LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Conservative machinery needs grease job

A Response to Michael Zwaagstra’s First Big Misstep by Wab Kinew

The first part of the article was good and mostly based on reality. I have my doubts about Mr. Wab Kinew torpedoing his reputation by pushing out one of their MLAs. I understand Kelvin Goertzen’s slant of the story, because he is part of the official opposition and has a need to find something to criticize. Even if I disagree somewhat, I will refrain from unnecessary criticism. Political spin is part of the game when the slant is reasonable.

How we go about criticizing our government officials is important in my opinion. Mr. Zwaagstra is touting the Christian values from time to time which I am ok with if consistency does exist. I think that forgiveness should be one of those values. Why bring up Mr. Kinew’s past? Should that burden him down in the future to prevent him from doing good in the service for the people? If he paid his dues for the wrongdoing of the past, he should be a free man to live his life like every other person in this country. Mr. Zwaagstra you did acknowledge that the premier has moved to the center. According to my thinking, that is a smart political move. A centrist government has the best chance of leading a successful term in governing. Perhaps the NDP government was correct in cleaning up early to avoid chaos and future scandals. That would be a smart political move. At least Mr. Kinew showed his humanity, courage and humility by openly apologizing for his missteps. That to me speaks volumes.  Political courage is part of the game and shows good leadership qualities. As I see it, most people would probably agree this looks like a Christian value.

In my opinion, the political conservative machinery needs a good grease job and adjustment to run smoother in a general progressive society. The friction gets too noisy at times. Holding the government accountable is OK but we do expect a robust political discourse without personal attack. Personally, I am endeavoring to refine the art of persuasion to be a better human being. Disagreement and civility can go hand in hand if we make enough effort.