A response to TommyElf’s latest podcast…
I wasn’t sure how to respond to this, or if I should even make an attempt to respond, since it seems I’ve had lukewarm results with interactions with some of the podcasters I had responded to in the past, but it seems that since I do not have time to fire up the podcasting programs this week the best plan of action is to bite the bullet and respond. After all, its a podcast, not a friendly conversation, just a response is to be tossed out there, an opinion, not a request for reaction or indvidualized response. I’ve known this for a while, and I have no false ideas that responding to others out there will forge even the most tenuous of connections.
Still… i can’t get over the feeling of being a bit, well… ignored in the past, told over and over that a response was coming, and then nothing. But I’m a big girl (see? I wear the big girl panties, absolutely NO my little ponies or care bears!!) and if someone doesn’t see value in what I have to say then too bad for them. So, I’ve been ignored in the past, so what? That doesn’t invalidate what I have to say… it just shuts the door for a more wide ranging interaction with one other person… and I realize that there are a lot of other people out there if I just open up a bit more and try.
And part of trying has to do with not fearing rejection (even when you can see it coming like a train bearing down on you)… and, after all, I do have something to say about this topic, so here goes nothing.
I happen to be one of your more northerly listeners, situatated up in the frozen nowhere of Saskatchewan, Canada. I have lived in Canada all my life, I have never even been out of Canada at this point, and yet I am aware of how American politics affect my life.
Yes, despite the fact that I do not live in the United States of America, the politics in the US have an almost daily effect on my life as a Canadian. Our economy is intimately tied to yours, as yours fails and creeps into recession or depression, ours will likely follow, when your political leaders declare war on another country and send your young men and women off to war on foreign soil, our government is asked to respond in kind and back up our largest and closest ally, and our soldiers and peacekeeping forces are sent out to war as well. If policies are implemented to encourage business, discourage certain practices, or to pursuade the governing body to adopt policies for environmental issues, we know that we will be affected. Goverment subsidies for farmers on one side of the border will affect farmers and the economy on the other side when they go to sell their products; spending on research, development, or health care will affect both of us. Whether we want to admit it or not our countries are tied to one another…
And with this in mind I have made it my business to try to stay as informed as possible on the upcoming elections that are bearing down on us — the Federal Governmental election in Canada in mid-October, and the Presidential Election in the US in November. As many people out there, I have not decided who to vote for in my own upcoming election, as I have to base that decision not on a party line, but what they are actually saying that will directly affect ME.
When looking at who I will vote for, who I would vote for (if I had the ability), in these elections, I find that I have to determine, first what is important to me. Of course, this will be different than what is important to you, my neighbor, my parents, or countless other people out there. That is what really makes any political party hard for me to adopt — while one party might have a program that would benefit myself or my children, they might have other policies or plans or agendas that I do NOT agree with or support. And so I find it very difficult, if not impossible, to completely “tow the party line” for any party, and find myself voting for different parties or cheering for different leaders at different points in my life… and I’m sure that this is unlikely to stop as I grow in the world, as my children grow in the world, and as the world changes …
You mentioned the things that you cared about in your last podcast (Sept 14), and in such a way I have a list, different but no less valid, of things that I look for:
1. Equal rights legislation – how is this person going to deal with the changing landscape of the Canadian population? Are they going to uphold the idea that everyone has the right to their own personal religious beliefs without undue interference? Are they going to afford rights and protections to people who follow different religious paths, differing ability levels, or different ideals for what is “family”? How can we balance human rights, equality, and individuality and yet maintain a sense of what is not to be tolerated in our society (honour killings, paedophilia)…
2. Education — as a parent with small children who are just starting off in the education system, I am very interested in the government’s spending policies on our educational systems. In this day and age education is important for our children to get ahead, and unfortunately, whether we like it or not, that is paid through our infrastructure plans (ie, taxation). Will we see wholesale cutting of funding to programs such as art, music or physical education? Will more money be put into upkeep of schools and training of teachers?
3. Health care – how are they planning to deal with health care funding? Are they considering tiered health care, pay-for-use health care, HMOs, or are they hoping to find a way to keep and strengthen our existing universal health care system? If they plan on stepping back from the universal model, how do they plan on making sure those who are most vulnerable (children, elderly, disabled) do not fall through the cracks.
4. How do they feel about the abortion issue? I find that this gives a clue not only to the person’s view on this issue, but their entire ideology. More than any other issue I find that abortion has been entangled in the idea of “greater good” and “morality”. Does this person feel that abortion should remain legal and covered by health care? Do they believe it should only be covered under certain circumstances? Do they believe that there is no valid reason for anyone to have access to this proceedure? Do they feel that medical professionals should have the right to refuse to give access, provide accurate information, or referrals to people looking at this as an option in their OWN situation? Do they feel that this is a personal issue, a social issue, a moral issue, a societal issue…. a religious issue?
Looking at the options right now, I’m not sure where I fall politically. I am happy in my country, I have the freedom to practice my religion (as long as I am not breaking laws) and that is protected. Currently I am able to feel safe knowing that, even though my ex-father-in-law (a self-proclaimed “holy roller” fundamentalist minster) disagrees with my beliefs and religion, he cannot use my religion as a reason to have my children removed from my care, nor can my ex-husband claim my lack of “good Christian faith” as a reason that I am an unfit parent. I can be comforted in the knowledge that the school my children attend is safe, the teachers are certified, and that they are providing arts, music, and physical education as well as assistance with educational issues. I know that I am kept informed, and that the school provides information to parents and asks for assistance from the community when there is something that they need. I know that anything that they do not provide I can help my children with in my own way. I feel secure in knowing that in an emergency I will not have to be concerned if I have enough money to cover taking my children to a doctor or emergency room, or if a medication that I might need to keep myself or my children alive will force me to declare bankruptcy.
But these things do not come “free”. I am keenly aware where the funding for these programs comes from, and as such I am willing to balance the amount of taxation I endure to make sure that these freedoms and programs remain active in my country. Like everyone else out there I feel the pinch from taxes, like everyone out there I live within a budget, and like everything I purchase at a store, choosing my governmental representation is a comparision of values. If I am willing to pay a bit more for organic produce, a more fuel efficient vehicle, or ecologically friendly products, why would I not be willing to spend a bit more time to make sure that the government would be as repsonsible as I would be when they spend my tax money?
When I do go to the polls it isn’t someone’s race, religion, church of choice, ethnicity, gender or sexuality that I vote for. I vote for people who most fairly represent me, as they are to stand as a representative for my interests in the Legislature or Parliment. A person who does not LOOK like me, a person of a different religious background, a different economic strata, a different ethnic background, the opposite gender, or a different sexual orientation can still hold values and beliefs that I share. And I accept that no one will be just like me, that there will be a mixture of values and beliefs and choices that have to be made… all I can do is to research the candidates and issues, pick the one that best represents me, and hope for the best in the race.
When looking at the American election I have no idea what to think, or how I would vote, given the chance. The problem is that there are so many issues that have been clouded and befuddled by the press, so much negativity on either side that I see very little in either man that I would adopt as representive of my values. While I can respect that there are issues at the heart of the matter that I, as a Canadian, am isolated from, the fact that the choice of president will most definately affect my life and the policies of my nation make me wish for a change of political agenda in your country. I’m not sure about Obama, I’ve heard and read things from his side that would make me agree with him, and I have read and heard things that would make me pause in wholehearted endorsement. McCain and Palin feel like so much of the same right-wing religious right politics that, mirroring back the emerging fundamentalism of other religions and other regions, give me pause about how likely they are to bring anything different than the Bush administration.
I’d hope that religion didn’t play such a place in the race but it seems to do just that… I know the tired line of America as a “Christian” country “united under God”, but what about all the people that these people are supposed to represent that are NOT Christian? What about separation of church and state? What about those who are Christian, but don’t belong to the right flavour of Christianity, the wrong Church or group? How do you balance representation for a God that has such diverse follower base, in a country that isn’t “unified” under one religio-political ideology? Since we believe that democracy, not theocracy, is the WAY and don’t like religio-political ideologies (especially the fundamentalist ones that we tend to go to war with) how are we to be seen as anything better than what THEY are if we fall to the same “fault” of fundamentalist religious ideology steering government? How can we point to a Muslim country and claim they are wrong, if our side falls to the Christian right and allows groups like “focus on the family” and the Third Wave Movement to determine what to think and who gets rights and what we do with our own bodies, much less in our own homes?
I just hope that people take the time to clearly see their choices in the upcoming races — whether you’re looking at Stephane Dion/Steven Harper/Jack Layton’s views on what is important to you, or you’re making the choice between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden and who is closest to what you want for your country… or you decide that none of them will do a good job and don’t vote at all — that at the very least the choice is made based on the way the candidates answer the questions about what is most important to each of us. And I hope that no matter the outcome that we all work together, no matter our political ideologies, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or religion to make not only our lives better, but that we continue to stand up for the issues that matter most to US and not let our voices be quieted when things are not right…
Tags: american, canadian, Podcast, politics, responses, TommyElf
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