By now, most of you already have a pretty clear idea of who you're going to vote AGAINST in the upcoming provincial election.

I know a lot of you want to got even. I know, because you've told me so.

You're angry and frustrated with the direction of the Rae government. You can't afford skyrocketing taxes any more. Interest rates are going up again. The dollar isn't buying what is used to. The country is falling apart at the seams. Deficits and debt show no signs of abating. Crime is on the rise.

Politically, things are getting worse, not better.

So let's be careful. Don't get mad. Our anger against politicians and governments just might get us into more trouble. Angry voters are a sitting target for political opportunists waiting to take advantage of their anger and frustration - and for political parties who will REFLECT their frustration to get votes, but continue to support the very principles and philosophies that have gotten us into the mess we're in in the first place.

Angry voters vote AGAINST, and just as anger in personal relationships tends to backfire, so too does anger cloud our judgement in matters politic. In politics, when we vote AGAINST, we might as well just throw our vote away

Instead of getting angry and risking your vote, take a moment to THINK about this:

Remember, our election system operates on the principle that unless you vote for the winner, your vote doesn't make any difference anyway. If you vote conservative and a Liberal wins, your vote doesn't count. Of course, you can't always know this in advance, but after the fact, it's just like throwing your vote away. Since you didn't vote for a winner, it WOULD have made no difference to the outcome of the election if you had not voted. (That's why most people don't vote.)

To complicate matters, with three or more parties in the running, it is a fact that THE WINNER OF ELECTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE THE PARTY THAT ATTRACTS THE LARGEST MINORITY block of votes. As a result, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE LOSERS THAN WINNERS at the end of each election. Even in a majority government it will become increasingly probable that more than half of the voters will not have voted for the government in power. Under such circumstances, the will of the majority simply ceases to exist even by the furthest stretch of democratic imagination. (Until we have proportional representation in Ontario elections, any vote not cast for the winner will be a wasted vote. That's why Fp advocates the Single Transferrable Vote (See Consent 21), but that's another subject.

I know many people who would like to see the ideas and policies of Freedom Party in government, but are so angry with the policies of the NDP that they're planning to vote conservative or Liberal. I understand their frustration. Their (probably correct) assumption that these are the only two parties who stand a chance of getting elected against the NDP forces them to vote, by their own honest admission, for the "lesser of three evils."

But the "lesser of three evils" is still "evil," and the "evil" in this case is Socialism. So if that's the reason they're voting, then they're voting FOR socialism. even though they may think that's what they're voting AGAINST.

Conservative = Liberal = NDP = Socialism. While it is increasingly understood that Liberals and New Democrats can readily be classified socialist, there is still a significant number of people who think that conservatives are not. That's because they're listening to what the conservatives are SAYING, and not paying attention to what they're DOING.

conservatives are NOT capitalists. They are socialists in disguise --- or in denial. By preaching the virtues of capitalism while practising the vices of socialism, they have played THE major role in discrediting freedom, and the principles on which it rests. "Progressive Conservative" is, after all, a euphemism for "socialist conservative." Like Liberals and New Democrats, they LIKE socialism and state control, only they want to make it "more efficient" or "fair." To them, this is "common sense."

It's a little embarrassing to watch provincial conservatives making overt and direct appeals to Reformers for support in the upcoming provincial election. It's tragic to watch Reformers bite on the hook

Remember. after the election, government will go on pretty much as it did before the election - with one major exception. The government is broke. Really broke. Really, really broke. So it's vitally important to understand that no matter who gets elected in 1995, ANY party will APPEAR to behave "conservatively". But unless a political party comes forth with the courage to reject socialism and the false ideas on which it rests, nothing can get better.

All three parties are committed to the principle of "universality" in social programs, as opposed to the proper and affordable principle of helping only those in genuine need. All three parties speak in terms of* "balancing competing interests", instead of addressing and protecting individual rights. All three parties support the disgraceful racist and sexist philosophy of "political correctness" - and the egalitarian programs that go along with it. All three parties are committed to a state monopoly in the funding of health care and education, thereby preventing any meaningful reform to either system.

Most importantly, all three parties run on personalities, devoid of principles. And therein lies the key difference between Fp and the others. Freedom Party is founded on the principle that

• Each individual has an absolute right to his or her own life, liberty, and property, and

• that these rights should be adequately protected from fraud or physical force on the part of any individual or group, INCLUDING ANY GOVERNMENT.

So if you've ever wondered WHY we adopt and advocate the various policies that we do, now you know. Your life, your liberty, and your property belong to YOU - and to no one else.

This is a tough pill to swallow for political parties who think it's their right to violate your rights. No matter how nice, polite, or "sincere" the politicians of such parties may appear, as long as they believe this, you can never count on them to DEFEND your life, your liberty, or your property - which is the proper function of government.

While personalities are important in matters of trust and integrity, it is only fundamental principles that determine direction. Politics IS a matter of direction. Thus, the measure of a politician's integrity rests upon his/her commitment to principle. Period.

Which brings us back to the vote.

Let's face facts: We're going to get another socialist government in Ontario after the next election, like it or not. Guaranteed. The difference is, how good do you want to feel about the way you voted? Do you want to be part of the problem, or become part of the solution? When you leave the polling booth, how do you want to feel?

By voting for Freedom Party in 1995, odds are you'll still end up with a socialist government --- but YOU WILL NO LONGER BE PART OF THE PROBLEM. That may sound like a small consolation for those of you desperate for answers and change. But building a political party on principle is a long-term process, particularly when that principle demands that citizens accept personal responsibility for their actions and social situations, instead of relying on governments to solve their problems.

We're doing everything we can to influence the public -- and even other political parties, including the conservatives --- to move in the direction of freedom. Without principles, they NEED an influence like Freedom Party to act responsibly, but they do not deserve our vote until they EARN it, by displaying a commitment to principle on their own, without having to be forced into it by circumstances.

Socialism simply doesn't work, either in theory or in practice. Reality will eventually catch up with the socialists in all parties, and they will do everything they can to start sounding like something they're not.

An election is imminent in Ontario. This is your chance to vote with your conscience - and to support a principle.

By voting for the lesser of three evils, you'll only be sending a NEGATIVE message of REJECTION. Even if you vote for the "winner", you'll be throwing your vote away because if the winner supports socialism, he's a loser.

By voting for and supporting Freedom Party, you'll be sending a POSITIVE message, and helping us build a base of power and influence - FOR freedom, not AGAINST it.

The future belongs to freedom - IF we are to have a future.

So if you're still angry at Bob Rae, don't bother. His party's over.

Ours is just beginning.

(Mr. Metz is the Ontario President of Freedom Party.)

e-mail

Page last updated on April 28, 2002