Respect the Democratic Process - Let Us CHOOSE!

For those who have been following the news: Canada may have a new government very, very soon. Unlike last time, it is not a result of a called election, but rather a scheme plotted by the Liberals and the NDP to topple the current Conservative government. Their plan is, with the support of the Bloc, to ask Governor General Michaelle Jean to ask current Liberal leader Stephane Dion and NDP leader Jack Layton to form a coalition government once they have overthrown the Stephen Harper-led Conservative minority government through a non-confidence vote. The Bloc Quebecois will promise to not overthrow this government for at least a year, giving the coalition government two chances to release a budget.

Let me get this straight: Canadians have just voted for a Conservatives-led minority government, with Stephen Harper as its leader and thus, our prime minister. Now, because of backroom deals that entails who-knows-what, Stephane Dion, who was abandoned by his own party, could potentially become our prime minister, then followed by someone else who Canadians have not even considered as our prime minister when the Liberals have their leadership convention in May? When did Canadians give their right to choose a government to the hands of the Liberal delegates attending the leadership convention?

I am not necessarily for or against a coalition government of any sort – if the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc, want to run in an election as a coalition and wins, that’s fine. Let Canada have its first coalition government since the 1920s. But LET US CHOOSE! Heck, if the Marxist-Leninist Party and the Communist Party decide to run as a coalition, and actually win the federal election, so be it. But this coalition is something that has just been cooked up by the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc. I didn't see in my ballot a couple months ago any candidates that says "Liberal-NDP-Bloc Coalition." I chose to vote either the Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDP, or the Green Party. The decision to topple a government right now and replace it without an election is a total disrespect to democracy, and thus is despicable at best (I can use harsher words, but I don't want to resort to profanity here). While one can say the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc collectively have more popular support in the country than the Conservatives, is it certain that all these supporters of the parties support the idea of such a coalition? I know for a fact that many Liberals hate the Bloc and feel that they represent a force that tries to destroy confederation... would they vote for the Liberals should they know that they are going to sleep with the enemy?

The reason why so many people from around the world decide to make Canada their home is because of its democracy, not because of corrupted backroom deals that run rampant in the infra-structure of the government – many Canadians have known that far too well.

Please, do something - write to the media, write to your MP, call talk shows. Let them know that this is despicable, and cannot be tolerated. Don't let Canada turn back its clock to become a corrupted nation where politicians run backroom deals and bypass the eyes of the voters.

Shinerama and Carleton University

Absolutely Ridiculous!

The undergraduate student society in Carleton University has recently voted to terminate a school-wide fundraiser called Shinerama, an event where participants shine shoes, cars, etc., for other people to raise funds for the inherited and fatal disease cystic fibrosis. Leaders of the student government said that the cancellation is due to their belief that cystic fibrosis is a disease that “only affects white men” and is not “inclusive” enough as a cause that the student body should be supporting.
Before writing further, I must first state that this is very personal to me. I have two friends who are cystic fibrosis (CF) victims, and know another girl who has CF. I have not met these friends for a long time, but one of them was in palliative care years ago, so I assume she is no longer with us. She was a dear friend when I was in university, and as a showing of support for her and my other friend with CF, I was a Shinerama participant, even an executive one year to help raise funds for this cause.
Factually, these students are just flat out WRONG. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that is caused by a problem with chromosome-7. Since that chromosome is not a sex-chromosome, its occurrence among males and females are roughly the same. In my little world, all three people whom I know that were CF victims were female. And while the defective CF gene is found more commonly in the Caucasian population, it can be found in other ethnic groups as well – the third person I know who has CF is an East Indian, and I have read about this disease in Hong Kong as well.

But CUSA’s problem goes beyond the ignorance. It is this very foolish thinking of political correctness that is causing them this gaffe. Even if CF is a disease that only strikes white men, does it make the cause any less worthy? We often hear pleas from dying people asking people to have their blood tested for a possible bone marrow donation – is that plea too exclusive (after all, it is for ONE person) that no one should support it?

The great poet John Donne said it very well back in the seventeenth century in his poem “For Who the Bell Tolls” - No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

An advice for CUSA: if you want to be truly inclusive, first, let’s try not to exclude even one person.

For more info, please check out the following links:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2008/11/27/210808.aspx

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2008/11/26/210757.aspx

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081126.WBSteele20081126130438/WBStory/WBSteele

Nothing Personal

I had the privilege to go watch the Vancouver Canucks play the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight (thanks for the pair of tickets my dad won in a draw from his company). Because of increasing ticket price, I haven’t gone to watch the Canucks much anymore, so the experience was much cherished.

The game itself was all right – too bad Luongo could not shut out the Leafs. But the most memorable thing came after the game when I was driving home:

At a red light, I saw fans standing on either side of the road. On one side is a group of Leafs fans still waving the Toronto banner, still dancing despite their team’s not-so-great performance. As these fans were chanting, several fans in Canucks uniform standing on the other side were giving them the thumbs-down. The two group of fans were jarring at each other, it was quite a sight.

I was expecting a fight when the lights turned for the pedestrians to go. The two groups met in the middle of the road, and, to my surprise, they were high-fiving each other, a couple even gave each other hugs as they crossed. Here we are, complete strangers, probably never to be seen again… unknowing observers like me may think that these were actually buddies that were just teasing one another half a minute ago…

Being Chinese, I think I can say this about many people of my race: we need to learn to not take things so personally. How many times have we seen, in politics in particular, where after a bitter campaign, people actually became enemies for LIFE? If we can only learn to separate and compartmentize our feelings… an event may be debated so heatedly that angry words are fired, but after the event, the person facing you is still someone who you can have a cup of coffee with… That is CLASS.

Canadian General Election & US Presidential Election

This is not a blog that talks about politics specifically, but I am a person who is interested in politics, so the news about the elections in the U.S. and Canada intrigue me a great deal.

In Canada, many felt furious that the Conservatives spent so much money to hold an election, but could not get over the hump by winning a majority government. I look at the situation a little differently – yes, the government has spent millions calling for an early election, but ultimately, the people chose how they wanted their government to be: they still wanted the Conservatives to rule the country, but not with a majority. That is the voice of the people, and, like it or not, it is something that all the party leaders need to live with.

Of all the party leaders, I really think Jack Layton of the NDP has screwed up the most in his strategy. When Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe teased certain political leaders that they were dreaming of becoming a prime minister when they had no chance, I believe Layton was the guy he was poking fun at. Mr. Layton, the NDP will never be the ruling party in Canada, and you will never be elected the prime minister! When you chose to attack only the Conservatives, you have ruined your chance (however little) of becoming the official opposition! The votes you could knock off from the Conservatives would never go to you, and you have to know that. Your chance was to attack Stephane Dion and his inability to stand firm on issues that the Liberals disagreed with the Conservatives, but you did not. For a strong debater like you, you have wasted the best opportunity you had to do something never done before…

In the US, I cannot but marvel at how gracious the speeches Senator McCain and Obama made when the results were out. When McCain took the loss completely on his own shoulders, and praised everyone who worked on his campaign, he showed class and dignity like the war veteran that I know he is. When president-elect Obama said to the people who did not vote for him that he is their president as well, and then he would listen especially carefully to those who disagree with him, that is democracy at work. People can hate on the US for all they want, and people can attack either the Republicans or the Democrats for the rest of time, but election after election, I see political leaders who accept victory and defeat graciously… that’s something that many politicians else where have yet to learn, and may never learn, to do.

9.11

The world, as we knew it, changed forever seven years ago on September 11. Time has changed; people and things have changed, but there are still lots that I remember, that I still remember…

I remember: I was eating breakfast when the news broke: an aircraft had flown into the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center. My first impression was: what a catastrophe! Did the pilot make a mistake? Did the control center screw up? How could a human error as big as this occur? I remember: The second plane soon hit the South Tower. By then, the whole world knew it was not an accident. Still, very, very few knew what was going on.

I remember: Just as I turned on the TV, the South Tower collapsed in front of my eyes. My eyes and mouth were opened wide. I did not know what to say, what to think, nor how to feel.

I remember: On my way to school, the news of the collapse of the North Tower also broke. Also, the Pentagon was attacked. I was not thinking of wars, terrorist attack, anti-American, etc., I was thinking of how many innocent lives have already been lost…

I remember: When I got to school, a colleague told me a fourth plane had crashed. I later learned that the flight was United Airlines Flight 93. The passengers on the plane, upon learning of the terrorists’ attack, struggled and crashed into an open field with the terrorists instead of allowing them to hit the White House. I remember the phrase spoken by one of its passengers, devout Christian Todd Beamer, who said, “Let’s roll!” as he and several heroes sacrificed their lives to take down the terrorists on United 93.

I remember: We received a notice and a standardized statement to read to the students. I remember how heavy my heart was, and how haunting the silence was when reading that statement to those normally loud 13/14-year-olds.

I remember: I was glued to the TV the next few weeks. Watching the hopeless faces at Ground Zero searching for their loved ones, I wept daily with the sons and daughters, husbands and wives that were left behind…

I remember: The local Chinese newspapers reporting that some Chinese people, when watching the news coverage of this horrific attack, stood up and clasped! I remember how infuriated I was at my very own people…

I remember: a bunch of names and places that were previously unheard of in the news: Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Kabul…

I remember: the stories of those who died. Are they resting in peace today? Have the wounds of their loved ones been healed since?

I remember: a lot of people suddenly came out to remind us that life is short, to remind us to cherish those around us while we can… I also remember how quickly we became forgetful again…

I remember: 9-11 has happened seven years ago, but to this day, our world continues to be one filled with hatred…