Say cheese and vote
Trevor's Take
A graduate of the University of Toronto, Trevor Hutchinson is a songwriter, writer and bookkeeper. He serves as Contributing Editor at The Lindsay Advocate. He lives with his fiancee and their five kids in Lindsay.
Gosh, I really do love this time of year!
All the smiling faces. The looks of happiness and action. The sheer wonder of all there is to do and experience.
I’m not talking about summer of course. I’m thinking about the political photo-op season! That most amazing time of the year when politicians and aspiring politicians of every stripe and at every level of government show up to every event and show us that we are loved. And they are one of us. It’s heart-warming, really.
To be clear, I am not anti-politician. In fact, I am the opposite. Having elected politicians is foundational to our systems of government and way of life. That politicians attend events and special occasions should be expected as part of the job description is a no-brainer to me. In fact, I imagine a proportional electoral system whereby the politician showing up at whatever fair I’m attending is more statistically likely to represent the pluralistic views of my fellow constituents.
Of course, the political photo-op has always been with us, probably pre-dating the income tax.
I don’t know. It could just be the heat making me cranky but these events ring more and more hollow to me as time goes on. And they have become more problematic in our social media-driven world. Maybe I’m just fatigued by selfie culture. Full disclosure: I am most definitely a hypocrite on this. In the last year, I’ve taken selfies with various politicians. In the last week friends have shared the same (across a spectrum of political views.)
It’s my ardent belief, however, that photo-ops have gotten worse. It probably started with Canadian parties importing American campaigning techniques, whereby every event was branded and usually part of an attack narrative. So be it buck-a-beer, taking back my country or some vague non-resonating altruism behind a lectern just gets, increasingly, on my nerves.
And don’t even start with the more performative pictures. Wearing a safety vest and a hard-hat does not make any politician more relatable or in tune with any voting block. Especially in the case of federal leaders who probably have never had a minimum wage or blue collar job in their lives. I once wore some hand-me-down medical scrubs but I assure you that you do not want me to remove your appendix. And a picture of me wearing that does not indicate that I know or care about healthcare.
What might make a photo-op more engaging to me if it were backed up with policy related to the picture. I support this – which will cost that – and improve this.
But sadly, precise ideas and policy don’t seem to be a thing anymore. Debate and discussion of ideas is as fundamental to our way of life as politicians. I guess ideas just don’t pop on Facebook as well.
