THE CRITICAL THINKER IS THE CATALYST OF SENSIBLE PROPORTION

In my opinion, and it’s just that.......If you do not understand or appreciate the significance of the following statement, you should not be seeking my vote in the upcoming municipal election. To be blunt, if you can’t figure it out, or understand its implications, you shouldn’t be representing our town at any level. In my world the critical approach, not to be confused with a negative perspective, is what we all need to save this planet, this country, this neighborhood we call home. It is the tool we must use to judge a good development from adverse, a good plan from one that is embellished to serve the promoter, not the user. It is what must be used by intelligent folk, to know bullshit and otherwise propaganda from the truth.

“Criticism should be the voice of impartial and enlightened reason. Too often what passes for criticism is the voice of hireling adulation or hireling enmity. Illustrations of this will occur to everyone, but there is no use in blaming criticism, which, as has been said, is an intellectual necessity of the age. The foregoing remarks have been made in hope that they may help to clear away some prevalent misconceptions by showing the organic connection, so to speak, that exists between criticism as a function, or as a mode of intellectual activity, and the very simplest of intellectual processes. Such a mode of regarding it should do away with the odium that in so many minds attaches to the idea of criticism. Let us all try to be critics according to the measure of our abilities and opportunities. Let us aim at seeing all we can, at gaining as many points of view as possible. Let us compare carefully and judge impartially; and we may depend upon it, we shall be the better for the effort.”

The author of this brief summation of the critical approach, was written by Dr. W.D. LeSueur, the gentleman who gave our town its name in the year 1862. One of Canada’s intellectual jewels, he was also an official of the federal post office, at the time, and Gravenhurst should be proud of this important connection. A writer, historian, philosopher, he also once wrote, “the essential nature of history....is not affirmation but enquiry.” This is a man who despised popular histories that lacked even a smidgeon of critical analysis. While some authors were writing “a good time was had by all” histories, LeSueur was debunking myths about what really happened, and who were the actual heroes of our nation, and who were the glad-handers, slackers, big-shots, self-promoters and bums. We need the guy right now because there’s a quagmire of bullshit out there to navigate.

If there is one aspect of council representation I’m continually chagrined about, it is this almost defiant refusal to be self critical, issue-critical, action-critical, and uninterested in anything but their own rallying cry.....and in the Survivor mentality, following their chosen Svengali. Many simply follow the leader and vote.....well, not according to a dogged pursuit of understanding but out of laziness and convenience. More than just a few lack the ability to question themselves, and admit they don’t have enough information from all sides, on how to vote responsibly. These are the same councillors who have given a much larger decision making power to municipal staff....and that is a problem faced by provincial and federal governments. The tail wagging the dog! Staff lasts through many changes in leadership, and it is this upper management that most often provides us with our general opinion of town hall’s demeanor. Who is really running the town. Those with the power of information, all the facts, adaptable capabilities to serve any master, contacts, networking prowess. The lowly elected officials are at the mercy of those who know exactly what the critical process is all about, and practice it as a means of survival.

This is not a profound or even enlightening statement. It is easy to appreciate that senior staff are the cogs of municipal governance. The problem presents, from time to time, when the cogs are overpowering who we have elected to represent us.....and seeing as we don’t have a vote as to who remains employed at town hall, all we can do is fiddle a wee bit with the four year rotation of citizens taking the plunge for elected office.

We need to make a change at the top. Those who are elected need to be more critical of administration, and just what their role should be......and matters of accountability. Rogue cogs exist in governments around the world, so why would it be different on home turf.

The people I vote for must be willing to challenge the commonplace of local governance, and practice a more critical approach in their representation. They must truly appreciate that something is not working in this town.....something is not as it should be, and there are many citizens who know why. Insight is a first step, and complacency is a step backward.

“To rejoice not in iniquity, but to rejoice in the truth is one of the marks of a very superior grace.” W.D. LeSueur.

If you don’t have an answer to a question, and the answer to this question will affect the lives of many, many people that you are ultimately responsible to, it does seem that logic would prevail upon the individual, to seek out the information necessary to make an informed, educated answer. Here then is the fundamental break down of sensibilities from the ground up. It is what would turn the good Dr. LeSueur in his grave, Complacency and resulting error in judgement. It is an epidemic and we, in turn, are placed at risk because of this failure of common sense as the protocol of responsible government.

As one example of where the critical approach would be of particular value, as we are continually patting ourselves on the back for being a good and safe community, consider what council should know about the prevalence of crime in Gravenhurst. On a goodly number of occasions, council reps would look at the statistics as presented by the Ontario Provincial Police and rest their judgement on that sole assessment. The critical, and really only sensible approach, if you want the truth beyond the anchoring that stats obviously provide, is finding out what crime occurrences, for any number of reasons, never made it to the blotter. The mistaken impression is that the OPP statistics are the end-all yet they will tell you on further enquiry, there are many other events that occur, when citizens, business owners, public employees are aware of a crime, from trespassing, vandalism and theft but do not report it to the police for a variety of personal reasons....one of course being feared retribution. In some cases this is quite valid, as business owners believe getting involved in shoplifting prosecution, will mean being targeted for future vandalism.

The council representative who wishes to be ahead of the curve, and truly aware of what is going on in their community, on the crime front, must seek out this information from a variety of sources, including opinions on this from the OPP, as well as checking with a sampling of store owners and residents, who have learned to live with break-ins, theft of property and shoplifting, refusing to make complaints that would engage a police investigation. The number of car break-ins in Gravenhurst may not seem huge on the OPP blotter, as compared to other communities of similar size, but what percentage are never reported. The number may prove much, much higher. So what is the crime level in Gravenhurst and vicinity. It is found in a compilation of information from many different sources. One collection of numbers won’t provide, in any way, an accurate profile of the community crime scene. But should you wish to enlighten yourself because you believe it’s important, I’m pretty sure the command of the OPP would be delighted to assist.....because having the local governance with their heads “out of the sand,” could greatly assist their efforts to fight crime......because we all need to be a part of this neighborhood watch.

More blogs to follow on the Election of 2010.