Time To Get Politcal

Ok, with Election 2011 out of the way, it is time for me to get political. I know my crafty blog is probably not the BEST venue for it, but what the hell - it is the venue I have. For my crafty readers who are completely uninterested in my rant, I will post a cute free gnome embroidery pattern for you tomorrow to make up for these past few posts :)
Yesterday the Canadian government went from being a Conservative minority to a Conservative majority. That just plain sucks. For my American friends, our Conservative party is kinda like your Republican party.
We are not a 2-party nation. Unfortunately, there are only 3 nationwide dominant parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Liberal Party (LIB) and the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). The former 2 are more left wing, and the CPC is naturally right wing. When you have 2 main left wing parties, the vote winds up getting split, this time the NDP taking more votes than usual, and the country winds up with an administration that the MAJORITY of people did NOT vote for (CPC won with 39.2% of the vote).
Now today I had a friend on Facebook (I will refer to him as an ex, since there are few ways to describe someone who I spent a decade of my life with in varying degrees of togetherness) post the following (with my response underneath)

Now I must add that I have absolutely NO negative feelings towards this person. We are friends and always have been. But this attitude just pisses me off. Sure, you have the right to not vote. However, exercising this right does not make any sense. If you feel that there are no parties that represent adequately, then choose the one who represents your most important political values. Spend time writing to your elected officials. Campaign for causes that you believe in. Bring your values to the table. Don't just throw away your vote in a tantrum. Politics is a messy, ugly thing. No party or leader will be able to please everyone all of the time.

So, to my Canadian friends, if you voted CPC, I concede my congratulations to you and your elected official. If you voted LIB, NDP, or any of the other parties, I share in your disappointment (unless you voted for the Marxist/Leninist party that was on my local ballot - you are just messed up). And if you exercised your right to not vote, then I hold you accountable and I do not want to hear you complain even ONCE because you opted to not get involved.

To my American friends facing a federal election next year, please - get involved. Know your parties and their platforms. Campaign for issues that you care about. Blog them. Share on Facebook. Tweet. Be a royal pain in the ass. Just get out and vote.