May 2

May 2nd is election day in Canada. we still have a 2 party system in Canada but that is only because the 3rd major party has never been in power. we have a right leaning party on the right and 4 other parties on the center or left. naturally there's a lot of vote splitting on the left that makes it so that we have only ever had 2 parties in power over the course of this great country's lifetime.

i come from a family history that does not vote. the reasoning is a spiritual one; they did not desire to be part of the world's system or to be out of the will of God so they did not vote in case they picked the party that did not win. this logic NEVER worked for me. from my youth i wanted to be involved in helping to choose the course of my own life and that meant engagement in discussions that were difficult to be a part of. i voted in the first election i was old enough to vote in and i have taken part in every election since.

i remember in my first election i went down to the Conservative party's office to ask some questions and have a discussion. my riding had been Conservative forever and i considered myself small "c" conservative in nature so it seemed like a good fit. i ended up voting Conservative in that election and it remains the only time that i did vote Conservative in my lifetime. i remember in those conversations in the Conservative office that someone said that they figured i was actually pretty much a Liberal as i discussed things and brought up questions. it's funny though, i've never voted Liberal in my lifetime.

i have voted for the New Democratic Party in every election i can recall. i came to that place after i figured that the trickle-down economic theory of right wing folks was just not working. if the rich never let anything trickle down then how could the poor ever get some help? one of the reasons that i went into social work was because i feel compelled to help the poor. i have some pretty strong opinions of small "c" conservative types who vote Conservative because they consider themselves conservative in nature. i see that among Christians in general and Christians in Western Canada in particular.

let me say this plainly ... if you are poor, the parties on the right side of the political spectrum are not looking out for you. the parties on the right are looking to prop up the big boys in this country in the hope that the big boys will in turn carry you along for the ride. what if the big boys just decide to be out for themselves? that's the inclination of the human heart isn't it?

the way i figure it, the big boys are big enough. i need to try and help the little guy. that means that i'll need to try and pick a political party that i think will try to protect the little guy.

the NDP in Canada has it's roots in unions and in co-ops. that speaks to me of the common human. they want to protect pensions and they want to help health care be more available across this country. that'll speak out for more folks who'll need to rely on their pensions and need to find a family doctor when they need it. the rich already have their own doctor standing by, it's the poor, the guys i see everyday who don't have a clue what they'll do if they get sick because they don't have access to a family doctor. i'm serious, i see that every STINKING DAY.

if you are poor in this country you have to decide who you're going to be behind. i am not poor in this country in truth. if you're reading this on your own computer then you're probably not poor either. let me urge you anyway to try and pick who you'll support for your own reasons. if my words help you decide then ... good. let me urge you further to do all you can to help the poor if you can, in every way you can.

i know how i'll be voting on May 2nd. make sure you vote too.