Well, it began last year...
Last year I was following our Canadian election process to some degree, like I always do...
I don't pay it a lot of attention. I couldn't tell you all the steps of the process, or name the different groups involved at the different levels of government to get the election done. I have taught a simplified version for years as a teacher. But I break it down into kid terms, like "parties are like teams". And "we get to vote"....
And two reasons I don't follow it too closely:
1. Whoever gets in is going to be respectful of our Canadian tone, even if not all the choices we all want come into effect.
2. And because it happens quickly, once the candidates for each party are in place. You hear the speeches, discuss the issues with friends, then you go in and vote. And, taking into consideration our several time zones across our big country, we know right away, in several hours, who our leader is.
Next day, it's back to business for the voters, and down to business.for the party now in power. And for the Opposition party, the party with the most votes who didn't win, to get going on their vigilance to keep the party in power now on their best behaviour.
And in the last election, in October of last year, the Liberal Party took centre stage, with our lad Justin Trudeau front and centre as Prime Minister of Canada.
Go Justin!
But this year for the first time, I started paying attention to the US presidential election...
There's Hillary, on the left, and Bernie, even lefter for the Democrats.
And the Republicans? I found it odd that Donald Trump had thrown his hat into the ring.
We have, of course, been aware of Donald as man of means, off and on, who garners a fair bit of media attention for a variety of reasons, including a reality TV series. I watched almost all of a season of The Apprentice several years ago. And I was aware of Donald's several wives and his daughter Ivana. They have shown up in fashion magazines, with snippets of gossip now and then over the years.
As a lifetime student of human nature, and with a streak of caution that alerts me to the sound of potential unsavoury or unsafe actions, I sat up and took notice as the Republican party's potential candidates for the President of the United States somehow included Donald as a possibility.
What? I thought.
And I discovered CNN... Not that I hadn't noticed it before. Who hasn't tuned in to Anderson Cooper now and then? Or checked out Anthony Bourdain's cooking focussed travel show? Or watched Wolf when there is a tragedy unfolding, in the US, or somewhere in the world. Or stopped to watch the coverage for Barack, during his years at the White House.
But I have started to tune in more often. I feel a little more affected. Like hearing there is a comet approaching earth and we don't know where it is going to land, if it's even going to hit.
Still a long way off, and the comet named Donald could be deflected by another candidate. What are their names? Jeb and...?
But I am stocking my 72 hour shelf. And making sure I have my gas tank full, in case this comet gets close.
Why isn't there more alarm in the voices of the people talking about this?
I am cautious about a charming sounding hurtling mass, with a flaming top, already in our earth's atmosphere.
Maybe it's a friendly comet?
Hmmm. I've been around for a while. I am staying on alert, and keeping my eye on things.
Meanwhile, in Canada we are welcoming Syrian refugees...a promise for global compassion from our own Prime Minister.
Please be patient with any process or vocabulary mistakes I make as I talk about this topic.
I am a newbie to the US election process. And it is something else!
The actual vote for president isn't until November...
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