When I started to become political as a kid, I thought that the future would be leftist. It was 2003 and I loved Jack Layton and the NDP. He was such an intelligent and sincere politician in my eyes, and I loved to hear him speak. I thought that it must be a new age of political reason and intelligent policy, right wing voters and centrists just had to hear the message enough and most would see that there were a lot of benefits for themselves and everyone else with a leftist government and that it just made sense. I thought the new ease of access to information would make it easier to dispell old conservative myths and people would gain more clarity on policy and whatnot since they could easily read party platforms and other literature.

...clearly I was very naive. The right wing has become far more motivated than the left in recent years and there's a lot of people out there susceptible to their propaganda. Their messaging and media is so much more powerful than the left and they have no problem lying or twisting facts. Left wing media and messaging is focused on facts and policy which is often boring, legalistic, complicated and unemotional. Harder to drive engagement for.

I've been thinking lately- maybe the hateful messaging of the right wing needs a counter. Is love stronger than hate? While the Canadian left wing parties haven't completely lost their humanity, there is a lack of passion and compassion. Perhaps what the left needs is stronger emotional branding.

Let me explain. PP has no problem saying inflammatory things and his base loves it, no matter how sincere or insincere it is. I'm not suggesting that left wing politicians embody his behavior, but it would be nice to see them get nice and visibly pissed off about injustices instead of being stoic all the time and pay deference to parliamentary and professional behavior. More viral clips of the NDP and Greens arguing passionately and intellectually for reform.

The other piece of the puzzle in terms of a more emotional shift is a more propagandistic one. I think we need a message of LOVE from the left. To hear how much they care about Canadians suffering, and really believe it. To hear how much they want to improve our lives and how they would do it. How much they love our beautiful country. To paint a vivid picture on a brighter future, with strong, charismatic messaging.

Lastly, I would argue that the NDP in particular need to make their own Overton window shift, and introduce policies that go further than their current ones, such as a nearly fully comprehensive public healthcare system (psychology, dentistry, physiotherapy, optometry, pharmacare, etc) with modest income tax increase. Or UBI. Something that provides immediate tangible benefits, and isn't just regulation based policy changes that will probably make life better in a few years.

I really think the future could still be left wing. But the left has been lagging behind the right on messaging for so long. We need to resort to more drastic measures than simply hoping people educate themselves on what the left actually means to accomplish, I think we need loud, relatable soundbites from politicians carrying messages of love, security, egalitarianism, reason, and hope, and be equally as loud as the right. That's one of the things Layton in particular had figured out- you need to emote when you convey your political aims, and talk about our ability to take care of each other, the responsibility of government, and the joyful bright future we could all have.

What do yall think?