Last week I had the opportunity to make my way down to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of the new president. In the whirlwind of long lines and security checkpoints, surrounded by ecstatic crowds and vendors hawking everything from Obama track suits to condoms (“The real stimulus package!”), I could not help but have thoughts about the lackluster state of politics in my own country.

Standing in that mass of over a million people was invigorating, to say the least. This was a man they believed in and a change they were proud be a part of. In the 10 years or so that I have been politically aware, I cannot remember ever being proud of my country’s politics, never mind believing in them.

To be honest, I was jealous. I had the political version of penis envy. Why can’t I have this? Where’s my hope? Where’s my change, damn it!

You would be hard pressed to find many Canadians excited about their politics. Who can blame them? Despite some very good MPs who are fighting for some very good things, the fallout of the scandal-riddled Liberal dynasty and consecutive minority Tory governments have left Canuck politics downright stagnant.

The less interested say our politics are a joke. The better informed argue that Parliament is marred by ludicrous tradition and Ottawa is brimming with power hungry suits adept at manipulating those traditions (case and point: the fickle Liberal-NDP coalition and the resulting prorogation). Truthfully, there are days when apathy appears to be the only reasonable response to the partisan bickering of Question Period.

“ Do we need our own version of the O bama pandemonium to lead us to a place where we can move forward again and be proud of ourselves and our country?

Before the 2008 presidential primaries most Americans were similarly disenchanted with their own politics. Then the dual bombshells of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hit the media circuit. The celebrity machine kicked into overdrive and all of a sudden everybody was paying attention.

With the inauguration of the new president, that power of celebrity and charisma has been transformed into legal power of the highest kind. But is this what Canada needs? Do we need our own version of the Obama pandemonium to lead us to a place where we can move forward again and be proud of ourselves and our country? Do we even want to put that much faith in our politicians?

It’s true that the political landscape in Canada doesn’t allow for such sweeping change. Our elections are held within months of when they are called, giving politicians little time to build hype or support. We have a multiparty parliamentary system steeped in divisive issues such as Quebec nationalism, Western conservatism, and First Nations rights. Often when groups talk about change in Canadian politics it’s regarding electoral or senate reform. I don’t remember ever having a politician say to me, “Let us come together as a nation to do something positive.”

The soil of the Canadian electorate has been fallow for too long and is marked by too many stones. The change - Canada’s Obama - may not come in the form of one celebrated personality as it recently did south of the border. But what would be so bad if someone stepped forward into a leadership position and told us that together we could pick out those stones and use that fertile soil to grow together as a country? To use Obama’s inaugural words, Canadians need to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and begin again the work of remaking their country. God knows we’re ready for it.

James Janzen is a University of Winnipeg student currently on hiatus and a former Uniter beat reporter. He left for Africa this week in a bid to escape cold weather and stale politics.

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)