Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 36
November 10, 2018
Metaphors of Life Journal: Trump and the Media - Carp in Feeding Frenzy
Hmmm, can either side live without the other in the all-out feeding frenzy?
I remember the night when Donald Trump won the battle to be president of the USA. When it was apparent he was going to win, my reaction was: My God, he’s actually going to do it.
In the interests of objectivity, let me say that he had every right in the world to be in the race. The people who voted for him had their reasons and made their decision based on what they believed was best for their country. Many of us may disagree with their decision, but we have to support their right to cast their votes as they see fit.
We’re now at the two year mark of Trump’s tenure as president. What disturbs me, almost as much as Trump’s behavior, is the media’s love affair with the man. I’m willing to bet that not a day has gone by in that year without at least one story behind published or broadcast about him. The headlines below are all from today on the Microsoft News site.
Trump Trashes Kelly Conway’s Husband
Trump Cancels Cemetery Visit
Trump Hits Back at Obamas
Trump Dismisses Michelle Obama Criticism, Slams Barack
Michelle Obama Won’t Forgive Trump for ‘Putting Her Family at Risk’
Trump Denies Knowing the Man He Appointed Acting AG
Trump Slams Macron in France
Trump, Macron Gloss over Differences in France after Rough Start
Trump Demeans 3 Black Female Reporters in Three Days
Trump Calls French President ‘Good Friend’ After Testy Tweet
Trump Calls Florida Polls Disgrace
Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump over Asylum Claim Curb
If there is one behavior that defines Trump, it is that he loves publicity and does not particularly care whether it is good or bad in nature. This is a dream come true for the media. They never have to go searching for a story now. There is always another Trump outrageous speech or tweet or act they can jump on.
Earlier in my life, I was a reporter-photographer for about 18 months. In that time, I witnessed the media’s hunger for scandal and dirt. It was one of the reasons I decided the profession was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
The plain truth is that the media and Donald Trump are hopelessly addicted to one another. Their addictions feed off of each other to the point that they are co-dependent. Either side would experience painful withdrawal symptoms if the other went away.
Using Albrecht’s metaphor from the top of this post, Donald Trump is the monster carp. The media are the smaller carp chasing after him, nipping at his tail, hoping for a tasty sound byte or video clip. Sadly, the feeding frenzy isn’t likely to end anytime soon.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
Trump and the Media: Carp in a Feeding Frenzy
“Left to its own devices, the media is like a pool of hungry carp on a continual, mindless feed frenzy. When one carp swims after a crumb of bread, all the other carp swim as fast they as can to get a piece of it.” ~ Katherine Albrecht
Hmmm, can either side live without the other in the all-out feeding frenzy?
I remember the night when Donald Trump won the battle to be president of the USA. When it was apparent he was going to win, my reaction was: My God, he’s actually going to do it.
In the interests of objectivity, let me say that he had every right in the world to be in the race. The people who voted for him had their reasons and made their decision based on what they believed was best for their country. Many of us may disagree with their decision, but we have to support their right to cast their votes as they see fit.
We’re now at the two year mark of Trump’s tenure as president. What disturbs me, almost as much as Trump’s behavior, is the media’s love affair with the man. I’m willing to bet that not a day has gone by in that year without at least one story behind published or broadcast about him. The headlines below are all from today on the Microsoft News site.
Trump Trashes Kelly Conway’s Husband
Trump Cancels Cemetery Visit
Trump Hits Back at Obamas
Trump Dismisses Michelle Obama Criticism, Slams Barack
Michelle Obama Won’t Forgive Trump for ‘Putting Her Family at Risk’
Trump Denies Knowing the Man He Appointed Acting AG
Trump Slams Macron in France
Trump, Macron Gloss over Differences in France after Rough Start
Trump Demeans 3 Black Female Reporters in Three Days
Trump Calls French President ‘Good Friend’ After Testy Tweet
Trump Calls Florida Polls Disgrace
Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump over Asylum Claim Curb
If there is one behavior that defines Trump, it is that he loves publicity and does not particularly care whether it is good or bad in nature. This is a dream come true for the media. They never have to go searching for a story now. There is always another Trump outrageous speech or tweet or act they can jump on.
Earlier in my life, I was a reporter-photographer for about 18 months. In that time, I witnessed the media’s hunger for scandal and dirt. It was one of the reasons I decided the profession was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
The plain truth is that the media and Donald Trump are hopelessly addicted to one another. Their addictions feed off of each other to the point that they are co-dependent. Either side would experience painful withdrawal symptoms if the other went away.
Using Albrecht’s metaphor from the top of this post, Donald Trump is the monster carp. The media are the smaller carp chasing after him, nipping at his tail, hoping for a tasty sound byte or video clip. Sadly, the feeding frenzy isn’t likely to end anytime soon.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
November 3, 2018
Metaphors of Life Journal: A Tangled Web with No Paper Trail
Subject: Business Proposal
Date: 2.11.2018
I have a confidential business proposal for you which is worth a substantial amount (GBP 13.5M). If interested, reply back via the below e-mail for more details.
Best regards,
Sir David Edward John R., Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking,
Bank of England, Tel: 075 4328 2201
Re: Business Proposal
Dear Sir David:
Thank you so much for your business proposal! This must be my lucky day. I can’t imagine how you came to make this offer to me. But I am certainly not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
GBP 13.5M. I believe that converts to $22,900 – quite a windfall! I see a new car in my future. But wait, what if the “M” stands for “million”? 13,500,000 GBP! I can’t begin to imagine what that equates to in Canadian dollars. But who cares! I’d be filthy, stinking rich!
You indicated that this is a confidential business proposal. That puzzles me a bit. Is this something illegal? I wouldn’t want to have the RCMP knocking on my door.
But you are with the Bank of England. I checked Google and that’s a real thing. You have a website that uses cookies, so it has to be official. Surely you can’t go wrong when you’re dealing with an institution that has been around since 1694.
However, it occurs to me to wonder why the Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking would be spending his valuable time on a transaction with someone like me. Surely you have more important things to do with your time?
And I kind of wonder why you’re contacting me by e-mail. Is that normal for a serious business proposal? I would think you would send me a letter by registered mail.
Umm, maybe you don’t want a paper trail. I have to tell you that that is worrisome. You did give your telephone number. But it wouldn’t be that difficult to set up a dummy phone number and answer it in an official manner.
Tell you what. Send me $1,500 to cover the cost of a return flight to London. Throw in another $1,500 for accommodations and $1,000 for miscellaneous expenses. You can deduct this $4,500 from the GBP13.5M. I’ll make the trip over to meet you and we’ll get this deal done!
Best regards,
Michael Robert Dyet
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
A Tangled Web with No Paper Trail
Hmmm, in the words of Sir Walter Scott, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Methinks this applies to the e-mail I received today.
Subject: Business Proposal
Date: 2.11.2018
I have a confidential business proposal for you which is worth a substantial amount (GBP 13.5M). If interested, reply back via the below e-mail for more details.
Best regards,
Sir David Edward John R., Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking,
Bank of England, Tel: 075 4328 2201
Re: Business Proposal
Dear Sir David:
Thank you so much for your business proposal! This must be my lucky day. I can’t imagine how you came to make this offer to me. But I am certainly not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
GBP 13.5M. I believe that converts to $22,900 – quite a windfall! I see a new car in my future. But wait, what if the “M” stands for “million”? 13,500,000 GBP! I can’t begin to imagine what that equates to in Canadian dollars. But who cares! I’d be filthy, stinking rich!
You indicated that this is a confidential business proposal. That puzzles me a bit. Is this something illegal? I wouldn’t want to have the RCMP knocking on my door.
But you are with the Bank of England. I checked Google and that’s a real thing. You have a website that uses cookies, so it has to be official. Surely you can’t go wrong when you’re dealing with an institution that has been around since 1694.
However, it occurs to me to wonder why the Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking would be spending his valuable time on a transaction with someone like me. Surely you have more important things to do with your time?
And I kind of wonder why you’re contacting me by e-mail. Is that normal for a serious business proposal? I would think you would send me a letter by registered mail.
Umm, maybe you don’t want a paper trail. I have to tell you that that is worrisome. You did give your telephone number. But it wouldn’t be that difficult to set up a dummy phone number and answer it in an official manner.
Tell you what. Send me $1,500 to cover the cost of a return flight to London. Throw in another $1,500 for accommodations and $1,000 for miscellaneous expenses. You can deduct this $4,500 from the GBP13.5M. I’ll make the trip over to meet you and we’ll get this deal done!
Best regards,
Michael Robert Dyet
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
October 27, 2018
Sneak Preview: The Blank Deed - A Thursday Morning in Late September
Three cormorants, wings folded downward like flags at half mast, cut recklessly across the path of the Sam McBride as it churned across the harbour toward Toronto Island. Lauren watched Jonathan’s grandfather, his eyes narrowing with concern as he followed their flight. Were the cormorants a harbinger of things to come or a reflection of the past she was compelled to confront?
Lauren studied the old man’s noble, weathered face. It was expressive, and yet, inscrutable. The experiences etched there were beyond her understanding. She searched for traces of Jonathan. There was a slight resemblance.
“Are you okay, Grandfather? This must be terribly hard for you.”
“And for you.”
“Am I crazy to be doing this? Everyone seems to think so.”
“Our people, the Anishinabe, believe we can’t be separated from the cycle of living things—life, growth, death and rebirth. So no, you’re not crazy.”
“Anishinabe? Jonathan told me he was half Ojibway.”
“Ojibway, Mississauga, Chippewa. We’ve been called by many names.”
Lauren turned her eyes to the island. A rising dread gripped her as the ferry neared the Ward’s Island dock. It felt disrespectful to be chasing after Jonathan’s ghost. But the journal hidden in her handbag urged her on.
There were a handful of passengers on this Thursday morning in late September. They filed towards the bow as the ferry manoeuvred into the dock. Lauren held back, waiting until they had all disembarked, before she guided Jonathan’s grandfather over the gangplank onto the dock.
“Thank you for coming with me, Grandfather. Do you mind me calling you that? I know we’re only related by marriage.”
“It’s fine. You’re Jonathan’s wife and the mother of his child.”
“Was his wife.” He cocked his head slightly. “Sorry. I don’t quite know how to refer to myself yet.”
He nodded and crooked his arm in hers as they started down the path toward the Ward Island Clubhouse. Gulls skittered off the path ahead of them, protesting the disruption. Their plaintive shrieks sounded like cries of distress.
Lauren: You know that I keep this journal. So you’ll know, I hope, to look here when they come to you with the news of what I have done.
I know you will be angry and wounded. Please, keep reading, if you can. This is my last will and testament—literally all that I have to leave you. A paltry inheritance. And yet, in some ways, more than I ever had to offer before.
I will not say that I am sorry. People spit out those words so often as if they erase all the harm. But they never do. Apologies will not change what I feel. I have descended, slowly at first and then in terrible leaps, into a dark and unspeakably lonely place…
If you’re intrigued, Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet is available online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble. Check out the book trailer video on YouTube.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
The Blank Deed: A Thursday Morning in Late September
A sneak preview of the story The Blank Deed from Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage. (Check out the book trailer video.)
Three cormorants, wings folded downward like flags at half mast, cut recklessly across the path of the Sam McBride as it churned across the harbour toward Toronto Island. Lauren watched Jonathan’s grandfather, his eyes narrowing with concern as he followed their flight. Were the cormorants a harbinger of things to come or a reflection of the past she was compelled to confront?
Lauren studied the old man’s noble, weathered face. It was expressive, and yet, inscrutable. The experiences etched there were beyond her understanding. She searched for traces of Jonathan. There was a slight resemblance.
“Are you okay, Grandfather? This must be terribly hard for you.”
“And for you.”
“Am I crazy to be doing this? Everyone seems to think so.”
“Our people, the Anishinabe, believe we can’t be separated from the cycle of living things—life, growth, death and rebirth. So no, you’re not crazy.”
“Anishinabe? Jonathan told me he was half Ojibway.”
“Ojibway, Mississauga, Chippewa. We’ve been called by many names.”
Lauren turned her eyes to the island. A rising dread gripped her as the ferry neared the Ward’s Island dock. It felt disrespectful to be chasing after Jonathan’s ghost. But the journal hidden in her handbag urged her on.
There were a handful of passengers on this Thursday morning in late September. They filed towards the bow as the ferry manoeuvred into the dock. Lauren held back, waiting until they had all disembarked, before she guided Jonathan’s grandfather over the gangplank onto the dock.
“Thank you for coming with me, Grandfather. Do you mind me calling you that? I know we’re only related by marriage.”
“It’s fine. You’re Jonathan’s wife and the mother of his child.”
“Was his wife.” He cocked his head slightly. “Sorry. I don’t quite know how to refer to myself yet.”
He nodded and crooked his arm in hers as they started down the path toward the Ward Island Clubhouse. Gulls skittered off the path ahead of them, protesting the disruption. Their plaintive shrieks sounded like cries of distress.
Lauren: You know that I keep this journal. So you’ll know, I hope, to look here when they come to you with the news of what I have done.
I know you will be angry and wounded. Please, keep reading, if you can. This is my last will and testament—literally all that I have to leave you. A paltry inheritance. And yet, in some ways, more than I ever had to offer before.
I will not say that I am sorry. People spit out those words so often as if they erase all the harm. But they never do. Apologies will not change what I feel. I have descended, slowly at first and then in terrible leaps, into a dark and unspeakably lonely place…
If you’re intrigued, Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet is available online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble. Check out the book trailer video on YouTube.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
October 20, 2018
Metaphors of Life Journal: Top 10 Reasons It Sucks to Be Old
Some days, yes there is. Other days, not so much. Let me prepare you for the experience by spelling out the top 10 reasons that somedays it just plain sucks!
#10: Your brain insists on believing you are still 25. But your 60 old bladder begs to differ halfway through every meeting at work and in the middle of the night.
#9: You’re now entitled to the $5 senior’s credit on your monthly banking fees. But the price of gas just went up again, so kiss your 5 bucks goodbye.
#8: You’ve earned the right to slow down and smell the roses. But the world move so fast the best you can manage is to slow down the rate at which you’re falling behind.
#7: You’ve reached the age at which you are willing to pay to have things done for you. But technology double-crossed you and converted the world to self-serve.
#6: The roulette wheel spins every morning to determine which body parts will hurt (other than your back, which is a given) or decline to wake up.
#5: Your idea of the perfect evening is binge watching old sitcom reruns. But they’ve all been replaced by So You Think You Can Dance or Big Brother or Hell’s Kitchen or Kid’s Baking Championship or some other reality show you can no interest in whatsoever.
#4: You’re not overly concerned about how your body looks, so you can indulge in comfort foods… except that your body can no longer process dairy or gluten and everything that tastes good has one or the other in it.
#3: You’ve reached the age where you can laugh at yourself, but there are way too many things to laugh about.
#2: You’ve lived long enough to maybe see the Maple Leafs will the Stanley Cup again. But if the final game goes into double overtime, you’ll be asleep on the couch when it happens.
And finally….
#1: Along the way, you figured out the 3 most important things in life. But now you can’t for the life of you remember what they are.
Life has its seasons and aging falls into the autumn category. Thankfully, it is a long, slow season that has its pleasures as well as its challenges. I just wish the leaves were not falling off the tree at quite such an alarming rate.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
10 Top Reasons It Sucks to Be Old
Hmmm, shouldn’t there be a reward for growing old?
Some days, yes there is. Other days, not so much. Let me prepare you for the experience by spelling out the top 10 reasons that somedays it just plain sucks!
#10: Your brain insists on believing you are still 25. But your 60 old bladder begs to differ halfway through every meeting at work and in the middle of the night.
#9: You’re now entitled to the $5 senior’s credit on your monthly banking fees. But the price of gas just went up again, so kiss your 5 bucks goodbye.
#8: You’ve earned the right to slow down and smell the roses. But the world move so fast the best you can manage is to slow down the rate at which you’re falling behind.
#7: You’ve reached the age at which you are willing to pay to have things done for you. But technology double-crossed you and converted the world to self-serve.
#6: The roulette wheel spins every morning to determine which body parts will hurt (other than your back, which is a given) or decline to wake up.
#5: Your idea of the perfect evening is binge watching old sitcom reruns. But they’ve all been replaced by So You Think You Can Dance or Big Brother or Hell’s Kitchen or Kid’s Baking Championship or some other reality show you can no interest in whatsoever.
#4: You’re not overly concerned about how your body looks, so you can indulge in comfort foods… except that your body can no longer process dairy or gluten and everything that tastes good has one or the other in it.
#3: You’ve reached the age where you can laugh at yourself, but there are way too many things to laugh about.
#2: You’ve lived long enough to maybe see the Maple Leafs will the Stanley Cup again. But if the final game goes into double overtime, you’ll be asleep on the couch when it happens.
And finally…
#1: Along the way, you figured out the 3 most important things in life. But now you can’t for the life of you remember what they are.
Life has its seasons and aging falls into the autumn category. Thankfully, it is a long, slow season that has its pleasures as well as its challenges. I just wish the leaves were not falling off the tree at quite such an alarming rate.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
October 13, 2018
Metaphors of Life Journal: Paper Candidates - The Mushrooms of Election Season
We are a week away from the 2018 municipal election here in Ontario. Election signs in myriad sizes and colours have sprung up in the last few weeks, giving a whole new meaning to fall colours. Elections are money in the bank for sign printers.
I have about had my fill of the candidate’s rhetoric, the inevitable war of words and the whose-past-is-the-most shameful debate. News flash for all candidates: We all have skeletons in the closet. Get over it! I do not expect perfection, but a dose of discretion and decorum during the campaign goes a long ways for me.
One thing that continues to puzzle me is the sheer number of candidates and the disparity in their qualifications. Here in Brampton we have 7 candidates for mayor. In my ward, there are 7 candidates for city councilor, 3 for regional councilor and a dozen for school board trustee.
It is encouraging to see so many citizens stepping up to serve. But unfortunately, many of the candidates have little or no qualification for the position for which they are running. Why in heaven’s name would I vote for someone who is no more qualified than I am – and I am definitely not qualified.
It is a fundamental principle of our election system that any citizen in good standing can throw their hat in the ring. But I am inclined to believe there should be some kind of screening process that candidates must pass through before their names go on the ballot.
It does not have to be a complicated process – just a simple filter that ensures candidates have some sort of professional, academic or volunteer experience that prepares them to serve. After all, the role each of them is applying to fill has considerable accountability and the implications of screwing up are serious.
Yes, I know that this is unlikely to ever happen. If it was put in place, there would be considerable risk that the people given the authority to do the screening would lack objectivity and they would be at serious risk of corruption. More’s the pity.
Democracy is a wonderful thing and brings with it inviolable rights and privileges. But I do not believe it is in the best interests of democracy for every one and his brother to be able to put their names on the ballot regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof.
Alas, paper candidates are a fact of life we have to accept however irritating they may be. Like mushrooms that spring up in rainy seasons, who-the-hell-are-you candidates emerge for every election season and fade away quickly after election day.
By all means, do vote. But make sure the candidate you select has the skills to do the job.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
Paper Candidates: The Mushrooms of Election Season
Hmmm, why would I vote for you for political office if your qualifications are paper thin?
We are a week away from the 2018 municipal election here in Ontario. Election signs in myriad sizes and colours have sprung up in the last few weeks, giving a whole new meaning to fall colours. Elections are money in the bank for sign printers.
I have about had my fill of the candidate’s rhetoric, the inevitable war of words and the whose-past-is-the-most shameful debate. News flash for all candidates: We all have skeletons in the closet. Get over it! I do not expect perfection, but a dose of discretion and decorum during the campaign goes a long ways for me.
One thing that continues to puzzle me is the sheer number of candidates and the disparity in their qualifications. Here in Brampton we have 7 candidates for mayor. In my ward, there are 7 candidates for city councilor, 3 for regional councilor and a dozen for school board trustee.
It is encouraging to see so many citizens stepping up to serve. But unfortunately, many of the candidates have little or no qualification for the position for which they are running. Why in heaven’s name would I vote for someone who is no more qualified than I am – and I am definitely not qualified.
It is a fundamental principle of our election system that any citizen in good standing can throw their hat in the ring. But I am inclined to believe there should be some kind of screening process that candidates must pass through before their names go on the ballot.
It does not have to be a complicated process – just a simple filter that ensures candidates have some sort of professional, academic or volunteer experience that prepares them to serve. After all, the role each of them is applying to fill has considerable accountability and the implications of screwing up are serious.
Yes, I know that this is unlikely to ever happen. If it was put in place, there would be considerable risk that the people given the authority to do the screening would lack objectivity and they would be at serious risk of corruption. More’s the pity.
Democracy is a wonderful thing and brings with it inviolable rights and privileges. But I do not believe it is in the best interests of democracy for every one and his brother to be able to put their names on the ballot regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof.
Alas, paper candidates are a fact of life we have to accept however irritating they may be. Like mushrooms that spring up in rainy seasons, who-the-hell-are-you candidates emerge for every election season and fade away quickly after election day.
By all means, do vote. But make sure the candidate you select has the skills to do the job.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
