It's the secret glue that has held democracies together in ways we never fully understood – at least until now, when so much stability seems to have evaporated in the midst of crisis after crisis. It's called “convention” and, along with the rule of law, it was successful at establishing a ground rules that permitted nations to move forward after the debacles of two world wars.Convention was like a hidden guardrail that kept public life from spinning too much out of control. Because of it, the excesses of politics were largely minimized in favour of a kind of security that not only permitted individual nations to make their way into the future, but also global alliances the rounded off the edges of extremism. Some have termed it hegemony, order or shared commonality, but whichever term one uses, it now represents something of an endangered species.Politics, political parties, debates, elections, leadership contests – all these now dominate our public life in ways unheard of even two decades ago. They were always essential to our collective dealings, but as companions and equals to the civic associations that made our joint life manageable. Now politics is everything and holds the surprising power of producing division and even fear.All this is transpiring even as citizens find their trust in politics and politicians at historic lows. Things have reached the point where the default method for seeking power is by sowing as much disruption and negativity as possible in order to decimate any opponents. But like kids watching their parents endlessly bicker, entire populations grow increasingly pessimistic and jaundiced over the relentless divisions. The damage to the national mental health of a nation eventually becomes endemic.The sight of political parties and their leaders in America or Great Britain willingly flying in the face of convention and past political practices in their grasp for ascendancy means that politics itself remains unchecked and reckless. When Republicans express an unwillingness to respect the impeachment process and simply express their desire to exonerate Donald Trump before proceedings get underway, how can government be reined in before it destroys democracy itself? And when both the Conservative and Labour parties in Britain refuse to curtail their all or nothing race to the precipice, how can the train wreck of what was once the most stable and animated parliament in the world possibly hold England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland together?Politics without a respectful convention of attitudes and actions is merely the pursuit of power run amok, happening in real time on millions of screens and with no end. And lost in it all is the historic identity of political parties themselves. No one recognizes the Republicans or the Boris Johnson Conservatives anymore; they are unmoored from what once made them central to national life and international stability. And the American Democratic or British Labour parties are struggling through their own identity crises.This is what happens when historical accommodations are tossed on the trash heap and the free-for-all that results creates an increasingly dysfunctional democracy. Some nations, like Canada, have fortunately avoided such extremes so far, but as Canadian political parties observe how others acquire power through skirting laws, denying them, or denigrating other parties to the point of political dysfunctionality, the temptation will be strong to apply similar means in this country – to the possible ruination of federalism and the Canadian sense of respectful, but competitive, fair play.All this results in a restive electorate, who grow increasingly frustrated at all this juggling for power instead of administering it equitably through the proper use of collaboration, compromise and congeniality. They feel disenfranchised and insecure. Fail to get this right and there is only one direction it can head, as Frederick Douglass noted a long time ago:The American people have this to learn: that where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property is safeWe are fortunate in Canada that some measure of conventional practices remains, but it's not as it was and there are those housed within the political process who will be tempted to create chaos in order to win power. Vigilance against this is our only way forward.Glen Pearson was a career professional firefighter and is a former Member of Parliament from southwestern Ontario. He and his wife adopted three children from South Sudan and reside in London, Ontario. He has been the co-director of the London Food Bank for 32 years. He writes regularly for the London Free Press and also shares his views on a blog entitled “The Parallel Parliament“. Follow him on twitter @GlenPearson.