Back Again

So this is my first post via my iPad 2 and just in case you didn't know I love this thing. If you are on the fence about getting one my suggestion is GET ONE!!!!
Anyways, on to the topic of discussion for the day the leaders debate that occurred earlier this evening. I must be honest I did miss most of it as we had some chores to take care of around the house. But what I did see was well sad! Gilles Duceppe once again shows he is the only one (maybe in the entire country) who really understands how the Canadian political system works. As a reminder, it is not like the American popularity contest, where you get to vote on which guy you think makes the best President and you get to vote for your House rep separately. In Canada, we have a system where the "leader" and his best sound bite don't matter. We are supposed to vote for the party (then by default the leader) who we feel best represents our individual status, opinions and morals, the party we feel that will push through policies and legislation that supports and/or represents those morals and values. To often we forget the importance of policies and legislation and focus in on the character or personality traits of individuals, not taking the time to hear the message. For example during tonight's debate, Harper made it clear that he doesn't care about the rules of Parliament because they are just "political games" and he also writes of debate with the opposition as "bickering"! I don't know about you but I am pretty sure that the rules of Parliament and debate are fundamental aspects of democracy.
It worries me how few people seem to care that Harper seems to see himself as bigger and more important then the democratic system we have put in place and has worked for us for years.
As Canadians we take for granted the ability to vote, the ability to have a say in the governments that run our country. We take for granted our voice! We take it so much for granted we continue to be uninformed, fail to do research and actually don't care about the politics, the parties and what they represent, the reasons behind the election or the issues, policies and legislation. We take most of our (mis)information from ads, soundbites, or rumors!
How sad is it that I had a conversation with a 43 year old friend of mine and another friend new to the country and he was telling our new friend that this election was dumb, that all these guys are the same so you might as well vote for Stephen Harper. I interjected and asked doesn't being in contempt of parliament worry you? His response, no all that means is the other 3 guys formed a coalition and voted against Harper. I reiterated that I was talking about being found in contempt of Parliament, and not a non-confidence vote to which he replied "Yea, same thing, it does matter either way". I have to tell you this scared me! How many people are misinformed, or not aware of what is happening around them?
At some point we have to see the value in the ability to vote. We have to see the power our voice carries. The part that scares me most is that we won't realize how important voting and our democratic system is until we lose it! And as alarmist as this sounds, Stephen Harper is just the guy to do it, to take away our voice and dismantle the democratic system that has brought us to this point.
Come on Canadians, come on my friends get informed, get active!
Well that is it for me tonight!

Peace, I'm Outta Here
One Love