Dear Editor,

Right versus left.

One thing I've always appreciated about Canadian politics is that, unlike the U.S., we are not limited to two political parties. Ever since the emergence of the CCF way back when, we have had a left, a right and centralist party. And as often as not, other choices as well like Green Party, Libertarian and whichever of Quebec's own variations 鈥� federally speaking 

But this hasn't always been the case in B.C. B.C. has always had this two-sided dichotomy. It had been either right or left for us. But finally, this year, a break through. For this coming election we were finally getting a wider choice. We had at least four parties to consider, with the 鈥淯nited Party鈥� supposedly somewhere in the middle. But, alas, it was not to be. The centralists have lined up with the right 鈥� solely to defeat the left So, once again, we're back to the old way. 

For anyone watching the news out of the U.S. this has got to sound familiar. In that country, fear of the opposition, along with public name-calling, has become the way gain support in the polls and in fact essential to running an election.

Unfortunately, it seems that B.C. is now heading down the same path. No matter who wins, the die will be set for future elections in B.C. We can't seem to get away from the limited choice of a right vs. left concept. 

I suppose this is the fault of B.C.'s voting public. We, too, like the American citizens, have been trained to operate in fear of the other party. That often brings us to the point of where we often don't know who it is we're voting for 鈥� as long as it's not the other guy. And of course, with this attitude, the idea of working together no matter who wins, is out of the question.

Other forms of governing are able to operate without such divided party lines, like a municipal government is supposed to be, or like a corporate governance usually does, or a non-profit society. In those cases candidates run on the strength of their own merits.

But in B.C.'s provincial elections, we're no so lucky. Forget policy. Each candidate's primary goal is now to run in opposition to the other. 

Evan Brett, Walnut Grove