The vision thing

George Bush the 1st famously referred to "the vision thing" during a campaign in the 90s, creating a memorable quote while revealing a certain emptiness around the pesky question of a vision for his nation. Now it's time for those of us running in the fall election to step up on that subject.

The campaign is already forcing me to focus more sharply on a vision for Ontario that is both specific and achievable. I have long had a vision of a world more just and peaceful, but politics is not called "art of the possible" for nothing. Visioning is an excellent exercise. I recommend it. It starts with "If I were a member of the provincial legislature, I would...," or some such beginning. And that's where the crunch comes, of course. What is the top priority for the province? What is next, and so on? Do those things have costs? How will they be paid for? For me the top priority is doing something about the shameful disparity between ultra-high income individuals and those with very little. The gap is just too expensive to sustain, in every way.

Tomorrow night is the TV taping on Rogers Cable with me, a Liberal and a Conservative candidate from three different ridings in York Region. Vision will definitely come up, because I will be presenting one from a social democratic perspective and asking the others to clarify their's for viewers. Wish me luck! 

The show airs live at 8 p.m. on the Rogers channel, then is repeated once or more every day for a week, and sporadically through the summer, as I understand it. 

On a more personal note, I said goodbye to all my friends and acquaintance at the community lunch at Trinity United Church. It was a good moment, and I was moved to think of the relationships that have developed there over the years. The meal is known as LAMP, for Lunch at My Place. Keep on shining, LAMP!