Yesterday was Federal Election Day here in Canada. It was probably one of our most talked about Federal elections to date, in part because Canadian citizens were very undecided on which candidate to vote for. Sadly voter turnout numbers did not reflect the amount of chatter leading up to Election Day.
For the record, I voted. It is a right I do not take lightly, regardless of how lame I may feel our choices are. It is still a choice I get to make. Yay for democracy!🎉
But I must say, I am glad it’s over. I was getting very tired of reading all of the hate mongering/mud slinging/non factual posts on social media and the like. Seriously people, check your facts before you toss your bullshit around for all to read.
Admittedly I am not a political kind of gal. While I certainly try to educate myself on the parties’ platforms, I refrain from inflicting my rants on social media. It’s just a personal choice.
So the results are in. Love it or hate it, we are stuck with a minority government.
There were many this morning who were not surprised at the outcome of our election and there were those who were pissed. Royally pissed. Still ranting on social media.
For the love of Pete, can we all just grow up & work together, regardless of which political party we align ourselves with? I personally don’t think there is one elected official who signs up for that job without the best interest of this country at heart.
The challenge, once in office, seems to be getting government colleagues to get out of the way of their own egos & work collectively towards common goals to ensure our country in its entirety is the best it can be.
So here’s an idea. How about we make an extra effort to encourage our government officials to work together for the common good of the citizens of Canada and play nice out on the playground? After all, isn’t peace keeping part of what we stand for as a nation?🇨🇦
With that said, while I welcome all comments & thoughts, I will not entertain bullshit here so if you feel the need to spew a bunch of crap, keep it to your social media profile please. I have most likely already blocked you from my feed anyway. Just sayin’!
Hugs,
L❤️
Life After 50 
Thanks for this post, Lynn. I agree about the turnout. I had hoped for an increased turnout to get the message across that we all care and we want our politicians to work together. But I was happy with the outcome. And we have the first eastern Green MP in our riding. She’s terrific. And I’m hopeful that a minority govt will force them to work collaboratively. Dare I hope?!
I too, am hopeful that a message has been sent to our leaders, that we want them to work together and get on with the business at hand. Good to hear you have such confidence in your riding! Fingers crossed for good things! Thanks so much for visiting Jane and for taking the time to share your thoughts😉🇨🇦
You’re lucky your election is over. I’m dreading all the mudslinging that’ll happen here in the U.S. in the coming year.
Oh Ingrid, I don’t envy that journey. Such a tumultuous government you have inherited, let’s hope for a good outcome!
I so agree… Just look at the whole Brexit drama. This is no longer about the choice of the people, but about politicians trying to play political games for personal gain.. If we were to have an election tomorrow, I don’t think many of the current MPs would be re-elected… It is a shameful shambles. So much for democracy…
Lieve
Lieve, Brexit is a mess, that’s for sure! I can only hope that democracy prevails. Thanks for the visit!
Well said! Seems politicians anywhere have a hard time working together.
They do indeed Jude!
Unfortunately for the populace, Lynn, this has always been the nature of politics. The Presidential election of 1800 here in the states was so contentious, a duel and a death were the eventual results. Nothing is going to change until term limits are enacted for all offices. Career politicians will always put themselves above the constituency. Another thing that is desparately needed is for politicians to be strictly subject to the same laws they pass.
If anarchy wasn’t the natural result, I’d say get rid of them all and let local governments rule. Those people have to face their electorate every single day. We feel your pain here, Lynn. Thanks for a very thoughtful post.
Oh my Al, thank goodness the dueling days are a thing of the past although there are times when I am not so sure!
I agree with everything you have said here. It is interesting, I had a good friend who crept into the political world a wee bit with much success in moving up the chain. His wife was opposed to him doing so as her comment was, “although you go in as a good guy & for all of the right reasons, I suspect you will not come out the other side with your integrity in tact” Thus, he got out of politics & has gone on to grow a very successful business, giving back to his community in way he most likely would never have been able to do as a politician.
Thank you so much for taking the time to add your thoughts to this piece. Always love to hear from you!
Bang on! Spot on! Keep preaching to us! Love the message!
Thanks so much Five Star!
This: can we all just grow up & work together
I keep coming back to that exact sentiment in my own thinking on politics. I’m the middle when it comes to many things, and as such I’m tired of feeling the pull of extremism from both sides. Get over yourselves, kids, and work for the common good, not just your own preferred good.
Ally, I too, often find myself in the middle. Hmmm…what does that say about us? I would like to think I am open to hearing all sides but the garbage tossed around on social media drives me crazy!
Thanks for popping in!
My take on being the middle of things is that it means I’m strong and balanced and trustworthy, holding things together. I spin it positive
Political parties do nothing but divide people and cause hurt feelings. I have been so much happier since I stopped believing that any politician was working for the good if anyone other than themselves.
Lloyd, I can certainly understand your frustration. I think it is shared by so many! I have known a few people who have gotten into politics in the hopes of doing good. Sadly, once they are there, it seems practically impossible to stay on track!
Thanks so much for leaving a comment Lloyd! Hope you are well!
I agree with you that people can really go over the deep end when it comes to politics. In a democracy, people should feel they have a fair say. I hate when there is so much negativity. We teach children in kindergarten how to treat one another…with some civility. What picture do children get when they see adults behaving so badly? I often want to say to people here in the states, “grow up”. I feel like you should be an American or a Canadian, or whatever, first. It should come before your political party where you feel you have to downgrade fellow citizens because you have a difference of opinion.
Linda you are so right, as adults, we often don’t practice what we preach to our children. Politics seem to bring out such anger in some people, and an inability to see the other side of something.
I don’t envy our American neighbours in the upcoming election year. Yikes, I think it is going to get very nasty!
Every single line in this post was a good one. Your message was bang-on and reflects my feelings perfectly.
I had to walk away from FB this year because it had become a sewer of false information and hate-mongering. The sad part is that these are people I once considered friends and lovingly embraced as family. Now I wonder ‘who are you?!!”
The mainstream media doesn’t help either. Now we are in the post-election talking heads endless ‘analysis’ of the results. Sigh.
Joanne, I feel your pain. I rarely block a newsfeed but ended up doing so because I couldn’t stand seeing the crap posted, most of which is just bunk!
I have never understood how such intelligent people can be so ridiculously ignorant when it comes to posting stuff that has no merit or truth or fact to it!
You are also right about the mainstream media. My husband is a news guy, tuning in every morning. I listen for about 2 minutes & usually end up just leaving the room as they just repeat the same thing over & over.
We’ll see how things progress with our new government. Sadly I suspect, it is going to be a bumpy road!
It sounds like our husbands are cut from the same cloth. I often comment to Gilles that I don’t actually have to watch or read the news because I hear about it from him whether I want to not 😏
If only they used the time and energy they spend on social media to spread a little love. It’s hard to have respect for politicians these days.
It really is Jo!
🤗💕
Oh man and can you just imagine how the next election will go in the U.S.!! What a shame about the turnout ~ I had read that in Canada voting is so much easier in the U.S. as one can even do it online. This one would think, would increase the numbers of people voting, as there is so much less effort involved compared with driving somewhere, and potentially waiting in line etc.
I totally agree with you on the privilege of voting. I grew up in South Africa where this was not a given, and the majority had to fight years for a one man one vote.
Excellent post. Yes, politics will be politics. However, we all need to have a level of civility and respect for differences even when they differ from our own. Things are quite heated these days!!
Peta
Peta, I can’t imagine the chaos that will ensue around the election in the U.S. over the next year! Canadian elections pale in comparison 😂.
There are positives & negatives to a minority government, the biggest challenge seems to be getting anything done! We’ll see!
So lovely to hear from you. Love to you Ben💕
No spewing here Lynn. I love your idea of people just getting along and working together. Surely no matter how different we are or where we live we should be able to look out for the good of all.
It sounds like a simple plan, doesn’t it Sue? Sadly it seems to be too complicated, particularly among our government officials 🤪.
The adorable sent me over here, I hope you had a lovely lunch together 🙂
We did! So wonderful to be able to connect in person💕. Thanks for the visit!
I missed out Jo’s name did you guess?
I am glad our election process is short and sweet, 90 days and mostly the last 8 weeks. I wish politicians ran the country more businesslike and less for votes. If they considered us all shareholders and provided us better customer service, and planned for future needs more in advance I would pleased. Still I would not like the job, and am glad I am basically invisible as I live my fairly quiet life.
I live in the United States, but I still agree with every word of this post! Working together is the only thing that will move a country forward…but we seem stuck in “attack” mode in this country. And I’m already dreading the next election. I swear, each time we have an election I think it couldn’t possibly get worse, but yet it does! We really do all need to grow up and act like adults.
Sometimes it feels like we are taking giant leaps back in time. So much intolerance & smearing of character, it frightens me some days. Thank you for reading Anne, I shall keep my fingers crossed for a strong & respected leader to replace the mess that the current leader has created.