This is a "Repost" of something I put on Facebook a while back

My fellow Canadians, I have something difficult to say and I feel I must share regardless of consequences. Something has been troubling me. I don't like my country anymore. It's an ugly thing to admit. Initially it seems vexingly unpatriotic. It feels shameful and disrespectful. Ironically it's disrespect that has compelled me. It's not the beautiful landscapes, nor is it the wonderful people who claim this land that have ruined it for me. I'm proud of those things. I'm proud of who we are as a people. I'm equally proud of our history and culture. It's the politics. This country is sliding off the rails. Political discourse has lost any sense of dignity. There is a remarkable arrogance that is fixing to suffocating us all. To my estimation, things are out of whack. So very out of whack. I was raised a liberal. I voted liberal. When they became gross and corrupt, I walked away in disgust. Much like most Canadians, I believed they needed to be punished for their sins. They had become so odious and entitled. A decade later, and I'm still not happy with them. It really riles me up when I think about it. So then the Conservatives came to power. The sun rose the next day as it always had. The centre had sent it's message. Mr. Harper had gotten his shot. A minority government. So the Tories puttered along at first, and while I wasn't wild about them, they did seem to bring a balance back to the political scrum. That was at first. Things have changed. A lot has changed. Slowly, like a mistreated animal, the Canadian public began to trust this new government. We were pleased that the Conservatives promised us transparency. It seemed so novel after the Liberals had fucked things up. But something really weird happened. The promised transparency never materialized. The Prime Minister and his Conservatives shrouded themselves in secrecy. No press conferences, just statements. Initially I suspected it was fear of losing a mandate that created paralysis. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was callous raw manipulation. This served to Immediately betray the trust Canadians had placed in them. Ministers were reigned in. Dissension was met with swift, almost Machiavellian punishment. We let it slide. They were after all different that the Liberals. The honeymoon wasn't over. They condemned science. They worked overtime at condemning Science. Empirical data was disregarded as mythos. Facts, that are generally thought of as indisputable were spun as inconclusive fantasy. Conservatives waged an unholy political war on any scientist who didn't jive with their agenda. They strangled funding. Spin became the most useful tool in the Tory war chest. They became in effect, the neck tattooed, chest beating alpha dude bros that we secretly knew they were. We just let all that vacant charm and red whining go to our heads. Conservatives tainted our federal institutions, and insisted on gagging anyone who disagreed with their agenda. They somehow managed to lose nearly three billion dollars, claiming it got spent on programs, but were unable to account for which ones. It's much like a carny trying to make change for a twenty. The Harperites even managed to manipulate the media by creating advertisements for government programs that either did not exist, or had not had any actually funding attached to them. There's nothing quite as arrogant as tarting up an invisible pig, and then publicly demanding the blue ribbon prize. They lied, swindled and cheated their way into a majority. Every dirty trick they could possibly use was employed with gusto.Using ugly American style smear campaigns. They even stooped to using robo calls to misinform the electorate, and were even found guilty of it. Let slip the dogs of war. Perhaps a premonition of things to come. The senate scandal hit. It exploded like a nuke. But somehow Harper managed to coat himself in teflon, and dodge the shrapnel. Wallin, Brazeau, Duffy and the PMO payoff reeked of underhanded tomfoolery and total political douchbaggery. The honeymoon was over, yet the Tories managed to stayed on point. Keep in mind, these are the same shitty, selfish, and sneaky types of schemes that they were so quick to admonish the Liberals for. Things that were again a complete betrayal of public trust. This is what happens when you don't vet your candidates. This is what happens when entitlement discovers the trough of the public purse. Let's not forget the gross mishandling of the fighter jet procurement. A matter that has cost us millions and has literally provided us with nothing in return. At least lie and say you got some magic beans. Imagine if that money had gone to our veterans instead. Imagine if we had kept our promise to the people that fought for our national interest. But it's really no surprise, because Mr. Harper has proven that he doesn't give a shit about former soldiers and heroes. The near total dismantlement of Veterans affairs has proven this without any further debate required. The economy is looking pretty rickety too. It sure feels like a rickshaw on a rope ladder. Under the Tory regime our dominion has became little more than a petro-dollar fire sale. A one trick pony, now fully exhausted, and given the state of the global environment, likely headed to the glue factory. The Conservative Party has made this country hawkish, and turned ploughshares into swords. I fear Canada has been terraformed into a tiny Republican fiefdom. This is a path that will be remarkably difficult to retreat from. One need only looking to the south to see the kind of damage can be done by unfettered conservatism. Eight years of the Bush administration seems like the perfect magic mirror. I would never dare to presume to tell you who to vote for. That's for your own conscience. But I do ask you to think about a few questions. 1) Is this the country you grew up in? 2) Do you think our international reputation looks an awful lot like a shit hauled rental car? 3) Do you think this government has your best interests at heart? 4) Are you happier now than you were? 5) Are you any better off? I love you all. I love my country. I just can't seem to like it very much these days. Maybe it's that I just don't recognize it. I hope it becomes more familiar to me in the future.