In the midst of the ever-evolving political discussion on pipelines, trade wars and the BC Liberals/Jim Shepard undermining the conversation on electoral reform, it is good to appreciate the relative oasis of local politics here in Delta.
On Tuesday, Jim Cessford invited me to attend the Independents Working for You slate’s campaign launch. In addition to seeing many familiar faces among Delta’s politically minded citizens, the event was a pleasant reminder of the potential for sincerity that can exist in municipal politics. It is a rare quality that seems to be all but unknown on the world stage.
Nothing could be in starker contrast to recent events south of the border.
It is generally wiser not to comment on the POTUS in a public setting (lest ye incur the wrath of both sides of the political spectrum), but separating children from their parents is a master class in losing the moral argument. It does not matter if you support U.S. President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy on immigration and undocumented migrants, the act of dividing families is morally repugnant and deeply traumatizing.
To be fair, this is a result of families illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border being prosecuted in the flawed U.S. criminal justice system. However, the why of the matter is not the issue. The fact of the matter makes all other considerations moot.
It no longer matters whether or not he averted a potential nuclear war with North Korea. No one is contemplating growth in GDP, African-American prosperity or low unemployment numbers. Crazily enough, no one even cares that members of the Obama administration tried to blame Trump for photos of children being detained in cages under the Obama presidency in 2014.
All that matters is that this unequivocally evil practice is occurring and a very large number of people defended it. If that does not deepen your cynicism towards global politics, few things will.
Unfortunately, the remedy also leaves a terrible taste in the mouth. After defending his position by saying that he had no control over the family-separation policy, Trump did a 180 yesterday by signing an executive order to keep families together while in detention. By doing so, he admits he always had the power to correct the situation and did nothing until political pressure hit a boiling point.
The worst thing is this is the best case scenario. As congress goes to vote on broader immigration bills to potentially fund his infamous wall, the lingering question remains: did the POTUS resort to concentration camp tactics to apply political leverage?
Aldous Huxley wrote that “the propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.” The demagogues on all sides did their job well on this issue.
So, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemns the child separation policy one day after saying it was not his place, I am grateful for municipal politics and the myriad of problems we can address as a community.
Community advocate Nicholas Wong ran as an independent candidate in Delta South in last year’s provincial election. He finished second with more than 6,400 votes. He can be reached at mrnicholaswong@gmail.com.
