Post-Traumatic Thoughts
I voted. And I must say, it was slightly traumatic. My riding (Ottawa Centre) is a close three-way race, supposedly too close to call. It traditionally runs Liberal, elected Ed Broadbent NDP last election by a landslide, and has one of the strongest Green Party candidates in the country, Deputy Leader David Chernechenko. So, there's a lot going on here in terms of numbers and %s. Anyways, I got my ballot, hid behind the little box-thing (in the words of Ikram, aged 3, "why are you hiding behind that funny box?" to her dad...), I looked at the ballot, and had a mild anxiety attack.
The thing is, because our riding is close, I thought hard about who to vote for, strategically. I seriously considered each of the other three parties, in light of how it would affect the outcome in terms of my Toryphobia. (I have also read all platforms, for you details people out there.) Anyways, based upon this I made my decision. It was harder this time, as I said, because instead of voting with my "conscience" as they say, I felt the need to vote strategically, whichever way that led me. And like I said, this time, that could lead any way...
AAAAAnnnyways, when I opened my ballot and saw the names of the candidates I suddenly felt guilty for thinking of voting strategically and abandoning other worthy candidates (seriously, we had good candidates in this riding this time, and was I copping out and all that... plus, a vote = funding nowadays, etc etc etc). I suddenly second-guessed myself and had a moment of panic. Anyways, I got a grip :-) , I cast my vote, I won't say how, and went on my way. On the walk home, I was thinking so deeply about it all, that I actually turned down the wrong street (not mine). Wierd! (Though if you know me, you're not really surprised by that ).
Anyways, thought I'd share that ... imagine how cluttered my messy head was before I had the luxury of inflicting my swirling thoughts upon you, here in this blog...
Thoughts:
-Why is the Marijuana Party candidate always the most well-spoken at the all-candidates meetings???? :-)
- There were a lot of under 30's voting when I was at my polling station. There's been so much talk about the "youth" vote, that I noticed this. I'd say 1/3 or more of the people there at that time were 30 or under. Maybe because of my riding (city centre), maybe the time I voted, or maybe more people voted this time?
- Maybe it's time for proportional representation. You shouldn't have to vote against someone. I know the whole argument about minority govt and prop'l rep'n, but there are countries who seem to make it work (though I can't say I know much about this..) and it is just so frustrating to cast your ballot based on feeling trapped, rather than on good ideas. And it seems like it would be good to have more ideas and voices in the parliament rather than less. When I vote, first I listen to all the ideas and read platforms, and decide who I like. THEN I check the polls in my riding and nationally, think strategically about my vote, and sometimes this makes me change who I vote for. And I'm not saying this because I support one party or another. I have now voted for all 4 national parties in my voting life, and am not married to any of them.
Anyways, that's my thoughts for now - I guarantee they'll change seven more times in the next month, but that's me todayrightnow.
xoxo
The thing is, because our riding is close, I thought hard about who to vote for, strategically. I seriously considered each of the other three parties, in light of how it would affect the outcome in terms of my Toryphobia. (I have also read all platforms, for you details people out there.) Anyways, based upon this I made my decision. It was harder this time, as I said, because instead of voting with my "conscience" as they say, I felt the need to vote strategically, whichever way that led me. And like I said, this time, that could lead any way...
AAAAAnnnyways, when I opened my ballot and saw the names of the candidates I suddenly felt guilty for thinking of voting strategically and abandoning other worthy candidates (seriously, we had good candidates in this riding this time, and was I copping out and all that... plus, a vote = funding nowadays, etc etc etc). I suddenly second-guessed myself and had a moment of panic. Anyways, I got a grip :-) , I cast my vote, I won't say how, and went on my way. On the walk home, I was thinking so deeply about it all, that I actually turned down the wrong street (not mine). Wierd! (Though if you know me, you're not really surprised by that ).
Anyways, thought I'd share that ... imagine how cluttered my messy head was before I had the luxury of inflicting my swirling thoughts upon you, here in this blog...
Thoughts:
-Why is the Marijuana Party candidate always the most well-spoken at the all-candidates meetings???? :-)
- There were a lot of under 30's voting when I was at my polling station. There's been so much talk about the "youth" vote, that I noticed this. I'd say 1/3 or more of the people there at that time were 30 or under. Maybe because of my riding (city centre), maybe the time I voted, or maybe more people voted this time?
- Maybe it's time for proportional representation. You shouldn't have to vote against someone. I know the whole argument about minority govt and prop'l rep'n, but there are countries who seem to make it work (though I can't say I know much about this..) and it is just so frustrating to cast your ballot based on feeling trapped, rather than on good ideas. And it seems like it would be good to have more ideas and voices in the parliament rather than less. When I vote, first I listen to all the ideas and read platforms, and decide who I like. THEN I check the polls in my riding and nationally, think strategically about my vote, and sometimes this makes me change who I vote for. And I'm not saying this because I support one party or another. I have now voted for all 4 national parties in my voting life, and am not married to any of them.
Anyways, that's my thoughts for now - I guarantee they'll change seven more times in the next month, but that's me todayrightnow.
xoxo
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