Another Message While We Wait

For those in the U.S., here's a request. Please please please. If your candidate loses, please don't say, "I'm moving to Canada."

I know you're just joking, but seriously. It's not a good joke. Don't even say it, and for sure don't come here. Your responsibility is to stay home and stay involved in your community. Put your beliefs into practice. Help someone else, even if that person voted for the "winner." Maybe even especially if that person is a "winner."

Let me back up. I know that I may look like the world's biggest pot calling hypothetical kettles black. However, as anyone who actually knows me knows, I moved here for reasons of real estate and stayed for reasons of love. Politics didn't enter into it. Sure, Bush and Cheney and their ridiculous vision for the U.S. made it easier to stay here. But they didn't cause me to leave.

There are people in this world who are REAL political refugees. They tend not to come from countries that are democracies, where raspberries are available in grocery stores year-round, where public libraries and the Internet hold more information than we can comprehend in a lifetime, where roads are paved, and where food safety failures are cause for outrage and lawsuits.

You are not a political refugee. You're just hurting a bit right now. You really don't want to come up here--you just want to run away from the hurt. Believe me, I know how that feels.

But you're lucky to live where you do. You're lucky that voting for the "loser" doesn't mean that supporters of the "winner" will appear at your door with a machete. Count your blessings. Lick your wounds. Stay put.

If you still think you're really serious about moving here, you should know a few things. Actual pieces of information. The capital city of the country. The names of a few of the provinces (no, they're not states here). The name of the current prime minister and, oh, at least one other from the past 140+ years. (Hint: look at the money.) This knowledge isn't too hard to find. Try Google.

But mostly, if you want to move here, think about this: how can you contribute to this country? That's right--how can you GIVE? It's about GIVING, after all, not GETTING. You don't get the benefits of the healthcare system without contributing to society.

Is this too hard? Yeah, I thought so. It's OK. I knew you really wanted to stay in the U.S. all along. Give it a little time and then get back out there and do something nice for someone else. You'll feel better. And so will we.