I certainly remember building model rockets. It was fun to watch the rocket blast into the air, suspenseful to wonder if the parachute would open to bring the rocket safely back. - Eric Allin Cornell
Canada will be going to the polls on May 2nd and a few things of note are going on in the lead-up to the election. The first is vote mobs. Canadian youth are trying to encourage their peers to participate in the electoral process using a public protest style. This is news because Canadian youth are capable of being interested in the politics of virtually any country except Canada. The second point of interest is the surge in popularity of the New Democrat Party. Recent polls have the NDP placing 2nd in this election.
 |
| NDP Leader Jack Layton |
The NDP placing 2nd may not seem particularly noteworthy on its own, especially given that those same polls see Canada heading towards another Conservative minority government. However, if the NDP get enough seats, they may end up leading the country anyway. The Liberals have been hesitant to form a coalition government because it apparently loses them some credibility, something the NDP has never really worried about (see photo). It seems more likely that a coalition would actually happen with the NDP in charge, since they've never been expected to form a majority government. The Liberals can tag along as nearly 50% partners while the NDP take the heat for teaming up with the "separatist" Bloc Quebecois, and that's only if they need their seats to out-number Conservative leader Steven Harper.
The election can still go any number of directions, especially if enough young people actually vote. Young people are where pollsters may be made fools: they are less likely to be polled. The election could go in any direction if people did the thing that they were least expected to do and just voted.
It may be unexpected to hear such tradition advice from a Discordian blog. The expected thing for a Discordian to do might be to spoil their ballot, possibly by drawing a cannabis leaf or a cartoon version of male genitalia. However, that's the sort of thing that Discordians have always done, and it's getting a bit predictable. Maybe the young rebels should change it up a bit and draw that image of protest neatly inside the check box next to the candidate you'd most like to see win.
There is serenity in Chaos. Seek ye the Eye of the Hurricane - Principia Discordia
As a Discordian, I see a lot of my beliefs being manifested in world events today. Not just simply because there is so much Chaos, but in the way people are responding to it. I'm seeing the inner Discordians of people from all walks of life manifest.
If you are a fellow Discordian, then you probably see it already. If you are not a Discordian, you may be curious about what I am referring to.
Today I want to discuss what's going on in Libya. The people of Libya are rising up to depose Muammar Gaddafi, who has been in charge for 42 years. On its surface, there's nothing more Discordian than wanting to shake things up, particularly if they have been stagnant for 42 years. What I find particularly interesting about this is the international reaction: People are largely supportive of the protests, as well as concerned that a new government will just be more of the same.
The concerns that the typical Discordian would have about this type of uprising is in regards to the ideology that will take over. In the cycle of Chaos and Order, after a series of protests now verging on all-out war, there will likely be a strong desire for stability in the region, and that's where the inner Discordians should be very concerned: Instead of putting someone in power who wants all the things they were protesting for, they could easily pick someone simply to put things back to normal. That could easily mean they would forget the freedom they were fighting for and choose someone based on their ability to establish the status quo, likely through wealth or international contacts. It seems unlikely that the Libyan people took to the streets to get themselves a self-serving puppet dictator, so hopefully they can keep their eyes on the prize when the dust starts to settle.
