Your point is right on the nose, and was the subject of an article on the same page of the Globe. It is telling that judges are held in much higher esteem than politicians. This is not bad because we shouldn't respect judges, it's bad because we should be able to respect politicians.
I have to admit, I didn't even read the whole article that you posted, just enough to see what it was about - but I'm glad they covered the respect issue as well.
See, the way I look at it is look at the crap we elect into office! I honestly don't think we are ready as a society for the responsability of electing our judges, when we can't even elect a decent government. Course that opens the whole debate about are we electing crap cause all there is is crap...but that is a whole other debate.
True enough! There's also the problem of the absolutely pathetic public turn out for votes, as well as the ongoing debate about first past the post vs. proportional representation. Before we start electing folks into judiciary, police force, etc - we'd better get that sorted out. As for voting in crap - I think it's partially that we have mostly crap to choose from, partially from the fact that the way politics is set up, even the good guys have to do crap, and partially cause the people smart enough to elect something other than crap, are so despondent that they don't bother to vote at all. Some of the most intelligent and wise people I know don't bother to vote, and it makes me want to hit them ... or at least take away their civil rights.
Good point re judges and politicians. I think the concept of electing judges is incredibly dangerous, but we should do our best to eliminate the need for politicians to use them as a way of protecting minorities and long-term interests. Politicians should be able to think that way too. That said, democracy has never been a perfect system and there's only so much it can overcome in its present form.
Unlike many other Canadians, I don't think our politicians are horrible. They care about public service and take on an incredibly difficult role that is no longer appreciated or esteemed. I seriously doubt I could do any better in their places.
I completely agree that we need to eliminate the need for our politicians to use judges as a way out, but I can't think of a way for that to happen. Any ideas? Damn, maybe I do need to do complex systems after all ... stupid "fundamental interconnectedness of all things
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I think we respect Judges more because they aren't elected. There's nothing like a tight election to have every piece of dirty laundry in someones life aired to the public.
How about before you can vote in an election you have to answer a pop quiz to show you understand what the issues are and where people stand on them. I usually don't vote in municipal elections because I'm not aware of who's running or what the platforms are. It seems silly to pick someone at random. Higher Voter turn out doesn't nescessarily mean a more informed electorate.
This is probably true. I also tend to respect, or at least trust, judges more because they don't have to impress a fickle electorate in order to keep their jobs, therefore they have more freedom to make hard and unpopular decisions. Now that is said with absolutely NO knowledge of the back room stuff that must go on when hiring judges and I'm sure there is loads of politics involved in that ... but you can't get away from that at all
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As for voting in crap - I think it's partially that we have mostly crap to choose from, partially from the fact that the way politics is set up, even the good guys have to do crap, and partially cause the people smart enough to elect something other than crap, are so despondent that they don't bother to vote at all.
Some of the most intelligent and wise people I know don't bother to vote, and it makes me want to hit them ... or at least take away their civil rights.
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Unlike many other Canadians, I don't think our politicians are horrible. They care about public service and take on an incredibly difficult role that is no longer appreciated or esteemed. I seriously doubt I could do any better in their places.
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How about before you can vote in an election you have to answer a pop quiz to show you understand what the issues are and where people stand on them. I usually don't vote in municipal elections because I'm not aware of who's running or what the platforms are. It seems silly to pick someone at random. Higher Voter turn out doesn't nescessarily mean a more informed electorate.
Jessica
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