Dear DoC blog reader,
By now you probably know, it’s over. We won. Most likely a week today, Stephen Harper’s government will come to an end and the majority of Canadians will get the government they voted for.
This will happen because of you.
It will happen because of every artist, arts worker and concerned citizen who flyered commuters, travelled to swing ridings, made YouTube videos, staged plays, played in concerts, made art, emailed their friends, signed petitions, joined Facebook groups, talked to their relatives at Thanksgiving, and in general decided to get off their asses and do something about a government that stood in direct opposition to the things we believe in. This movement played a key part in preventing a Stephen Harper majority, which is the reason I am able to write this post today.
It is also worth noting that we promoted a coalition government long before it seemed fashionable or “realistic”.
It has been an honour to work with all of you. The vast majority of us did not even know each other before August of this year. It has been overwhelming to meet so many committed citizens willing to drop their regular lives, take responsibility for the place where they live, and have the courage to use both their hearts and imaginations as the foundation to stand up to bullies in service of their own small-minded self interest.
Thanks you for all your hard work. Clearly, it was worth it. You’re the best.
Sincerely,
Michael Wheeler
Founding Member
Department of Cultutre
One Comment
Just finished re-reading this on December 4th (The day of the perogie).
Well, we did do it.
Unfortunately, I did not count on the Prime Minister suspending democracy until the result suited him better.
I also thought he would keep his word when he announced to the nation he would allow a confidence vote on December 8th. It’s funny in retrospect that neither of these things occurred to me at the time.
Here I was imbuing Stephen Harper with honesty and integrity and basing decisions on false assumptions.
When will I learn?