Binary Code

So much of what we do digitally these days is based on the binary number system, the use of the digits 0 and 1 to produce what we see on our screens. Simple in concept, it is remarkably complex in what it all produces. Two digits can create an entire digital reality.Politics in Canada has always had its own version of a binary code, not consisting of numbers but of two powerful perceptions. In the binary world of politics it's about whether people are for you or against you. And the way Canadian politics reflects this is primarily through political parties. Bob Rae chose an apt description of this yesterday during one of his first interviews on Power and Politics as interim Liberal leader when he said that parties are like little platoons - demanding loyalty, organized under systems of command, forging effective bonds of friendship, and gathered around similar shared values.In politics in this country everything is binary and it worked as long as two key realities were present: a broad-based consensus that was reflective of Canada as a whole, and a respectful understanding among parties that each had their place in the overall functioning of Parliament itself. Well, not anymore. Shared representation has become an alternative reality in the new political order that is only about power. The grassroots in all parties are minor players at best. What is of ultimate importance is the strategic operation of party leaderships to gain advantage and hopefully to attain and keep power. In such a world compromise is an alien term and "respectful cooperation" prompts derisive laughter.This is where centrism is pivotal to the Canadian context. It flourishes when operating between the duelling tensions of socialism and unhindered capitalism. For it to function it must take the best from the alternatives and forge a moderated view that is capable of compromise and progressive growth. The "centre" used to be about an operating system that could well be binary in nature but which cooperated with other realities in order to forge its policy. Nowadays it's more like pin the tail on the donkey, where people who blindly follow their partisan prejudices keep trying to locate the place where they will ultimately win without the benefit of clear sight. The Liberal party, through its heavy top-down form of leadership that repeatedly denied the hard work of grassroots politics would be wise to admit its own culpability in this matter.In a world where only power and its retention counts, one would think that traits such as non-partisanship in certain cases and compromise would be throwbacks to a previous era and therefore redundant in the modern age. Yet it is that very rank partisanship, the pressing for advantage in each and every instance, that is rapidly turning off the voting public and turning active and engaging citizenship into mere observers. Citizens might very well be disengaged and somewhat ignorant of the sophisticated nature of parliamentary practices, but they are not stupid - they know primordial ambition when they see it. This can only go on for so long before either democracy or rank partisanship are relegated to history - both cannot exist in the same space forever.Political parties once offered organization for ideas and movements, gathering people to work together through commitment and shared values. That can still hold true, but what is missing now is the overriding principles of the common good. It's now about power through politics and not service through public engagement. Our political systems are dysfunctional because parties themselves either fail to spend enough time on the ground or offer severely restricted versions of their conservative, centrist or socialist viewpoints. They have tried so hard to crowd the centre for power reasons that they have actually squeezed the citizenry out altogether because of their lack of relevance and naked attempt for dominance.For Liberals, this is the day of reckoning. It's not May 2nd nor is it at some kind of leadership convention. If they leave citizens in the bleachers while they perform their rituals for Question Period, then they will have learned nothing. Bob Rae will make a fine interim leader, but the ridings are restless, as is the country, for something more engaging and authentic than just leadership. It will be in the food banks, board rooms, libraries, union halls, city halls, small business associations, universities, chambers of commerce, community groups and, yes, riding associations that our renewed brand will be found. It's already present, writhing, breaking bonds, questioning past practices not the best ones. It is the liberal spirit looking for a map to the Big Red Tent.Woodrow Wilson, realizing that America was facing a new international future with blinders on, pleaded with his Congress to look beyond their daily political ritual and said, "We stand in the presence of an awakened nation, impatient of partisan make-believe." And, now, so do we as Canadians. The prize will go to the party that shapes its policy for people and not for capturing power. For Liberals, the door is now open for that challenge. Time to put our ear to the rail.