I came to Canada (B.C.) in 1970, from Germany, and I enjoyed the Social Credit Party. The construction, mining, and forest industry was flourishing, and most of us were happy. Democracy and the Constitution was observed and respected, what happened to it? Democracy is shattered and the only broken pieces that remain are the process of voting, and after you vote it is business as usual. And it gets worse, all political parties are cut out from the same cake, they taste the same, they smell the same and they all give you diarrhoea. What happened and where are those leaders who are genuine, sincere, and productive, and don’t look to the future of the next election, but to the future of the next generation. I guess, that is the difference between a politician and a statesman. Now, let me elaborate why I am so cynical like most of us when it comes to politics. The HST tax was not on Gordon Campbell’s agenda, so he said before the election, what happened? O.K., we fight the HST in a democratic way, (10% of voters’ signatures in all 85 ridings,) did that work? In school they teach you about democracy, but the application is very different. Democracy is a political form of government carried out either directly by the people or by means of elected representatives of the people. The term comes from the Greek: “Rule of the people”. If any democracy is not carefully legislated – through the use of balances – to avoid an uneven distribution of political power, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself. I love this country and its people, and I consider myself a proud Canadian, but the political system here deviates slowly from the Democratic system. I have been told by “Canadians” that “Canadians” don’t speak up and just bitch. Well here is one “Proud Canadian” who speaks up. Thanks for listening, Lenard