what a nightmare
I just got an email from someone. We're not best friends or anything, but we worked at the same volunteer gig for a couple of weeks every year for the past five or so. She's great - interesting, smart, involved in the arts. I look forward to catching up with her every year.
Anyway, I think the email she sent is appalling. I'm going to cut and paste it in its entirety at the end of this paragraph so you can read it for yourselves. It's not just the fact that I disagree with the political content of the message (although I most certainly do), it's that I can't believe someone whose intelligence I respect sent what is essentially a piece of pure rhetoric, and cites it as the thing that 'pushed her off the fence' in regard to her vote. (SaHi, maybe you and your media literacy ways have changed me forever.) I disagree with anyone who choses to vote Conservative in the upcoming election - but if that decision is an educated one, based on a comparison of party platforms etc, I can certainly respect it. I don't want to tell people which party they should vote for - I want to reach into peoples' brains and make them THINK for THEMSELVES.
READ CAREFULLY - THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!Check out the date and time at the end of this e-mail. You decide!
SOMETHING WORTH THINKING ABOUTHello.My name is Alan Robberstad I am a Canadian. One voter out ofmillions of Canadian voters.Paul Martin is no friend of mine. Liberal governments have notmade my life any better. Liberal governments have made the future worse for my children.Jean Chretien and the Liberal Party became Prime Minister manyyears ago. Guess who was the Liberal Finance Minister.....PaulMartin...LEST WEFORGET Since 1993:(1) My taxes have increased.(2) My family's share of the national debt has increased.(3) My personal expenses have increased.(4) My waiting time to see a doctor has increased.(5) My concerns for my family's safety have increased.(6) My costs to educate my children have increased.(7) Government interference in my life has increased.(8) My personal debt has increased.(9) My income has stayed more or less the same.(10) My savings have decreased.(11) The buying power of my dollar, in Canada, has decreased.(12) The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has decreased.(13) My trust of elected officials has decreased.(14) My trust in the justice system has decreased.(15 )My trust in the immigration system has decreased.(16) My hope that a Liberal won't waste my tax dollars has decreased.(17 )My dreams for a better future for my kids, in Canada, have disappeared.That is my story since the Liberals came to power.I am not voting for Paul Martin's Liberals. I am voting against Paul Martin and his Liberal Party on June 28, 2004.I am voting for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party.Do I like the Conservatives? Not particularly......I don't really like Politics. I am not political by nature. I am not passionate about politics. I am a middle age guy (48). I live in a small house on a fairly quiet street in Edmonton. I have a wife, Kathy, and two children (ages 19 and 17). I have no pets. I am a middle class man. I don't usually say too much.Until now.Now I am going to say something!In 35 of the past 37 years, Canada has been ruled by:(1) Pierre Trudeau - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.(2) Brian Mulroney - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.(3) Jean Chretien - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.(4) And now we are going to vote for Paul Martin???? -a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec???The leader of the Conservative party, Stephen Harper, is:(1) Not a lawyer.(2) Not a multi-millionaire.(3) Not from Quebec.Stephen Harper says that the Conservative party will:(1) Reduce my taxes.(2) Pay off the national debt as fast as they can.(3) Shrink the size and influence of the federal government.That's good enough for me. I'm going to give the Conservative party a chance with my vote.But wait! Paul Martinis now saying the same thing. My mother told me forty years ago: "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!"The Liberals have had 34 years to be financially responsible. Remember, Jean Chretien was Trudeau's Finance Minister. Remember also, Paul Martin was Jean Chretien's Finance Minister These people have been raising my taxes for thirty four years. They have been mis-spending my tax dollars for 34 years.......34 years!And now Paul Martin says he'll stop taxing and spending. No way.Thank you for reading my story so far!Why am I telling my story to you?Although I feel alone, I know that I am not alone. Your story may be similar to mine. And you may also feel alone. One small voter in the midst of millions of voters.What can you and I do together to change things?Here is my idea: Lets you and I join up together. Just you and I. Together. As a small team of two.How can you and I fight a huge political machine?You and I have two things that we can use:(1) Our individual personal connections.(2) The Internet.The Internet is supposed to be this global zing tool, right? Let's put it to use.I have 27 Canadians in my personal e-mail address book. I am sending this e-mail to each of them.I'm asking you to do two things:(1) Forward this e-mail to every Canadian in your own address book.(2) Vote against Paul Martin and the Liberal Party on June 28.Vote for the Conservative candidate in your riding.I have probably written this e-mail too late. As I said I am not politically adroit. I feel like Peter Finch, in the 1976 movie "Network", when he shouted: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Please, forward the e-mail RIGHT NOW!!As I type these last few words the voting begins in less than 18 days.432 hours till voting begins. I hope the Internet is as fast as some people claim it is.This may not work. This e-mail may "fizzle out" and go nowhere. But you and I will have tried, won't we have?My best wishes to you. My best wishes to Canadians everywhere.My thanks to David Stokes from Toronto He actually wrote this just (5) days before the last federal election in 2000.Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!"Alan Robberstad Edmonton, Alberta June 10, 2004@ 3:00 p.m
posted by ers @ 9:36 PM
4 Comments:
Dude. That was... subtle. Oh well, you can only hope that it will appall as many people as it "informs".
kisses,
may
That's the same letter that got circulated in the 2004 campaign. Can't you even come up with new propaganda. Unfortunately, he's STILL quite wrong:
(1) My taxes have increased - LIE: cuts started in the late 1990s and have continued PLUS the personal non-taxable amount has increased, so EVERYONE is paying LESS taxes than in 1993.
(2) My family's share of the national debt has increased - LIE: how could this be so when, for the first time ever and in the only country in the world, THE DEBT IS BEING PAID DOWN!
(3) My personal expenses have increased - MISLEADING: so is everyone else's - it's called INFLATION and Canada’s has been generally the same as elsewhere.
(4) My waiting time to see a doctor has increased - MISLEADING: possibly true but it's the same across the country and not just a federal issue. Are you blaming Klein as well?
(5) My concerns for my family's safety have increased - MISLEADING: crime and violent crime is down across the country especially in Ontario despite the gun toll this summer in Toronto. As for those murders, over 90% of the victims were fellow gangsters. If he is more concerned, it is not based on facts.
(6) My costs to educate my children have increased.- MISLEADING: As it has everywhere. Martin’s got a plan to help you from the earliest ages until post-graduation. The Conservatives would like more private universities and many of them, like Jim Flaherty for example, would like to take money away from the public system to help fund private schools for the rich. Ahem... that’s not going to help.
(7) Government interference in my life has increased.MISLEADING: How so? And do you think Harper’s socially conservative agenda will bring more or less interference?
(8) My personal debt has increased.MISLEADING: this is a problem across the industrialized world and even worse in the US. How is this a Liberal problem?
(9) My income has stayed more or less the same.LIE: according to financial stats, not true.
(10) My savings have decreased. MISLEADING: this is a problem across the industrialized world and even worse in the US. How is this a Liberal problem? In fact, as a conservative, I would have thought your point of view would have been that you take responsibility for yourself. See your own point #7.
(11) The buying power of my dollar, in Canada, has decreased.MISLEADING: simply not factually true. It's called INFLATION. And despite this, many/most consumer goods take up less of your dollar than they did 10/15 years ago. For example, and this would surprise a whiner like you, gas prices have risen less than the inflation rate over that period despite the recent uptick.
(12) The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has decreased.LIE: C’mon. The dollar is up, higher than it has been in over a decade. This one just stinks the worst of partisanship.
(13) My trust of elected officials has decreased.MISLEADING: Same can be said in every single democratic country. So why is this a federal Liberal-based problem? Especially, when it was this government that called both the RCMP investigation and the Gomery inquiry into, what turned out to clearly be, the acts of a few who are now in the process of being punished?
(14) My trust in the justice system has decreased.With crime down? And your reason for this is?
(15 )My trust in the immigration system has decreased.Don’t like immigrants, is that what you are saying?
(16) My hope that a Liberal won't waste my tax dollars has decreased.Interesting comment though when you consider just how much more Harper plans to spend.
(17 )My dreams for a better future for my kids, in Canada, have disappeared.You live a typically dismal and pessimically conservative life.
That is my story since the Liberals came to power. - More like a fairtale story, actually.
For some news about how Canada and it’s economy is really doing since the Liberals took power, check this out.
TB
Cerberus
Wow. Cerberus pal, you win for longest comment on my blog ever. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint, though!
And just in case you didn't get it - I was posting it more as a commentary on gullibility and in response to an alarming trend I've noticed of people believing everything they read. I didn't so much intend to open up a political debate. I am glad you shared your opinion and I am glad you are so passionate about it, but I hope my readers will read the original email, read your posted comments...and then go research for themselves and create an educated opinion of their very own.
Ers, that e-mail pushed ME over the fence. That's it - I'm running for office! How much time do I got?
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