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Getting Political
I’ve been notoriously silent on the outcome of the Canadian Election. Mainly, I’ve been searching my thoughts for the right thing to say.
The Conservatives winning was no surprise to anyone who has been following the news for the past four weeks. They’ve been ahead by a growing margin the entire time. What surprised me was the small margin by which they won.
Is it enough for Harper to initiate any of the vast number of reforms he’s promised? With the NDP and the Bloc and certainly the Liberals disagreeing with Conservative policy at nearly every turn, it’s hard to say. On his agenda are diverse issues such as GST cuts, heath care reform, and a re-vote on equal marriage.
On the other hand, I have a tough time reconciling his newly moderate platform with his personal rhetoric from 2002-2003. I was living in Harper’s riding when the first discussions of same-sex marriage were appearing in Parliament. Every week, he would send a newsletter to all of his constituents. Mostly, the newsletter would be focused on the travesty that is the ‘degradation of traditional families’ from the ‘homosexual threat’. Time and time again, he asserted that his constituants were firmly and fully against the gay agenda. And time and time again, I would call his campaign office and leave my thoughts, my views. I equated the newsletters to hate mail. I asserted that perhaps he didn’t know his constituants as well as he thought.
After the third call, the newsletters stopped coming.
This is why it’s easy for me to fear that, no matter the makeup of Parliament, Harper and his Conservatives will do whatever they can to ensure that the “homosexual threat” is put down.
In reality, I know that the liklihood of overturning equal marriage would be slim. They’d have to pass a free vote in Parliament. They’d have to either use the Notwithstanding Clause to opt out of the Charter of Rights or find some way of passing it through the courts. And 65% of the country feels that the issue has been settled and does not need to be brought up again.
These are huge hurdles and I don’t believe Harper’s legs are nearly long enough.
But still.
It makes a girl think.
My advice to anyone who is unhappy about the outcome of the election? Live your life with your beliefs. Be educated about the issues. Be knowledgeable enough to be able to speak up and discuss politics with friends and family.
My friend Erika has a fantastic blog entry that covers the other side of the political spectrum. While she and I may be polar opposites in terms of politics, we agree on the most important thing; the right to believe what we want.
Erika says, and I quote, “I’m proud to live in a country where people are free to discuss politics and free to vote with their beliefs, whatever they might be.”
This is indeed a gift. And while I certainly won’t stop hoping that Harper’s government will be the shortest in Canadian history, I am looking forward to the day when I can vote here, with my beliefs, whatever they might be. And in the meantime, I’ll be more than happy to talk about it.
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