Got it, Got it, Got it, Need it, Got it...

I think it's tragic that we pay very little attention to the people we elect into office. Given the scope and responsibility of the job, you'd think people would want to "interview" the candidate before they got hired. Sure there's a lot of banter, and half hearted character assassinations, but do we ever really get to see the real deal? (I've given some really killer interviews over the years, and then been total crap at a job.)

But… Try to imagine any other job where the employer didn't interview the applicant. Imagine how many shitty buildings would get built or unsuccessful criminal convictions there would be, or really shitty hamburgers you'd have to eat.

The truth is we have to be more critical of those we elect. So many Canadians complain that "it doesn't matter who I vote for, they don't listen…" or "my vote doesn't matter" or my favorite "they're all the same anyway…" What we don't realize is that it's a vicious circle. It is with the absence of our watchful eyes that they have become corrupted.

Only when we truly pay attention do they follow the straight and narrow. Our future has to be in our own hands. If we take a fatalistic approach, we get what we deserve, namely shitty politicians. Sure it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, but if we don't take the time, who will? Sadly the answer is "no one!"

But I have an idea… (Another one…)

I think we should make budding politicians fight it out in the area. I want them to fight with tridents, nets, spears and swords. I want gladiators, and most assuredly I want blood. You want my vote? Are you willing to kill for it? More importantly are you willing to die for it? Picture this, "Those of you about to die, we elect you!" (Although picturing Harper in a loin cloth trying to "work" a sword is just about all my little brain can handle…)

We should make a sport out of it. Perhaps we could even print trading cards with the politicians on them. Like any other sports card, we could have their stats on the back. (As well as which party "drafted" them, and when they sold out and got "traded.") I love the idea of making each individual voting record more widely accessible.

Try to imagine kids in the school yard trading them. "I'll give you a Harper and a Dion for that Joe Clark and a Trudeau!" (That sounds like an awesome deal to me…) It's a brilliant thought isn't it?