British Columbia now has a new government.
We are not going to elaborate on who won or what the makeup of that government is to underscore a point.
These days, in which partisan bickering has replaced constructive policy discussion and vilification of our political "enemies" has eroded civility, what we need now that the votes have been counted is teamwork.
Most of the serious issues we face in this province are non-partisan. Health care, housing, affordability and reconciliation are problems that require urgent solutions.
They are not going to be solved overnight, but they are not going to be solved at all if we don't try something different than what we've been doing.
We have 93 MLAs headed to Victoria to take care of that business. Each one of these people, not just the ones that happen to be affiliated with the party that got the most seats, represents a constituency of citizens. Citizens who, for the most part, don't really care how we get to a solution as much as that we get to a solution.
While our representatives may not always see eye-to-eye on how we get there, they're much more likely to get there with everyone working together.
Unfortunately, instead of doing that, it seems like the minute we close the book on the last election, the campaign for the next one begins.
It doesn't have to be that way.
What if, instead of putting all that energy into partisanship and campaigning they all rolled up their sleeves and worked together? No one person (or party) has all the answers. Compromise is the essence of democracy.
In theory, this is how government should work.
It's got to be worth a try because lurching between one extreme and the other certainly does not.
