Day 2 - 292 -- Changing Tides

Change is the word of the day. Leading up to the end of the longest campaign in modern history, the media billed this election as history making. They must have had a crystal ball because many historical aspects surfaced yesterday.  Never in Canadian history have there been so many social minorities running as candidates -- people of colour, aboriginal decent, different sexual orientations, and women. From the results, it is clear that people were voting for change. A party that went in to the election holding 34 seats in parliament (total seats = 338) came out winning 184 seats -- the largest gain in Canadian history. At the end of the day, this majority government will mean the first time in history that Canada will have a sitting Prime Minister who is the son of a former Prime Minister. Changes.

The Chinese character for change is made of two characters -- one for opportunity and one for danger. That sums up change quite well -- it needs to be approached with caution while being prepared for all eventualities. The desire for change has been seen in elections in many countries. It seems to be a cycle, where voters choose something new every few years when they tire of the status quo. Voter turnout was higher than recent elections -- and like I've said to many people, I don't care how you vote, but I do care that you vote. Celebrating this ability to choose regardless of the outcome is a joy of democracy.

There were so many themes running through my head today, that coming to a song that could fit was difficult. I did find one that metaphorically seems to fit the theme of change.  Enjoy!

Correction (20 Oct 2019): the Chinese character story is not actually correct, though it continues to be communicated by many people -- including me in this blog. The first reported use of this story occurred in a speech by President J.F. Kennedy)

Brand New Day -- Van Morrison