Random flotsam

I'm grateful for my friends
--the 'real' ones I see periodically, drink coffee with, shoot the bull, or even talk turkey. (Nice animal metaphors, no?).
--the 'virtual' ones that I read stuff from. Blogs, facebook, etc. Even though there are those that I probably won't ever get to sit and guzzle caffeine with, I am learning to appreciate their heart, their theology, their angst. I am finding myself more and more interested in those who aren't willing to take everything for granted, aren't accepting everything handed to them neatly pigeonholed and indisputable.

I'm grateful I am Canadian. I will never understand the US system of voting--to me it seems even worse than the Canadian system in so far as actually placing people in government that accurately represent the proportionate feeling of the population. To say nothing about the terrible weaknesses in a two-party system. So you have to elect someone who is the lesser of two evils? Of course, in Canada we have the unenviable possibility of having minority governments, and that doesn't seem much better.

I can really see the value of the Golden Rule. In my own words--"Live your life so that if everyone lived like you do, the world would be a better place." I continually notice people who appear to have no regard for others--no politeness, common courtesy, or even awareness of things around them. OK, I'll stop before this turns into a rant.

Final note in honour (note the non-US spelling!) of the US election tomorrow: God help America! Much as I am totally happy to live north of the border (the US-Canadian border, for those of you not aware of such things); I realize that the whole world ultimately is affected by the guy in the White House. The choice made tomorrow will affect the direction the world moves in the years ahead. Again I say, God help America!