POLITICAL PREP SCHOOL
There is a core group of North Okanagan youth involved in a
civil debating network we loosely refer to as "Political Prep
School". It includes students and former students of Pleasant
Valley Secondary, who have benefited from the nationally-recognized
programs there in History and Civics. Forming and facilitating such
a network is, for me, a hopeful resolution of the disillusionment I
felt as a 16-year-old visiting the House of Commons many years ago.
After being schooled in the traditions of parliamentary democracy,
I could not believe the crassness of the so-called "debate" in
which, as one participant later remarked, "even men of the cloth
were close to blows".
In the ensuing years, I have seen less and less evidence that
local, provincial, national and international politics has any deep
understanding of the procedures, attitudes and skills of civil
debate.
The PPS is an attempt to revive and expand such a
tradition. While there is wide-ranging support for
various revisions in voting procedures, little attention seems to
be paid to preparing the public at large and prospective
representatives of the public for other than polarized, competitive
debate. Little will be gained if a more broadly representative
assembly persists in the same undercutting interactions that are
now predominant.
I have been peripherally active in many campaigns, and have
noticed that the true statespeople, the well-informed and socially
conscious individuals with a deep long term commitment to the
broader public interest, are so turned off by the pitbull tactics
so common today that they wouldn't consider for a moment running
for public office. Several close friends have actually run, but as
one remarked, refuse "to be packaged like cream cheese". As much
time is spent preparing candidates to avoid speaking out on what is
important to them and their prospective constituents, as is helping
them master the party line.
Thus the field is left open to those combative individuals who
favour single issues, are quick and superficial thinkers, enjoy the
rough-and-tumble of adversarial debate, and tend to focus more on
being elected than being representative.
While likely beyond the scope of the Citizen's Assembly mandate,
this issue of sustaining and developing civic awareness and
positive debating skills clearly transcends any reorganization of
election procedures.
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