I was raised on a farm, youngest of 11 with hardworking parents who not only farmed but Dad worked away from home year round in the Oil patch to support our large family. As a result they were very practical parents who taught you that you need to use common sense to succeed and have empathy and understanding to others who need it.
As I’ve gotten older I’ve fostered my own individual belief and value system, one that respects the diversity of the world we live in and believes that building an inclusive culture will be the best for my children’s future.
It scares me when I run into blatant displays of a lack of empathy, common sense and understanding however. I had a couple of personal run ins last year where people did not stand up for what is wrong and put myself out there to correct it. One involving a customer screaming at a visible minority in a Tim Horton’s and spewing racially charged statements that were totally inappropriate. The other a woman behind The Home Depot was screaming for help off a balcony and I just happened to be out back of the store and heard her and went to offer help. There were at least 7 other people in the parking lot including a truck load of men moving someone into the building. Only a couple of us actually got involved and she had just been attacked in her apartment. I remember being disgusted by the lack of response from the others in the lot.
The latest one is a story that my Mom shared with me that happened to a family friend. She was driving along a divided highway outside of Edmonton and saw a toddler standing, unattended on the side of the busy road. NO ONE WAS STOPPING. She turned her vehicle around to find a lost approx 2 yr old boy who didn’t know his name or home…how he managed to not get hit on that highway is staggering. They finally found his home a ways down the highway…he had gotten out of the house and walked down the highway. His parents were inconsolable. WHY DID NO ONE ELSE STOP???? A child. In Alberta. Land of the Rich and Free.
So now I sit at home reviewing the candidates for election and trying to carefully decide how to cast my vote that will shape the future of our great province. Health care, budgets, Oilsands revenue, Education…there are a lot of issues that are very important to the success of our province. I’ve spent time today reviewing the candidates for Grande Prairie-Wapiti-Smoky and their respective leaders. Not a lot of the individual platforms surprised me, I’m specifically focused on the needs of our community; a new hospital and funding for our over stressed education system.
So I moved on to looking at the leaders…I’m shocked. 2 candidates in the Wildrose Party have made comments that are in a direct violation of Human Rights making racially charged statements. One in Calgary said that people (and I’m paraphrasing) would be more apt to follow a white leader; that Punjabi’s will follow a Punjabi leader but all people will follow a white leader…while another made some comment that all gay and homosexuals will burn in hell. Their leader, Danielle Smith’s response? These are not professional, polished politicians and sometimes they don’t say the right thing but I fully support them. So she lost my vote. I believe in holding people accountable for their actions and they should have been fired. I would not want anyone in power who would support such a detrimental viewpoint on Human Rights in our province. Plus by her own word, her party is made up of average joe, not polished politicians. Ummm, so we are being asked to hand over one of the most economically charged, potentially successful provinces in Canada to people with no experience? That sounds like a mistake to me.
I do not support a private health care system, or giving surplus revenues to the people of AB. What good does $300 do? The collective amount that would be given out would garner far more benefit to Albertans if it were allocated to a social program that we all use. Ie. health care, education. I support lower energy costs and think that the provincial government needs to step up and make some changes to that. The price of gas, electricity and natural gas in a province so rich in those natural resources is frustrating. We sacrifice so much in our province to develop those resources to sell to other province/countries. Our prices should reflect our ownership and provincial contributions.
I’m fairly certain now how I will cast my vote on Monday. I certainly didn’t blog today to sway anyone’s vote…I had two goals:
1. Assess the candidates against YOUR personal values and beliefs. Are they going to support the issues that are most important to you? Are they going to lead our great province to even greater success, security and strength?
2. To encourage you to VOTE.
This is an important election. We are on the precipice of change…let’s make sure that as many of us as can possible vote so that this vote is reflective of what ALBERTANS want. We need to increase the level of Empathy, Understanding and Common Sense in this world we live in. This election can definitely impact that.
