For as long as I can remember, most people have had a negative view of politicians, suspecting them of being in politics for the wrong reasons and ready to believe the worst of them. That has NOT been my experience. Over the course of a half century of writing and teaching about government and running countless training workshops for politicians and would-be politicians, I have had contact with thousands of these people and have come to know hundreds of them. For the most part, they have been decent, well-intentioned people who were in politics for positive reasons.
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Variations of this saying have been ascribed to numerous leaders over the past couple centuries but it has never seemed more appropriate as a description of the widespread abdication of leadership during the current pandemic crisis. All too often, those in leadership positions fail to respond until there is widespread public support for action and criticism of the lack thereof. They then finally make a move, bringing up the rear.
This comment and approach is associated with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Rather than chasing along behind, reacting to what has been, it calls for anticipating and getting ahead of the action. As is painfully obvious, it is also the complete opposite of the approach used by our governments. Rather than being proactive, they are completely reactive, always following along behind the action.
While discussing her forthcoming book in a recent Globe and Mail article, Jody Wilson-Raybould reveals an expectation that, in my view, made her unhappy experience in the federal government inevitable. She explains that her “world view” as an Indigenous person wasn’t accepted in many circles within government. That world view included the consensus style of decision making inherent in Indigenous politics, where political parties don’t exist. It included the belief that all people have views that need to be heard to reach sustainable long-term solutions.
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AuthorC. Richard Tindal, Ph.D is a retired Professor of Government. He taught for 30 years at St. Lawrence College, Kingston and was an occasional Visiting Professor at Queen's University. He has also written and consulted extensively about government. Archives
October 2023
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