'Hold your tongue when you don't pay for your ticket'

Where to from here -

Residents of the Straits and White Bay North district may be dealing with some abandonment issues after the abrupt departure of MHA and cabinet minister Trevor Taylor recently. Others may be experiencing an almost overwhelming sense of 'shadenfruede', a German term referring to pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.

Whatever your reaction may be to the forlorn and puffy looking 42-year-old's announcement, I think many will agree that politicians are a different breed walking amongst us. They suffer from a most acute form of celebrity, one that the majority of people on planet earth would hope to avoid.

So, why become a politician at all, right? When you stand to be mocked and ridiculed for every decision you make regardless of its relevance within the public sphere? In rural areas this is amplified further, as the electorate is personally privy to every mistake and embarrassing moment you've ever had throughout existence due to them being your friends, family and neighbours.

We've all accused someone of being daft because apparently an ancestor or two years back had been daft, haven't we? I'll throw my lot in with that to prove the point. Some people might be of the opinion that my family has a predilection toward rowdiness and displays of temper which would make us prime targets within a political arena. This is irrelevant to myself as I would never court the level of scrutiny politicians are subjected to. Like actors, they put themselves on a stage proclaiming "Look at me, come judge me." What's wrong with these people anyway?

Maybe nothing, maybe they understand that someone must lead, that leadership is required within democratic, western states. Perhaps a percentage of politicians view themselves as anti-heros, taking incentive to bring about positive social change when no one else will. We hope so. We hope our leaders are wholesome, intelligent, articulate individuals, but that is not what we usually think. We think they're all bad, one as bad as the next - corrupt, egomaniacs with aggressive, greedy tendencies. We believe this so strongly that we no longer care who wins, crooks on one side, fanatics on the other, why vote at all?

And Canadians don't vote, or they didn't last time anyway, with only 59.1 per cent of registered voters casting a ballot. Imagine. When else do boatloads of residents of this fine country, this fine province, let someone else decide for them? Never. Usually in matters that affect us, we'll decide for ourselves, thank you.

An older theatre acquaintance of mine once told me that you must hold your tongue when you don't pay for your ticket. This should apply to Newfoundland politics as well. If you can't rustle up enough energy to drive your car, truck or ATV to the nearest church basement or high school, well then, you should be forced to hold your tongue whenever a rousing game of whipping boy occurs in the nearest fishing shed or night club. Newfoundlanders would turn out in droves to guarantee their right to complain about elected officials, wouldn't we?

It would be like New Year's Eve or a card game, church basements packed with people. Opinions overflowing and oozing out into the parking lot. I never met a Newfoundlander yet who didn't have something to say; sure, listen to me sometime, I'm always talking.

We don't vote because it seems a futile exercise in frustration but this marathon will continue if the electorate does not rally to halt it. We don't vote because we're suspicious of any human who yearns to govern over us though we must accept the necessity of government and temper our suspicions with fact. We don't vote because we'd rather relax after working all day, but rest is a temporary illusion that will dissipate when faced with poor policies.

And we don't vote because there seems to be no one to vote for; though, turn your gaze south a moment and consider the smut that arrived after the Americans were given someone to vote for. Are we above dialogue on fictitious death panels and Michelle Obama's sleeves? I sure hope so.

Leadership is a necessity. Communities cannot progress and develop in a healthy manner without them.

It is our responsibility to elect and monitor our elected officials without resorting to childish witch hunts and barn burning. This is not to say that Minister Taylor's resignation was a result of any of the previously mentioned scenarios. I am not privy to any of the minister's affairs and wish him the best as I would wish anyone found to be in a similar situation. I just feel we should treat our politicians with the same respect and attention we would like to be shown as constituents. 'Cause seriously, whose closet wouldn't yield a femur or two if shaken vigorously?

(Megan Coles is a writer originally from Savage Cove. She can be reached at megcoles@gmail.com).