Hey girls,
what’s up?
a rainy day here in,
Montreal,
I guess a little bit of rain,
never hurts,
makes things,
grow,
washes away,
your troubles,
your worries,
your woes,
well,
metaphorically,
anyway.
Don’t mind me,
I’m in one of my moods,
nothing serious,
I’m looking forward to,
the playoffs,
tax refund,
maybe a vacation,
to somewhere I’ve never been:-)
Well, I can dream…
Brought the laptop,
to the bookstore,
but,
it seems,
the battery is weak,
I know how it feels:-)
OK,
I plugged in the laptop,
got myself,
some coffee,
we’re good to go.
So,
I’ve been thinking,
about,
the fact that,
the date of,
the leaders’ debate,
the French one,
has been changed,
so as to not compete,
with the start of,
the hockey playoffs,
the Habs take on the Bruins, in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Federal election in order to pick the next Prime Minister of Canada, just to be clear, on what I’m talking about:-)
OK, now you girls know,
how important hockey,
especially my Habs,
are to me,
in Québec we say “Le CH tatoué sur le coeur,” which means we love our team so much we have the insignia tattooed on our hearts. We don’t mess around, this is serious, shit, I mean hockey, come on!!
and I’ll tell you,
if I had to pick,
between,
hockey and the debate,
I would pick the hockey,
and I think most,
of my compatriots,
would as well,
and yet,
we’re not talking,
final or seventh game,
and this election,
is important.
So, why the apathy?
Well, we could say,
voter disinterest is common,
in most of the world’s democracies,
that would be true,
we could also,
blame the hockey genome thing:-)
or,
that the younger generation,
isn’t as engaged,
in national, federal politics,
more interested,
in a global vision of the world,
we could also say,
that most Quebecers,
don’t feel,
their voices are heard in Ottawa.
I think all these things,
are true,
and yet,
when my mother,
a seventy year old,
who has always voted,
and is a federalist in good standing,
says she won’t watch either,
of the debates,
she usually watches both, we are a bilingual and political junkie family.
I’m worried.
because, honestly,
if mom doesn’t feel engaged,
who does?
Have we become jaded?
Do we all have the attention span of gnats?
Do we not care?
I don t think so,
I think it is,
a feeling of powerlessness,
of our vote and voice,
not,
making a difference.
We need to take our power back,
not just vote,
with resignation,
we must attempt,
at least,
to be,
engaged,
informed,
interested
So, I for one,
am going to watch,
the debate,
if you wonder,
what that noise is,
tonight around 8 o’clock,
its me,
howling at,
Stephen Harper,
and all,
but, I think mom,
should skip it,
she has a bit of a temper:-)
Oh and Ill be watching the hockey,
on Thursday,
Go Habs Go.
Later girls,
BB
There is much that I could say about the parallels between your politics and American politics. I won’t though, because even writing it would drive me crazy. Like your mother, I have never missed the opportunity to vote.
In 1976 when Jimmy Carter won I was elated–I was too young to vote yet, but I certainly understood that Carter had to be better than Ford. On the morning after the election, I hopped on my bike and rode a mile to get the newspaper. Then 4 years later when Ronald Reagan won, I remember feeling really frightened–the sky was definitely falling…In fact, neither had any real impact on my daily existence.
That is where I am now….I vote. I am aware. And yet I understand/am convinced that I can’t allow the icky cesspool of politics to infect me. Unless, Tea Baggers decide that they are going to squat on my property–which they wouldn’t ’cause in The Great State of Texas, none know better than they that I would be within my rights to shoot them…if I had a gun…–then regardless of what happens, I and all my family, friends, etc. will be Ok.
Thus, as you watch your beloved Habs, I will watch the NBA playoffs or whatever…b/c I’m just not convinced that making ourselves crazy over the terrible state of our democracies will do any good…
So, GO HABS!
Indeed:-)