Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Why Gerard Kennedy Should Be Leader: Number Six

Gerard Kennedy For Liberal Leader: Reason 6

Quote From This Post:
In this environment it is clear the importance that, for Gerard Kennedy, liberal is not just a party, it's an ideology. Gerard Kennedy sees that to be Liberal is to be proactive in attaining the individuals' right to equality. Where people are not relegated to responding mercilessly to unstoppable forces, but are given active roles in leading their lives.
Gerard Kennedy is liberal.


Of all the reasons for Gerard Kennedy for Liberal Leader, this is the most simple but the most important. This obvious quality is overlooked and taken for granted. When someone has been a Liberal member for years, like Gerard, or has just entered the party; Liberal membership carries with it the idea of liberalism. However when ideas are discussed, image is differentiated from reality. Just Liberals are differentiated from Liberals who are liberals.

The small "l" liberal is the root of the big "l" Liberal Party. It is the people who want a free society, tolerant of all religions and strive for equal rights, that first formed the political association, now known as the Liberal Party of Canada. The association has evolved over the years as the liberal ideology was practiced. When human rights came to the forefront it was the real contrast between liberals and conservatives. Where conservatives place rights secondary to economic, foreign, judicial, community, and government affairs, it is the liberals who hold human rights as fundamental and crucial to a thriving Canadian society.

In this analysis it is clear; the conservatives by allowing external factors to overshadow individual rights, do not allow for individual will of peoples' lives. Always being subject to ultimate external restraints, can only destine all people into subjection to those outside forces. It is the liberals who by placing the individual rights first, give each person the defense from infringing external restraints. The liberals advocate and perpetuate the ability for the individual to be in power of his surroundings and not be subjected to them.

The liberal ideology has grown from the classical version in response to the change of the powers of government. As the need for government funding in the economy grew so did the corresponding liberal ideas. The idea of the necessary involvement of the federal government in certain sectors was a liberal one and has been borrowed since. Major companies in Canada, and indeed Canada, would not exist without such an idea. The railroad was crucial to confederation and was aided by the Canadian people.

Today liberalism is represented truly by Gerard Kennedy. As the Conservatives seek to allow Canadians to be slaves to overpowering demands; Gerard Kennedy offers Liberals and Canadians the freedom to live in equality.

To the Conservatives, society is a force that doesn't deserve to be analyzed; the economy is always right in allocating resources; and it is always the individuals fault. Well, Gerard and fellow Liberals disagree.

Society is only a force by the individuals in it. A community is not a faceless entity that should be regulated for content; it is the ever-changing results of the interactions between its members. The problems in society are never superficial, but they are always deeply rooted in multiple features.

The economy isn't always right in allocating resources. Supply and demand are not in real-time. The demand for a product isn't met with the redrawing of a supply curve or lowing of a price line. Natural readjustments take time and often fluctuate. The invisible hand often needs a steadying countermeasure.

An individual is not responsible for forces outside of his or her control. If a person is born into poverty and crime, that child is not responsible for his predicament. If a paternalistic society based on stereotypes persistently and passively holds women below men, the women are not directors of their situation. If the sovereign body of Canada allows for foreign interests to control Canadian businesses, it is not the Canadian worker's fault for being in the unemployment line.

In this environment it is clear the importance that, for Gerard Kennedy, liberal is not just a party, it's an ideology. Gerard Kennedy sees that to be Liberal is to be proactive in attaining the individuals' right to equality. Where people are not relegated to responding mercilessly to unstoppable forces, but are given active roles in leading their lives. It is through action by governments that individuals are given their rights and protected against uncontrollable external forces.

A child having problems in school due to an impoverished upbringing must be treated with the same right we all share, and that is the equal possibility to have control over one's life. There must be checks in place so our most valued assets, Canadians, are provided with such means. Mr. Kennedy is the candidate that sees this need and meets it head on.

Of primary importance is a National Food Strategy, where we prevent on of the most despicable occurrences in a democratic prosperous country, and that is citizens going hungry. There is no reason for Canadians to be starving, period. There are other important needs to be met, such as a renewed push for female equality and an improved system of recognizing immigrant credentials.

With the Conservatives limiting individual freedom and condemning Canadians to a destined future, it is the Liberals who must offer the freedom of personal control on one's life and the ability to pursue their dreams.

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