We have all had some time to reflect on the troubling events of yesterday. There is a verse that states “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I think the writer new what they were talking about, because it is when something devastating happens to turn your life upside down, or at least throw it off track, that we stop and take stock of the important things, the things we have that are truly worth something. Some of these are loyalty, health, family, friend, and principles. They are all important, and while some are blessings, like health, others are decisions, like principles.
The lack of principles on the part of some politicians highlights the dilemna that our country faces. There have been many leaders in our day without principles. Some never had any, or they were interchangeable with the situation, and some have simply discarded them to attain power or position.
I believe Mr. Harper has principles, and I believe that he intends to keep them, but I see a grave danger. Mr. Harper is the leader of a new political party, one that the media is afraid of, with a membership of people who have values that the liberals are afraid of. Both the media and the liberals are doing their best with their propaganda machines to make sure that the average Canadian is afraid of them, too.
As a result, Mr. Harper is trying to disarm them by hoping that he gives them no ammunition, and by playing their game, but I believe that this will backfire. He is telling the media what they want to hear, and is not telling them what they don’t want to hear. What Mr. Harper is in danger of is becoming the leader of the second Liberal Party of Canada. After all, when you give up all of your core party values and beliefs, you are indeed just another liberal. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not coming out against Mr. Harper, but just the opposite. I want to tell the leader of the opposition that he will not win the media over, not unless he sells himself out.
You should not be afraid of losing public support Mr. Harper, and that is the reason you are moving to the political centre. You are letting the media dictate policy to you, and are allowing them to mold you into a public figure that is acceptable to Canadians, indeed, to the mass media. What you are accomplishing by this is to water down your base, and lose the respect and votes of the Canadians who had been persuaded to join our camp. Mr. Harper, Canadians already have a centrist political figure with no backbone, no vision, and no principles.
If you are afraid that your core beliefs are too conservative for urban Canadians, then you must learn to reach them, and convince them that your principles and beliefs are good for all of us, for Canada. Convince them that they should adopt these principles for their children, and for themselves, to pull them into our camp. That is true leadership, Mr. Harper. A leader that can inspire their citizens to reach for a higher set of principles will be remembered.
For too long the liberal establishment has told people that we are sneaky and scary. Show them that that is not true. Show them that you will not waver on your principles, even if it means not winning the election, because people are hungry for leaders, Mr. Harper. You are moving left with your economic policies when Canadians and the global investment community need to see a leader who will say, “No, I will not spend my way into 24 Sussex Drive, I will nothonor all of the irresponsible pathetic panicky liberal spending promises that Mr. Martin has made this month. I will not bribe my way into the highest office in this land.”
We don’t need another politician, we need a statesman, someone who actually cares about the citizens that they represent, and you have the chance to be that person. Stop worrying about the media, and talk to the people. Canadians will eventually see though the rhetoric of the left. Stay true to your core principles, they got you to where you are.
