Akaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism

The court ruling that police powers must be subject to public accountability is a victory for democracy, but the devil will lurk in the details of the government response.

I emphasised that while the arc of history may bend towards justice, there is nothing inevitable about progress. Societies can and do regress, as well as progress.

Addressing the United Nations was one of the more intimidating experiences of my life. I spoke on behalf of GOPAC's global alliance of parliamentarians, on our work to bring kleptocrats to justice.

The greatest threat to our democracy is not barbarians at the gate, but politicians amongst us ready to pursue their ambitions by demonising anyone who dares to stand up and speak out.

In modern military conflicts, the challenge has moved beyond winning the war, to surviving the peace.

An oft-overlooked aspect of the Indian independence movement shows that the path from hero to villain can be nothing more than hubris, and that no cause is so great that it should be pursued without humility.

Akaash warns that Canadian society is in peril of ceasing to be a meritocracy.

Akaash argues that the credibility, virility, and nobility of the giants of civil resistance lay in their willingness to suffer the consequences from those their lives defied.

In his Christmas message, Akaash argues that throughout our long and storied history, the actions born of our hope have always been Canadians' greatest gifts to the world and to one another.

Ultimately, active participation in the political process is the price that each of us must stand prepared to pay if we wish to be citizens rather than merely subjects. Because in a democracy, we never receive the nation we deserve; we only receive the nation we demand, and the nation we dare to create.