At the risk of confirming my confusion around the many conflicts of interest in the news lately, I will ramble into a subject area that is admittedly fairly foreign to me.

At all levels of government, it seems that more and more of our elected officials are cautiously declaring they have a conflict of interest. Quite often “out of an abundance of caution.”

But isn’t there an inherent tension here? A pushing and pulling situation?

In our responsible and democratic system of government, we the people make every effort to elect people to represent us at the municipal, regional, provincial and national levels. And more levels. And more. Neighbourhood associations, affinity groups, volunteer organizations.

Happily, it never seems to end, as more and more people get involved in leadership positions.

As my wise mother from Cochrane would respectfully say at appropriate times, if I was complaining or whining about something, “If you don’t get involved, you have exactly no right to complain.” This life lesson has encouraged me to insert myself into sometimes controversial issues now and again, here and there, as life went on.

Sometimes successfully, and not always smoothly and successfully.

Another lesson learned long ago was, “What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.” Let’s think about that for a moment or two. It takes courage to go against the majority, to row against the current, to vote against the mob. Often, it is years before true wisdom is understood and acknowledged.

For a great and educational, almost life altering book, have a read of “Profiles in Courage,” by John F. Kennedy. It was heavily researched by Ted Sorensen. Back in 1956, future President Kennedy wrote about several people who were ridiculed, but later proven right.

It was fascinating reading for a Canadian high school student in Niagara.

During an election campaign, decisions are made after considering many factors. The background, experience and education of the candidates. Their likeability and platform promises. Sometimes, the political parties and people with whom they have associated and aligned. Their vibe.

Many of them bring strengths from varying areas. And this is often where the conflict of interest issues pop up. Fairly recently for example, a husband and local councillor in Toronto declared a conflict because his spouse was a high school teacher, and a decision was being made about the location of a new high school.

And last year, a hard-working and highly respected farmer near Welland conflicted himself out of a discussion regarding an expensive new irrigation project. He didn’t want to be involved in a decision that would be of direct benefit to him personally, and increase the value of his land.

I am rambling, but can you understand my confusion? How do we solve the quandaries of the conflicts of interest? The very people who have expertise in a certain subject often opt to recuse, to voluntarily remove themselves, from the discussions. Recuse is an interesting word that I only learned last year. Now it seems to be mentioned regularly.

Just when we could all benefit from specific knowledge on a specific issue from a specific elected official, darn, they put their hand up and declare a conflict of interest.

What can we do to enable politicians to get past these often perceived fears? How can they rise above the paranoia? As a blue-nosed Halifax realtor was once admonished when she was being very much weird, not trusting the guy in the gold jacket from Uppalong/Upper Canada. “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not picking on you.”

It’s getting late, and I am on deadline, so let me wrap this Ross’s Ramblings up.

I think we are lucky to have such good democratic systems of government here in Canada. In the great majority of cases, our elected representatives do their best to make decisions that result in the best for the most people. Only very rarely is there an instance or hint of malfeasance.

Take a moment to reach out and thank a politician. And, local elections are on the horizon, only a few months away.

Be sure to exercise your right to vote in this great town. Be thankful you are a Canadian. And a NOTLer.