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Welcome to the second (and last) special election edition of Collected Wisdom, the column that thinks all its readers are extraordinary.
THE QUESTION: Politicians consistently refer to "ordinary Canadians," wrote Jacey Brown of Nanaimo, B.C. "Has anyone else noticed how often we are called 'ordinary' and is anyone else offended by it?"
THE ANSWER: "The term 'ordinary Canadians' is a product of the confusion caused by the expansion of the term 'middle class' to describe more and more people," writes Dennis Pilon of the political-science department at the University of Victoria.
"Today, middle-class is used to describe everyone from the Wal-Mart greeter to a medical doctor, with the poor and rich as small bookends."
He says we used to speak of a "working class" that was separate from the middle class, typically distinguished by their lower-income, lower-status work and lack of control over their working conditions.
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"The erasure of the term 'working class' was largely political," he says, "and designed to weaken this group of people politically by making it harder for them to distinguish their distinct interests from those with more money and influence. Yet politicians still want to mobilize this group — thus the use of more meaningless terms such as 'ordinary Canadians.' "
Andrew David Terris of Halifax adds: "Like Jacey Brown, I am deeply offended when politicians call us 'ordinary Canadians.' I find it patronizing in the extreme. The best riposte comes from a speech given by Desmond Tutu at the University of Toronto in 2000: 'In my theology, no one is ordinary.' Hallelujah and amen!"
THE QUESTION: Why don't we have "rolling" polling times so all polling places close at the same time across the country (accounting for different times zones, of course), asked Warren Linds of Montreal. "This would avoid people in British Columbia finding out that the election had been decided before their polls closed." For example, assuming 11 polling hours, Newfoundland and Labrador could be 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., while at the other end of the country British Columbia would be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the other provinces at various intervals in between. "Why wouldn't that work?"
THE ANSWER: "We do have rolling polling times, although it's relatively recent," writes Audrey Rockingham Gill of Vancouver.
Here's how it works. Polls are open for 12 hours as follows:
- Newfoundland and Atlantic Time: 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Eastern Time: 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Central Time: 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Mountain Time: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Pacific Time: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The system, she says, is not quite perfect. "Polls in Toronto, the centre of the media coverage of the results, close half an hour before they close in B.C., but that's manageable for us."
FURTHER NOTICE
"Here's another explanation for the curious phrase 'dropping the writ' when a general election has been called," writes Rod Drennan of Vernon, B.C..
"Years ago I heard someone explain that the correct term is 'drawing up' an election writ." He suggests that "drawing up" was corrupted over time to "dropping."
Send answers (and questions) to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, location and a daytime phone number.
