A/

/ Canada votes against

Canadian FlagI just received an interesting e-mail forward today originally written by a guy named Alan Robberstad from Edmonton, Alberta. Now, I’m not a full blown Liberal, nor am I a full blown Conservative. My views fall somewhere in between. But I found the information he compiled about the Liberals quite interesting. I wonder if it’s all true. Anyhow, reading the e-mail made me think of this tradition we have here in Canada of voting against candidates rather than for those we like. It’s as though we just get fed up with current government and to get even, we vote for the other guy. Not really because we like’em, but because we want to teach the incumbent a lesson and boot him out.

Feel free to rant and rave about the contents below, who knows, maybe something productive may come of it (just try and keep it clean huh). Just remember, I didn’t write the following, and it doesn’t necessarily reflect my views.

And now for your reading pleasure, the e-mail:

SOMETHING WORTH THINKING ABOUT

Hello. My name is Alan Robberstad I am a Canadian. One voter out of millions of Canadian voters. Paul Martin is no friend of mine. Liberal governments have not made my life any better. Liberal governments have made the future worse for my children. Jean Chretien and the Liberal Party became Prime Minister many years ago. Guess who was the Liberal Finance Minister…..Paul Martin…LEST WE FORGET Since 1993:

  1. My taxes have increased.
  2. My family’s share of the national debt has increased.
  3. My personal expenses have increased.
  4. My waiting time to see a doctor has increased.
  5. My concerns for my family’s safety have increased.
  6. My costs to educate my children have increased.
  7. Government interference in my life has increased.
  8. My personal debt has increased.
  9. My income has stayed more or less the same.
  10. My savings have decreased.
  11. The buying power of my dollar, in Canada, has decreased.
  12. The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has decreased.
  13. My trust of elected officials has decreased.
  14. My trust in the justice system has decreased.
  15. My trust in the immigration system has decreased.
  16. My hope that a Liberal won’t waste my tax dollars has decreased.
  17. My dreams for a better future for my kids, in Canada, have disappeared.

That is my story since the Liberals came to power. I am not voting for Paul Martin’s Liberals. I am voting against Paul Martin and his Liberal Party in January. I am voting for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. Do I like the Conservatives? Not particularly……I don’t really like Politics. I am not political by nature. I am not passionate about politics. I am a middle age guy (48). I live in a small house on a fairly quiet street in Edmonton. I have a wife, Kathy, and two children (ages 19 and 17). I have no pets. I am a middle class man. I don’t usually say too much. Until now. Now I am going to say something! In 35 of the past 37 years, Canada has been ruled by:

  1. Pierre Trudeau – a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
  2. Brian Mulroney – a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
  3. Jean Chretien – a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
  4. And now we are going to vote for Paul Martin???? – a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec???

The leader of the Conservative party, Stephen Harper, is:

  1. Not a lawyer.
  2. Not a multi-millionaire.
  3. Not from Quebec.

Stephen Harper says that the Conservative party will:

  1. Reduce my taxes.
  2. Pay off the national debt as fast as they can.
  3. Shrink the size and influence of the federal government.

That’s good enough for me. I’m going to give the Conservative party a chance with my vote. But wait! Paul Martinis now saying the same thing. My mother told me forty years ago: “Fool me once – shame on you. Fool me twice – shame on me!” The Liberals have had 34 years to be financially responsible. Remember, Jean Chretien was Trudeau’s Finance Minister. Remember also, Paul Martin was Jean Chretien’s Finance Minister These people have been raising my taxes for thirty four years. They have been mis-spending my tax dollars for 34 years. 34 years! And now Paul Martin says he’ll stop taxing and spending. No way. Thank you for reading my story so far! Why am I telling my story to you? Although I feel alone, I know that I am not alone. Your story may be similar to mine. And you may also feel alone. One small voter in the midst of millions of voters. What can you and I do together to change things? Here is my idea: Lets you and I join up together. Just you and I. Together. As a small team of two. How can you and I fight a huge political machine? You and I have two things that we can use:

  1. Our individual personal connections.
  2. The Internet. The Internet is supposed to be this globalizing tool, right? Let’s put it to use.

I have 27 Canadians in my personal e-mail address book. I am sending this e-mail to each of them. I’m asking you to do two things:

  1. Forward this e-mail to every Canadian in your own address book.
  2. Vote against Paul Martin and the Liberal Party in January of next year.

Vote for the Conservative candidate in your riding. I have probably written this e-mail too late. As I said I am not politically adroit. I feel like Peter Finch, in the 1976 movie “Network”, when he shouted: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Please, forward the e-mail RIGHT NOW!! I hope the Internet is as fast as some people claim it is. This may not work. This e-mail may “fizzle out” and go nowhere. But you and I will have tried, won’t we have? My best wishes to you. My best wishes to Canadians everywhere. My thanks to David Stokes from Toronto He actually wrote this just (5) days before the last federal election. Fool me once – shame on you. Fool me twice – shame on me!” Alan Robberstad Edmonton, Alberta.

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© 2006 Ara Pehlivanian All Rights Reserved