NJC Student Blog

I know many students at the school had strong emotions with regards to the recent election in Canada, myself included, but if we take a step back and look at our nation's politics, we can see that we have it pretty easy. While in Nepal, we learnt from our walking encyclopedia, aka Kishour, about Nepal's troubled political history. From the murder of kings to Maoist revolutionary groups and massive riots, Nepal has seen it all as far as political instability goes. While we are worrying about Harper, the Nepali people are concerned that their new government might not even last the year. I could go into detail about the situation, but I think one would need to write a book to fully explain the state of Nepali politics. On top of all this, Nepal has one of the most corrupt governments in the world. So while we worry about the way our tax dollars are going to be spent by the government, the people of Nepal wonder if their taxes will be spent on new cars for government officials.

This is not to say that Canadian politics are unimportant; in fact, it is primordial for us to know and think about what is happening in our own country. The problem is over-dramatization. We have a tendency to think that our problems are a matter of life and death, while most of the time they are not. Furthermore, other than to make a big fuss out of the issue, we have the privilege of being able to express our opinions directly to our MP, and through a number of other ways as well.

This being said going to Nepal made me realize just how fortunate we are to live in Canada.

By Bill D.