Why I voted for the Green Party
The motley crowd collecting in Winnipeg's Union Station looked disappointingly small. Two minutes before her train's scheduled arrival time, the TV crews setting up tripods almost outnumbered the eager green-socked supporters gathering to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth May on her whistle-stop campaign tour.
If this represented Manitoban votes, I speculated, May could count on a gang of university activists—more green than realistic—and a few old political junkies who had been hippies in the 1960s.
I was curious to see the spunky party leader who was preaching her passionate green gospel across the country and who had managed to earn herself a voice at the televised leaders' debate, despite whingeing from the three party leaders who wanted to keep the conversation man-to-man.
The Green Party didn't win the federal election. It's quite safe for me to make this prediction, even as I type this column for an issue of ChristianWeek with a cover date the day after Canadians go to the polls.
But they won my vote. Here's why:
In our October 1 issue Ray Pennings advised Christians to vote for candidates with character, competence and conviction. I decided to subject May to this litmus test.
Character: She is knowledgeable, articulate and won't sit still for a snubbing, as Stephen Harper discovered after he threatened to boycott the televised debate if she participated.
Conviction: She's a committed Anglican who attends church and anchors her politics firmly in her theology, while recognizing the difference between the two. May is as familiar with the Scriptures as with her party platform and can explain what the Bible says about ecology or what Jesus said about the poor. She has mused that she'll take up priesthood when she retires from politics.
Competence: May might not have the political experience necessary to run the country, but that's not one of her options right now. The Greens are doing their job as a party that doesn't form the government: influencing the policies and actions of the party that does. The Greens have helped make the care of our planet a significant issue in this election, and Stephane Dion borrowed a leaf from their book when he drafted his Green Shift.
I'm also inspired by the ways in which I see the Green Party's platform align with the teachings of Jesus. At the very centre of one of the most powerful sermons Jesus ever preached is the importance of dignifying and empowering the poor and those who aren't given a voice.
May is well aware of the ways in which our failure to love the natural world often translates into a mistreatment of those who have the least. In 2000 she chronicled the staggering rates of multiple sclerosis, birth defects, Alzheimer's disease and cancer that plagued the town of Sydney, Nova Scotia. It's source: tar ponds produced by a steel mill built on Mi'kmaq land.
May sat for two weeks on Parliament Hill without eating anything, carrying photographs of Sydney children who suffered from birth defects, migraines and allergies, caused by the toxic waste.
I was also intrigued to learn that one of the Green Party's six fundamental principles is a commitment to non-violence. Jesus contradicted the powers of His day as He showed the world how to live out His teachings of non-violence and love for the poor.
So why would I vote for a party with, at best, a long-shot chance of winning one or two seats in parliament? In a true democracy everyone would vote for the party that best represents his or her views instead of voting strategically (voting for the Liberals, just to keep the Conservatives out of office, for example). Besides, every vote the Greens get earns them $1.75 in taxpayer money to help them build their party.
By the time the train carrying May pulled into the Winnipeg station (it was late) the journalists were nearly lost in a throng of supporters wearing enough green to compete with Robin Hood's merry men.
Maybe more than disillusioned cranks and hopeless idealists are inspired by the Green Party's grassroots approach to politics.
Of course, I realize I'm one of the crowd; the Greens appeal to me because I aspire towards sometimes-impossible ideals. My editor recently assigned me a beatitude: "Blessed are the pure in heart."
I may not experience the blessing that comes with it while I'm alive, and maybe Elizabeth May won't ever see her party run the country, but while we're waiting we'll both vote Green.
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