Rant
I really agree with this column by Rick Salutin:
"Deserve's got nothing to do with this election, in the sense that elections should not be a way of meting out moral payback. Karma works by other means, or ought to. If Paul Martin loses, as he deserves to, people will lose some things they deserve, like a real child-care program. It's not perfect but it's paid for, deals are signed with all the players and, once in motion, it'll be hard to stop, as medicare was. They won't get that with Stephen Harper. So they must decide whether to vote against what they want, in order to get rid of who they don't want. Not an easy choice."
It's really hard watching this election unfold from Japan. It really sucks that we're at such a time of "no alternatives." Everyone (or that 55%, or whatever) feels that the Liberals no longer deserve to be in power, and they don't. So, obviously, we need a new leader. I just can't believe that so few people seem to be asking themselves "Do we want this new leader?" Harper makes my blood boil. It's depressing and quite shocking that Canadians seem to have learned nothing from what is going on in the U.S. Do we really want a leader who considers George Bush a role model? The man considers America's neo-conservative movement an inspiration. How terrifying. Grant keeps assuring me that it's not the end of the world, but I'm feeling pretty bleak about coming home to a Harper-led Canada. I'm proud of my country, and fear deeply what will become of it if he gets in. Everyone's making the predictions, and they seem pretty possible- his "traditional definition of marriage" agenda, he'll try to compromise abortion rights, probably sign up for star wars, join any future "coalition" with the U.S., probably change immigration policies, and what will happen to medicare? I am worried about all of these things, but I am so frightened that our medicare system will be destroyed. I know Canada's a different country, and things work differently here, but as has been the case in the U.S. over the past five years, things can go downhill very quickly, and some things, once the ball starts rolling in the wrong direction, are very difficult to get back. Canadians should recognize what is good about Canada, and unique from the U.S. in very positive ways, and work to protect these things rather than put power into the hands of someone who wants to dismantle them.
I started on a rant yesterday to one of my co-workers on this subject, and she stopped short at "conservative" and had to get out her electronic dictionary. So I taught her the words "conservative" and "liberal", "left-wing" and "right-wing", and it turns out they're the same in Japanese (left-wing, right-wing.) Then I asked her if she was interested in politics and she said no. And that was the end of that.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with this election, in the sense that elections should not be a way of meting out moral payback. Karma works by other means, or ought to. If Paul Martin loses, as he deserves to, people will lose some things they deserve, like a real child-care program. It's not perfect but it's paid for, deals are signed with all the players and, once in motion, it'll be hard to stop, as medicare was. They won't get that with Stephen Harper. So they must decide whether to vote against what they want, in order to get rid of who they don't want. Not an easy choice."
It's really hard watching this election unfold from Japan. It really sucks that we're at such a time of "no alternatives." Everyone (or that 55%, or whatever) feels that the Liberals no longer deserve to be in power, and they don't. So, obviously, we need a new leader. I just can't believe that so few people seem to be asking themselves "Do we want this new leader?" Harper makes my blood boil. It's depressing and quite shocking that Canadians seem to have learned nothing from what is going on in the U.S. Do we really want a leader who considers George Bush a role model? The man considers America's neo-conservative movement an inspiration. How terrifying. Grant keeps assuring me that it's not the end of the world, but I'm feeling pretty bleak about coming home to a Harper-led Canada. I'm proud of my country, and fear deeply what will become of it if he gets in. Everyone's making the predictions, and they seem pretty possible- his "traditional definition of marriage" agenda, he'll try to compromise abortion rights, probably sign up for star wars, join any future "coalition" with the U.S., probably change immigration policies, and what will happen to medicare? I am worried about all of these things, but I am so frightened that our medicare system will be destroyed. I know Canada's a different country, and things work differently here, but as has been the case in the U.S. over the past five years, things can go downhill very quickly, and some things, once the ball starts rolling in the wrong direction, are very difficult to get back. Canadians should recognize what is good about Canada, and unique from the U.S. in very positive ways, and work to protect these things rather than put power into the hands of someone who wants to dismantle them.
I started on a rant yesterday to one of my co-workers on this subject, and she stopped short at "conservative" and had to get out her electronic dictionary. So I taught her the words "conservative" and "liberal", "left-wing" and "right-wing", and it turns out they're the same in Japanese (left-wing, right-wing.) Then I asked her if she was interested in politics and she said no. And that was the end of that.
posted by wakarimasen at
8:19 PM
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