I met one and I lost my cool.

It was bound to happen. I met someone who voted Conservative in the recent federal election and admitted it. Not only that, when I asked what their reasons were (I was calm), they only had one reason. The dissolution of the long gun registry.

It’s not as if I didn’t know there are voters who have no concerns beyond one issue they feel affects them personally. It’s not as if I don’t appreciate that they have a right to vote any way they please.

I’m not sure what ‘the tell’ was. What gave away the possibility that I was perhaps raging under my stoic exterior. Perhaps my face was red, or my  knuckles were white, or my pupils were constricted or dilated or popping out of my head. I don’t know. I do know that it was not my intention to get all confrontational with this six foot two mass of gun lovin’ humanity.

But this five foot one on a good day blip of humanity lost her freakin’ mind.  “So, what are you saying,” I found myself saying.  “You don’t take into consideration a party’s views on trivia such as war, health care, corporate taxes, foreign encroachment on our sovereignty? You just don’t want to have to register your gun?”  And you know what. He said, “Yeah, that’s about it.” 

Democracy depends on you getting out and Voting.

Turned on ‘the News’ last night and the lead in was “more voters heading for the polls threatening to skew the results.’  I couldn’t believe my ears. We live in something called a democracy. At it’s base is the idea that the citizenry votes for their representative in government. More participation in this vote doesn’t skew the result. More people participating will produce a more accurate result.

Skew the results, good grief. If that’s not a wake up call to anyone not planning on voting, I don’t know what it would take.

One sure thing. There’s a whole lot of folks still  wielding a whole lot of power who think we peons are a whole lot stupider than we actually are. Well, skew ‘em. Get out and vote. 

The task of choosing leadership. Democracy’s big problem

I wonder what’s really going on in the minds of leaders of the pseudo democracies. The young Egyptians have just shown all of us what can be accomplished when you use these electronic things everyone carries around for something other than telling each other what we had for lunch.

I’m certainly not up to speed on any of this but the root of the rebellion seems to be people getting fed up to the teeth with having less and less and working harder and harder just to stay alive while the powerful get richer and richer and if that doesn’t ring a bell, well, bless your little heart.

The western media is awash with folks talking as if they, we, have it all figured out and democracy means doing what we’re doing, and blah blah blah . . .  But look at the problems we have finding and keeping decent leaders. And when someone comes along that is performing the role not too badly the opposition comes up with some, often bogus, scandal and instead of the electorate saying ‘who cares’, everyone jumps on their self righteous high horses, gasps in horror, and switches teams. Good grief.

I hope the people in Egypt come up with a really great leader.

I found this definition of a leader and thought, hmm, there’s a start.

LEADERS ARE PEOPLE WHO RAISE THE STANDARDS BY WHICH THEY JUDGE THEMSELVES AND BY WHICH THEY ARE WILLING TO BE JUDGED. THE GOAL CHOSEN, THE OBJECTIVE SELECTED, THE REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED,ARE NOT MAINLY FOR THEIR FOLLOWERS ALONE.THEY DEVELOP WITH CONSUMMATE ENERGY AND DEVOTION THEIR OWN SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO REACH THE STANDARDS THEY THEMSELVES HAVE SET.THIS WHOLE-HEARTED ACCEPTANCE OF THE DEMANDS IMPOSED BY EVEN HIGHER STANDARDS IS THE BASIS OF ALL HUMAN PROGRESS.A LOVE OF HIGHER QUALITY WE MUST REMEMBER,IS ESSENTIAL IN A LEADER.THE TRUE LEADER IS ONE WHO REALIZED BY FAITH THAT HE IS AN INSTRUMENT IN THE HANDS OF GOD,AND DEDICATED HIMSELF TO BE A GUIDE AND INSPIRER OF THE NOBLER SENTIMENTS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE." Rastafarian definition from

www. Angelfire.com / rasta   

Angelfire.com is really worth checking out, in my opinion. All this stuff is 'in my opinion'. I must start using that phrase more, in my opinion. Oops, I just burned my toast. Have a good day.