Suburb Of Buffalo

And so reactionary thought prevails here in Canada. Forget the actual platforms of all the parties, the Conservatives were successful in playing on people's reaction to losing money in the sponsorship scandal. It blows my mind how Canadians who pride themselves in having the benefits of relatively high standards in health care, and human rights, and social assistance, and careful consideration of military involvement keeping in mind a role in long accepted international bodies, decide to change their allegiance to a party that will very likely pursue the opposite of those general principles.

Since George W. Bush's election, and moreso his re-election, Canadians have reacted in a way reflecting the disagreement with the way he and his appointed staff have carried themselves. There is no denying that Stephen Harper's ideals are not a far cry from Bush's own, and yet in a system in which there are at least 3 viable party hopefuls in almost every riding, people chose to swing back against the Liberals, who by all means deserved to be held accountable for their actions, by voting for the extreme alternative, which makes no sense to me whatsoever. But logic in times like these is something one just can't count on clearly.

The only positive outcomes that I can find in the situation as it stands now are that:

-at least SOME kind of change came of these months of campaigning at the cost of the Canadian dollar (by the way, if anyone can find a figure on how much it costs to hold an election like this, I'd like to see it because I haven't been able to find one), and

-the government remains a minority, with strong results for the NDP, meaning that, unlike the current dominated systems south of the border, there is the potential for clear opposition to any drastic moves, without the need of simply attempting to stall the system.

I still however can't shake the feeling that I need to worry about a member of my family or myself getting sick enough to require proper health care in the next few years, or the bullseye we may end up painting on ourselves if we start getting involved in struggles that we have no place in. Only time will tell...