you may not like this post

i vote on the left. i come from a very much small "c" conservative upbringing but i just look at the right and i'm appalled by the focus on protecting the rich, like they deserve protecting when they already have $$$'s cushioning them should they fall. there was a time that i voted on the right, but that was because i viewed myself to be conservative in nature and it seemed like a good fit. it isn't.

it is not sinful to vote for people who want to help and support the poor. trickle down economic theory doesnt work if the folks at the top don't let much trickle through the cracks toward those at the bottom.

if you're American and you read this, don't be offended but Christianity is not synonymous with the Republican Party. yes, perhaps the Democrats might lean toward abortion but is abortion even on the table as a political policy to be considered? no, it isn't. so if the right wants to continue in a war you don't agree with (or you shouldn't agree with) but the left would prefer to loosen up abortion laws then i choose the left because abortion isn't on the table but the war certainly is.

that's just what i think right now.

i vote for the New Democratic Party here in Canada. i just think they best represent the poor in this very fortunate land. i don't get why a poor person wouldn't vote on the left but ... i don't decide that for them anyway. the NDP had their convention this weekend and all the buzz was about how they wanted to drop the New from their name. big deal. talk about policy instead. whatever.
talk about homelessness, the cycle of poverty in this country, the unemployment rate, housing vacancy rates. let's talk about how the poor can't break into an economy even when it's going strong let alone when it's on a rebound.

the NDP has it's roots in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, a group that my father calls communist and has warned me to be careful associating with. he incorrectly called them the Co-operative Communist Federation. well ... i'm not a communist ... but i suppose you could easily refer to me as a social democrat. i do believe in social justice, i do see inequality and i'm not in favour with the rich getting richer for doing nothing other than being born with a silver spoon.



look globally for a second. there are BILLIONS of people in this world that would climb over broken glass to be eligible for programs in this country that our own citizens take for granted. how much debt does the 3rd world owe to the West? the numbers are so astronomical that i can't begin to tell you. will those funds ever be paid back? no, they won't. will the West ever forgive those funds? probably not either. they won't do that because it removes their leverage over the poor. i honestly think one of the most Christian things that the West could do would be to forgive foreign debt, so that the 2/3rds world can get to a place where they might be able to get their bearings and move toward self-sustaining life. i'm not saying that the NDP is suggesting that happen, although i do find that it is the political left who even has the jam to talk about that. what responsibility do i have to take in this? am i responsible for keeping the 3rd world under my thumb? well, if MY government is doing that, then yes i'm responsible.



do we have to talk about the environment and creation care? do we really? if the typical North American uses up 35 times what they typical 2/3rds worlder uses then how can we argue that the world will be fine? we're using it up. i'm using it up. i certainly realize that the fact that i bike to work and i recycle aren't really huge steps toward a solution. i don't have a lot of answers here but i see the need and i am noticing who is effectively speaking on environmental issues; more often than not, it's the left.
as far as i know my present government hasn't signed the Kyoto Accord. why is that? why do our governments prop up companies that have refused to address environmental need for the minimum of 4 decades that i've been hearing the world cry out against it? why did it take so long to get common access to vehicles that don't use up our resources and pollute our world? i don't know. i don't have many answers and like i said, you may not like this post.

i believe in social justice. i believe in equality. i oppose war and i'll speak up when i see people holding the sword of Damacles over anyone. if you ask me, you really should like this post, but you didn't ask me and maybe you don't.