An uncertain future in an uncertain world

This past Tuesday, Canadians had their 3rd federal election in roughly 4 years and by the time the last ballots were counted in the wee hours of the following morning, we voted in another Conservative Minority government. Unfortunately, voter turnout was a pathetic 59% and we'll never know what might have happened if all eligible voters had gone to the polls. I'm not only disappointed that so many of my fellow Canadians did not turn up to vote, but I'm also disappointed in the way we voted.

I'm disappointed that Canadians seem to be putting their wallets ahead of the environment and their children's and grandchildren's futures. I still think Stephane Dion and the Liberals had a good sound plan for dealing with climate change in their Greenshift plan, except the only problem was it called for a new Carbon Tax and most Canadians, without understanding the entire plan, condemned it because it had a new tax. If most of them had bothered looking up the plan and reading it, they would've realized that it would've been offset by income tax cuts. Global warming is real and most people are too ignorant to realize that its impact is very immediate - large hunks of polar ice in the Arctic Ocean and Anarctica are melting and breaking off ice shelves as you read. It saddens me that people can't put aside religious, economic, social and political differences to tackle this environmental crisis. I think those of us who are knowledgable on the topic of Global Warming must continue to educate those who do not understand the issue and perhaps then more Canadians, and hopefully citizens of other countries, will ask themselves "What is the point of having a steamrolling economy when we have destroyed our only home?". Most argue that the Greenshift and sudden "fixes" for the environment will damage or destroy the economy. However, as I stated above, what good is the economy if we have no home? Do people not realize that this is not only an opportunity to help correct our environmental wrongs of the past BUT also an opportunity to progress humanity towards a green economy of the future?

Canada has the brilliant minds and the technological know-how to become global leaders in the green economy of the future. If we "shift" now, it may hurt our economy in the immediate future, but in the long run, we'll be ready to provide and sell the technology we develop and our expertise to other nations who are making their shifts. I just wished more people could be a little more selfless and have a little more foresight, then maybe we wouldn't be in the pickle that we're in now.

Anyhow, that's my sleep-deprived rant of the day before I go to bed.

One last thing... uncertainty in our futures... sometimes I feel I'm cursed or something. It seems like everyone I care about goes away... more on that later though.

Listening:

Nightwish - Dark Passion Play
Senses Fail - Life is not a Waiting Room
Thrice - Vheissu

Reading:

My Years as Prime Minister - Jean Chretien (re-reading)
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Why Do Men Have Nipples? - Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, M.D.

No matters what happens now...

The other day at work, I was talking to a co-worker about Radiohead and I mentioned that I really liked "Videotape", but ironically I haven't listened to it since I picked up In Rainbows nearly a year ago. So tonight, I decided to give it the album a spin and "Videotape" seems to be the perfect conclusion to an album, and I taught myself the song on piano. The lyrics are quite depressing... will we ever find the perfect day so we won't be afraid anymore? I guess, I should rephrase that as "will I ever find the perfect day so I won't have to be afraid...?"



When I'm at the pearly gates
This'll be on my videotape
My videotape

When Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me

This is one for the good days
And I have it all here
In red blue green
Red blue green

You are my centre when I spin away
Out of control on videotape
On videotape

This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I can't do it face to face
Or talking to you after it's too late, from my videotape

No matter what happens now
I won't be afraid
Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen.