It’s often entertaining to listen to people complaining about politicians of all stripes and at every level of government.
Basically, complaints are prevalent everywhere, and even more so if we choose to surf the Internet, blogs and Facebook.
So, perhaps, we complainers have to take a different perspective on the world of politics.
Politicians aren’t bureaucrats working in the belly of some cement-enclosed institution, making decisions they don’t have to put their face to. They have the safety of being unrecognizable to the general public.
Politicians, however, are people who stick their noses out there and are very recognizable, regardless of which level of government they’re involved in.
Generally speaking, these people are in politics for the good of the communities they live in and/or represent.
They are generally hard-working and, undoubtedly, have good intentions. They love the game and they want to play for as long as possible.
The problem for these politicians is the higher up the ladder they go, the more removed they become from their constituents, and the more they have to toe the party line.
That said, it doesn’t mean they cannot be reminded they were sent to Ottawa or Victoria because we elected them.
The politicians who meet their constituents face-to-face every day are our locally elected officials — our councillors and regional district directors.
And very few people have the right to criticize anything they do, legislate or pass bylaws for.
That’s because very few people show up at meetings they hold in an effort to get input into five-year financial plans or budgets.
Year-after-year, the people who take the time out of their personal lives to oversee the development and operation of our communities ask their constituents for guidance, input and approval of the direction they are going.
And year-after-year, we sit on our fannies enjoying our personal lives and couldn’t care less until we’re impacted by a decision these community leaders make.
Our world is changing and taxes are going up as service costs go up. It’s time for us to go to the budget meetings, get involved and be part of the solution.
