It Was Not Only His Moustache That Made Me Fall In Love

Dear Jack,
You were the greatest Canadian politician we had in decades. The reason why? You loved us. You praised us. You cared about us. You inspired us. You captivated us. Before you, I couldn't care less about politics. I knew so little about it that any debate or argument I found myself in would leave me silent and unfulfilled. You changed that all for me. I now feel like I have a voice, and that I deserve to be heard. You made me feel important amongst 33 million other Canadians. My opinions and my thoughts were relevant. You made it okay to be a socialist. Your death, as traumatic as it is for me personally, not to mention all social democrats and democratic socialists all over Canada, should be looked at as a historical moment in history when right winged Canadians shut their idiot mouths for once and actually listened. I am hopeful that this has shaken up our country enough to push them in the right direction.

Don't mistake this for me taking an opportunity to plug my political views, but rather plug my social views of love, hope, optimism, passion, truth, justice, and freedom. A part of me is scared that without Jack, we will go backwards. He was the one and only reason I am active in politics today. He is the one and only reason so many socialists have come out of their closets and expressed their views. He is the one and only reason Canada has a chance of getting out their shameful rut of selfishness and greed. When Stephen Harper was re-elected I have never felt more ashamed to be a citizen of this country, but yet, I still had faith. Jack had never been more popular than he was at that moment, and his popularity was growing. His followers were growing. His support was growing. Canada was still changing. Now that he's gone, I don't know what I see for our future, but if Jack has taught me one thing, its that love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.