R.I.P. Jack Layton

Dear Readers Mom, I had a post all ready to go about my weekend (and the post will still go up at some point) but I woke up this morning to the news that Jack Layton, leader of the the New Democratic Party, had passed away. As much as I strive to keep politics off my blog because that's not why I started this in the first place, I love politics. I wanted to use my little corner of the Internet to say good bye to an amazing man.

[Edit]: You can read Jack's final letter to Canadians here.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. ~Jack Layton

Dear Jack,

I woke up this morning to a flurry of tweets about your passing. I hoped and hoped it was some cruel joke like the Gordon Lightfoot death-tweets a few years back but as more and more respectable people added to the tweets and linked to CBC news, I knew that you really had passed away.

I cried.

There will be a lot written about you in the coming days. It will be mostly good, as happens after someone has passed away. And as it should be when the person was as generally good as you. Stephen Harper has already issued a statement. Between you and me, behind his sadness at your passing, I think part of him is relieved that he won't have to face off against you in the House of Commons this fall.

Of course, that is assuming Harper can feel emotions. Scientists are still running experiments to determine if he can.

You were one of the few politicians that I actually liked and respected. Although I did not always agree with you (politically, I understand why you disagreed with Elizabeth May being in the debates. Emotionally, I think you were a dick about it), I always felt like you put the Canadian population ahead of everything else when it came to your job. You were one of the few politicians I wanted to meet. I wanted to shake your hand and say 'thank you' for restoring my faith in politicians.

You were amazing in the last election. The NDP was the only party with ads on online TV channels, the only one with ads in bus stations, and the only one who really seemed to go after the youth vote. The result was the largest NDP result ever (and in a few of the ridings you lost, you lost by a handful of votes.) and the decimation the Bloc in Quebec. As much as it pained me to see Steven Harper finally get his majority party, I was so proud of the strides you had made for your party.

You were incredible.

There was a passion in everything you did. There was a determination in your actions. Yet, there was a relatability which resonated with people. Canada even voted you the party leader they'd most like to have a beer with. Perhaps it was because you were so passionate and determined that they responded to you. Whatever it was, your passing is a sad day for Canada and Canadian politics.

Thank you for everything you brought to the House of Commons. Thank you for years and years of service on behalf of your fellow Canadians. Thank you for being you: for being open about your fight with cancer, for being passionate about your beliefs, for challenging us all to be better, and for being strong in the face of it all.

You will be missed.

Rights and Responsibilities

For those who are unaware, there was a federal election in Canada today. I try to keep my politics out of my daily life and especially off my blog. I love to discuss politics with open-minded people but at the end of the day, my politics are my politics and although I know that I'm always right, I'm not in the job of pushing them on anyone without them wanting my opinion. I do such a good job at keeping my politics to myself that after our last election, six different coworkers discussed the results with me and only one of them figured out what party I voted for. I attribute this to my need to be a political devil's advocate, even for the party I (usually) support. I do this because I want people to think about why they're voting the way they are.

There is, however, one point in politics that I feel so passionate about that I actually got into a facebook fight about it today: voting.

We live in a democracy. We get to vote for our Members of Parliament. They are usually members of a party (although we did recently have two Independents). We get to voice our opinion in who shapes the future of our country. This is an amazing and wonderful and fantastic right to have. We are so lucky that we have this right. The least we can do is take the time to educate ourselves and vote.

Voting is not just a right, in my opinion, it is also a responsibility. If we want to enjoy the democracy we live in, we have to keep it alive by following the democratic process. You have a choice to vote.

If you choose not to exercise that right because you don't believe in the democratic process, I will defend your right to make that choice. I really will.

If you choose not to vote because you feel there is no candidate or party that represents you, I will defend your right to make that choice.

But when you choose not to vote because you can't be assed to read up on the parties or candidates, I will tell you exactly what I think of you. And it won't be pretty.

We live in a day and age when information on every party is available online. Canadians average over 13 hours a week online. Do you honestly expect me to believe that somewhere in that 13+ hours, you couldn't take 15 minutes to read up about the platforms?

All across North Africa and the Middle East, people have risen up and risked death (and in many cases, have died) for the right to choose their government because that right had been taken away from them. And you can't get off of LOLcats to long enough to read about our options?

It's your right and it's your responsibility. So next time an election comes around, take 15 minutes out of your daily facebook trolling and read about your candidates then get out there and vote.