newspapers (editorials and all) and at their young ages, they wonder how people ever dreamed that the current politicians ever convinced people to vote for them. They know to research a topic before arriving at an answer.
If you want to visit the Interior, I can arrange for you to visit some high school socials classes. I know the local teachers in my community; they would be pleased to have you.
SharingIsGood
29-01-2008
ChrisB
The Liberal government of BC in 2001 ran on the pledge of the most open and accountable government anywhere. To me, nothing could be further from the truth. They perform their actions behind closed doors; they reduced the length of question period in the Legislature; and their current practice is a cruel joke on people of BC in relation to past governments' practice of Freedom of Information. They are a law unto themselves, who rewrite laws to enslave future generations; TILMA is a prime example of this handiwork.