Chapter One

 I've long considered writing a manifesto.  A quick Google search will tell you that a manifesto is:

a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.

I don't want to make a single declaration.  Life is too complicated for that.  Instead, I want to explain my views in a series and encourage constructive criticism.

This will be the start of my views.

I am sick and tired of the divisiveness in modern politics.  That isn't a demonization of any party, but it feels like everything has to be black or white. The concept of conversation and compromise seem lost. Logic has fallen to the winds of emotion and that is not healthy.

Before I go too far, I should explain what I think is a healthy way to approach conflicting opinions. I like to form a basic agreed upon premise. If you can't do that, any further debate is pointless because you're arguing on different premises. Once there is a base, the rest of the arguments should fall into place using standard logic.

Politicians nowadays set a personal goal and that's all they care about. If politicians cared more, they would talk to each other and find bipartisan solutions. I don't want to get too deep into it now, but the topic of abortion easily comes to mind. Why is it pro-life vs pro-choice?  What about the in-betweens? I think most rational people are somewhere in between, but they're stuck voting one or the other? The topic isn't black or white.

The two party system in the US is garbage, and Canada's system isn't much different.  We need a centrist party that actually analyzes issues thoughtfully and considers a spectrum of views instead of forcing citizens to pick between two extremes.  Before you say it, no, the current identified left does not do this. Prove me wrong.