Author: Dennis A. Gray

None of the Above – There is an Option

/ Dennis A. Gray / 1 Comment

I am a little surprised this time around at the number of people I hear asking for a ‘None of the Above’ option in this year’s provincial election. What worries me about this is most of the people I hear talking this way tell me they are going to ‘spoil’ their ballots as a way of protesting the deplorable choices we’ve been given. Let me say this about spoiling your ballot…

DON’T DO IT!!!!!  There’s a better way.

Here’s the deal. ‘Spoiled’ in election parlance is a term that refers to a ballot that has been improperly filled out. The category was created as a response to  people who, quite frankly, are incapable of following simple instructions. They use a mark other than an ‘x’, check off two names instead of one, that sort of thing. These ballots are simply discarded by the returns counting pencil-pushers. They are not counted, they are not reported, they are not taken notice of – they are simply destroyed.

This is why I say, “Don’t spoil your ballot! It accomplishes nothing!”

There is an option however, you can formally DECLINE your ballot. Here’s how it works…

Go to the polls with your ID in hand. Register with the returning officer and watch as they stroke off your name. Take the ballot that they hand to you. Then.. instead of going behind the cardboard screen,  hand your ballot back to the official and say something like, “I want to formally decline my ballot.” They will ask if you are sure and after you affirm that it is what you want to do, they will then set your ballot aside and record the fact that it was declined!

The number of declined ballots is seldom report by the media, but they are counted, tallied, and become part of the official election records. The government and the political parties are made aware of the number of declined ballots. In the absence of a formal ‘None of the Above” option actually printed on the ballot this is a far better way to send a message than spoiling your ballot. At least this way it will be counted instead of just being ignored.

Now… I’m not saying that this is what you should do in Thursday’s election. Who you do or do not vote for is entirely up to you. Frankly, I’m still thinking it over. But, if you are going to try to send a message about how frustrated you are, at least do it in a way that will be noticed and become part of the official record.

Don’t spoil your ballot…  Decline it!

And don’t do nothing… get out and vote!!

Shalom…

Do It Like Disney? Lessons the Church Could Learn.

/ Dennis A. Gray / 1 Comment

I’ve never been to Disneyland or Disney World but as a kid the Wonderful World of Disney was a Sunday staple in our household. We would all sit in from of the TV eating roast beef sandwiches (leftovers from lunch) and enjoy the program week after week.

So when I read this post at Soul Caffeine I was washed over by a small wave of nostalgia, but I also found myself in agreement with his basic premise. What do you think?

What Church’s Could Learn From Disney

Shalom.. Dennis

http://soulcaffeine.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/what-churches-could-learn-from-disney/

An Open Letter from Adam & Eve

/ Dennis A. Gray / Leave a comment

The other night I watched Albert Mohler defend Adam and Eve on the Stephen Colbert’s the Colbert Report. I consider satire on of the most noble forms of humour and Colbert is brilliant at it. Too bad Mohler wasn’t as brilliant in his defense of Adam and Eve. But then maybe I should let them explain the issue, with the help of Zachary Bailes  over at  Associated Baptist Press.

http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6714/9/

I think it’s worth the read and even some discussion.

Dennis

Jack Layton Passes Due to Cancer. Now What?

/ Dennis A. Gray / Leave a comment

It’s odd what associations you find yourself making sometimes. When I heard on the radio that NDP leader Jack Layton had passed away during early hours this morning, the first thing I thought about, after the initial shock, was Jesus’ apostles the morning after Good Friday.

I know, on the surface that seems more than a little strange, even sacrilegious, but stay with me and I’ll explain.

On that dismal day the disciples were, in all likelihood, shell-shocked. You couldn’t have stunned them more if you bombed Jerusalem.  Despite Jesus’ warnings, his death was the last thing they expected. I’m sure that they were waiting for Jesus to perform another miracle even as he hung there on the cross. When the miracle didn’t happen they were devastated.  Huddled in their room they sat in disbelief wondering what the future would bring – or if there was a future at all. The question rang through each of their minds, “What now?”

Right now, thousands of NDP party members and supporters are feeling just as devastated and are asking them selves that very same question.

Most commentators and pundits across Canada will agree – the NDP accomplishments in the last election had nothing to do with policy, or a massive philosophical shift to the extreme left in Quebec – it was all about Jack Layton. Frustrated with the ineffectiveness of Gilles Duceppe, irritated by the elitist prattling of Michael Ignatieff, a large portion of the country, especially in Quebec, looked at Jack Layton and saw something they rarely saw in Canadian politics – authenticity.

That authenticity drew people to Jack Layton in droves and subsequently to the NDP. And I think most people within the party recognize that fact.  That is why I’m sure many of them are feeling just as lost as the Twelve did that day so long ago. True, Jack is no messiah figure, not in the true sense of the word. But he was definitely the embodiment of the NDP dream. Jack gave them a renewed sense of determination and self-worth. He gave them a new vision for the future, a future that actually seemed possible. He gave them hope!

Now that hope has suffered a potentially fatal blow. The embodiment of the dream is gone and, unlike Jesus, Jack Layton isn’t coming back any time soon. He’s not the messiah, the foundation of a new religion, or even the second coming of Tommy Douglas.  And if you think I am discrediting the gospel by comparing the two, you’ve missed my point. This isn’t about comparing Jack to Jesus, it’s about the followers of a movement. It’s about the disciples.

And the followers of Jack Layton have one more thing in common with the disciples of Jesus; whether the dream stays alive or not is up to them. The future of the NDP is in their hands now and I sincerely pray that they are up to the challenge.

As a libertarian I seldom agreed with Jack’s politics but I often admired the man. Jack Layton was an authentic politician. More importantly he was an authentic and likeable human being. Ottawa will be a better place if his example is followed by more than just the members of the NDP.