Self Evident

For all it's flaws, the American Declaration of Independence has the most recognizable opening lines in modern political history.

We hold these Truths to be self evident; That all Men are created Equal.

With the significant change from Men to People, that is a statement I can get behind.

My feelings on law, politics and social issues are wrapped up in that one simple statement.

Uncountable numbers of humans have given effort, pain, blood and far too many their freedom and lives for that simple concept.

There are many ways we humans have decided to rule over others, and none have them have been without flaws.  As a Canadian, I long thought our government did okay, but the longer and closer I looked at how our aboriginals people have been treated, the more ashamed I have become.

For decades the Canadian government forced the natives into poverty and squalor, pushing them farther and farther from our centers in hopes that they will disappear, those few who make their way into our society, only allowed if they blend in and strive to not be noticed.

The political chaos in 2016 will bear fruit in the coming years, and I fear we are in for very interesting times.  The political leaders in most of the modern world need to come to grips with a very fundamental fact, and that is that in our age of digital and social media, the truth will out.  As readers of social media, the public needs to learn how to sift truth from bullshit, facts from distortions, but the difference I see between a Statesman and a politician is the Statesman (or woman) will do it all above board.

I feel there needs to be a revolution in the way that government is done.

With the exception of national security. All meetings with all politicians need to be public. 

All financial records for all politicians need to be public.

All financial records for all political parties need to be public.

All statements given in debate may be fact checked for credibility , and if proven false the presenter must withdraw from the debate, and not be allowed to vote.

If our society as a whole wants to become better, we must be able to hold our politicians, in their public service to the standards we as a whole want for our society.  That in turn means a truly transparent process for government.  What they do in their personal life is their business, however screwy, as long as it does not spill over into how they govern.

The sooner our political parties come on side with this, the less painful our progress will be.  The more they dig their feet in and ignore the right of the people to full transparency, the more painful and perhaps bloody the changes will be.

To all those who fight against transparency, your day is waning.  What you have done may not be illegal, but if it is moral, why did you have to hide it?