The provincial election here in BC has started. I voted this morning here at work (that's another issue... I work in a building being used as a polling place. it's a zoo!). Got my "I Voted"
Obviously, I didn't vote for Gordon SCampbell and his crew of assholes. I didn't love voting for the NDP, because there's something about Carole James that makes me want to slap her - I call it the politician vibe. But I did. I sucked it up and voted for her team.
So I was bitching about our choices to my husband, and he said, "Well, what do you want?" Honestly, I want a real Christian. Not a "Christian" OMGNOABORTIONS! or GAY MARRIAGE IS DESTROYING OUR MORAL FIBRE! shriek harpy, but someone who is actually thoughtful, compassionate and reasonable. (Yes, I know, they wouldn't need to be Christian to be these things). What is a good leader anyway? A shepherd? Not really. At least not in the classic sense of the shepherd leading the stupid sheep to the slaughter. Frankly, if you're looking for a shepherd for a leader you deserve to get fleeced. And that goes for a religious leader too.
Remember when Sarah Palin was mocking Barack Obama for being a community organizer (which seemed to me me to be a dog whistle)? I kept thinking, but that's what I want! I want a community organizer. Someone who sees the problems in his or her community, and organizes the people who also see those problems in a way that helps them fix the problems. Like Jesus, I suppose. Though I am not one of those Obamaites who treats him like the second coming of Christ (and OMG but that sounds WRONG - but alas, I have a dirty, filthy mind). But Jesus, he was a community organizer. He got his buddies together, got them to get a few people together, and collectively, they told the establishment to fuck off. Now, look where that got him, right? But really, look what it did for his cause! Not that a person should have to martyr himself for his cause, especially in this day and age, but his leadership style, his honesty and refusal to compromise his integrity, that is what I want. At least, that's what I want people to be inspired by. I'm not stupid enough to think anyone can be God. :)
Unfortunately, our system seems to weed these people out rather quickly. Dion seemed promising to me. I mean, he wasn't perfect, GOD NO, but he was promising. He had a vision and he stuck with it. And he got eaten alive for it. And unlike Jesus, his cause didn't get a boost from it. We're too cynical for that these days, it seems.
I think that's partially why I voted yes for STV. Single Transferable Vote would allow a more representative government, and, more importantly, it would allow more than one candidate of a particular party to run in a given riding. That way, if I see that Butthead is running for the party I'm voting for, I can avoid voting for him and vote for Beavis instead. Without having to vote for a party that won't represent my views at all. I like that. Also, Beavis won't get spewed out by the nomination process if he's got some unorthodox ideas because the party just wants to win that one seat. Or am I being naive again? :)
Anyway, I've got a document to format. And work can only wait so long.
