Politics;

And the role of opposition.

The events in Lebanon have underscored what I believe to be a major problem with the democracies of America and Canada. In both countries, the government is called upon to evacuate a large number of her citizens on very short notice. In both cases, a fair minded and honest assessment of their efforts will find that they have acted decisively and quickly.

Also in both cases, the opposition parties have been savage in their denouncement of the governments "slow pace" in rescuing its citizens, ignoring in Canada's case the extremely slow reaction they had when faced with a crisis when the opposition was in power.

This blind partisanship is bad for our democracies as it undermines the peoples faith in their government in general. The opposition parties are not acting on behalf of the people, rather they are acting on behalf of their own political prospects. They have forgotten the purpose of an opposition party.

In our democratic societies, the opposition parties should provide a way for the people to hold a government accountable for its actions and to voice objection when the government acts against the interests of the country. In times of great need, or crisis, an opposition which is loyal to the country will act in the interests of the citizens.

UPDATE: Toronto Sun Letter of the Day