Rethinking Liberalism

This is just a note to let readers know that starting tomorrow - Canada Day - there will be a new series of posts on modern-day liberalism in Canada. The overall theme will be a frank and hopefully energetic appraisal of liberalism's weakness and what will be required to get its original spirit back. Truthfully, it's get increasingly difficult to tell what is a conservative and what is a liberal anymore. Political conservatives are spending like drunken sailors and their liberal kin have often left behind those segments of society most in need of political advocacy.Both classic liberalism and conservatism have been taken over by the tribal urge that is modern-day politics. Almost four years in Ottawa have taught me that any party is willing to loosen its moorings if it would provide them a shot at power.  Within such a setting there are only players and no real defined programs. Citizens vote for one thing and are usually disappointed in getting another. Worse still, citizens themselves have lost their way, often clamouring for political legitimacy in light of Ottawa's failure but failing to show the sophistication required to understand and manage a remarkably complex country.To my friends in the Liberal Party I only ask that you be patient. The path we are presently undertaking as a party has led to much self-examination and introspection - a good thing. But without historic guideposts assisting us in knowing we are heading in a direction true to our roots, such exercises become mere navel gazing. I know from speaking with friends in both the NDP and the Conservatives that they too question their present direction. Restless minority governments and attempted hyper-partisan paths to power have stripped the parties of much of their meaning. They know what I'm talking about, even though they might not publicly admit it. The majority of the media has failed to keep us honest, preferring instead to cover our mindless journeys in political wastelands.The others will have to work their own way through their respective processes; ours as Liberals must begin now. You'll see a new, grittier format for these posts, reflective of the more grassroots dynamic that will be necessary if we are to relocate our path, not to power but to people - especially the vulnerable among us.And one more thing. A former Conservative who has since opted to work with me to fight for a more non-partisan kind of politics has assisted in identifying numerous bloggers who work 24/7 to denigrate any writer who doesn't subscribe to their rigid ideology. As with the Black Bloc last week in Toronto, they hide behind false return email addresses and bogus names. These digital hit men (and they are mostly men) use their blinders to ruin the public space. My own blog has felt their sting ... and unaccountable anonymity.  So don't look for comments on the blog for the summer. I can be reached at glenpearson@mac.comAnd so we start, not really knowing where the road will lead. I'm well aware I'm over my head intellectually with this exercise, but we must begin somewhere. It's likely time we all starting looking for a new kind of politics within the old traditions that helped to build an amicable, compassionate and prosperous land.