This is not the end

I admit that I am dismayed by the results of our election.  I am saddened by the fact that regardless of the contempt Stephen Harper has for our democracy, his lies and obfuscations, that Canadian voters gave him a majority in the House of Commons.   And from the updates on my twitter feed, and the postings on Facebook, I see that I am not alone.

Those of us who did not want to see another four years of the “Harper Government” are dismayed, and were disappointed by our fellow Canadians.  We “lost”.

But this is not the end of Canada as we know it.  We’re stronger than that.  We survived the Mulroney years, we can survive the Harper years.  Harper won’t be the end of Canada, he can’t be.  He’s not strong enough.

And what’s more: for those of us who aren’t happy with this result, we will be watching him more closely than ever before.  We’ll be watching for his lies, and we’ll expose them.  We’ll correct him on his ignorance of parliamentary procedure.  And when he again displays his contempt for the Canadian people, we’ll give him a reason to respect us.

Yes, he has a majority in Parliament, which means that if he tries to go a little crazy (like he did before this election), the opposition cannot force an election.  But we can make our voices heard, and he will hear us.

This is not the end.  Its the beginning.