Election process a story in itself

Our 250 years of democratic heritage is certainly in evidence this fall.

Not only are we seeing federal party colours at every major street corner, they are joined - or even overwhelmed by - signs representing municipal candidates.

October 14 is the big day federally, while the following Saturday, Oct. 18, many of us do it all again for our municipal candidates – the ones upon whose shoulders the day-to-day running of things often falls.

The democratic process is colourful, and very alive here in Nova Scotia. It took quite a bit of social and political evolution to get where we are now.

In 1758, the process began - despite a reluctant provincial leadership. Voting also had a limited franchise, in a very limited provincial population.

It soon developed through such things as secret balloting, fuller franchise and more rules and regulations.

At one time, in the early 19th Century, two-by-fours were often prevalent in election campaigns. Too few decades ago, two-fours were what floated the process. Now, it requires 24/7 vigilance on the part of all of us to ensure our system develops even further.

One thing that remains is partisanship mudslinging and other fun. It can’t all be about the issues. There has to be fun - including calls for this or that candidate’s resignation over something or other.

After all, in today’s complicated socio-economic systems, there is little that can be done immediately to address anything. There are local, regional, national and international considerations all round.

We have to keep this in mind when opponents wail on about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “secret agenda.” Well, a politician could be a frothing maniac of the left or right, but his or her ideas have to go through a lot of filters before anything comes to fruition. Harper isn’t going to send us all to church or put us to work and turn us into Americans (which he has never said he wanted to do, and maybe that’s the secret) any more than Jack Layton is going to pull our forces out of the Afghan mission, which he has said he would do the day after he gets to be PM. He may like to, but he won’t be able do it. There are too many filters.

We’d be lucky to get one of those sweaters both those guys love to don: blue or orange. They also come in green and red. Now, there’s a way to do a poll.