Fear is the Mind Killer in this Election.

Fear is the mind killer is a line from the Sci-Fi classic Dune.  Fear is clearly the dominant emotion during this election: fear of Trump, fear of change, fear that the same policies that have made us so weak economically will continue.  Whatever your reason fear, with it’s sister anger, have made many voters vote less about what people want and vote more against what they don’t want.  I believe that this is terrible in two ways.

First, it makes your choice less thoughtful as you choose “the lesser evil.”

Second, this way of thinking is an attack on your internal moral compass because the lesser evil is still evil  and, deep down, you know it.  This weakens, albeit unconsciously, the belief that you have a choice, it weakens the perception “that I matter,” it weakens your sense that “I can make a difference” to how things are and, thus, makes working towards making a future that is different but better for me and my kids difficult.

This is where things get interesting: for the first time since WWII, younger Canadians are more pessimistic about their futures and older Canadians are actually quite optimistic about their lives.  To me, this is a red flag because this is the reverse of normal.  I remember being young and seeing that the world was my oyster and that the possibilities were endless: thus I was an optimist.  No longer.  Clearly, this is unhealthy for our society.  Knowing this, I see my task as an older Canadian to provide the resources and hope for the younger generation so that they can enjoy the great life that living in Canada provided for me.

That is why there is another dimension to this optimism/old vs pessimism/young polarity that I find fascinating.  The fact is that most older people are voting Liberal and more younger people, especially young men, are voting Conservative.  Why?  Some accuse boomers of not giving a “flying fudge” about the younger generation by being out of touch at how much Canada has changed: it was once, if you had your act together, just a matter of hard work and you were assured of a good life.  No more.

Let me put it another way.  A younger person I know saw this license plate on the car of a boomer–“I’m spending my kids inheritance” and told me: “That’s how many of us see your behaviour.” Oh, dear.

Now, I am NOT recommending any political party, rather, I think, if you are an older voter, it would be wise to talk with younger people you know and discover how they are seeing the world and vote in a way that supports them.  If you are a younger voter, chat with an older voter so they can understand that the Canada they knew is not the same Canada you are experiencing.  I guess I am also hoping that you do not let fear or need to “feel safe” dominate the reason for your vote.  Your vote will be more thoughtful if you are looking for a person who is focusing on making life better–especially for the next generation–rather than using fear as a reason for you to park your vote with them.  As the famous quote correctly says, when we work together towards a common vision, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”