Reflections on the 2008 election, and a tribute to youth

Last month we were told of several "all-candidate" meetings that did not allow all candidates to participate. There was even a Catholic high school that denied access to Christian world-view policies. Such limitations not only violate the term "all candidate", they make a travesty of the principle that a democracy requires an informed electorate.

"In Canada?" you ask. "Surely not!" But it's true. There were many such reports from across the country. But I'd like to tell you the story of one persistent student who prevailed.

In one of the Langley, BC public schools, a Grade 5 teacher decided to conduct a mock election to teach students how Canada's political system works. She set up the class "election" with four parties: Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Green.

However, one of the 10-year-old students was the daughter of a Hungarian-Canadian single mother whose husband (the student's father) had died when the girl was only two; and she wanted to be a Christian Heritage Party (CHP) candidate. The teacher said, "No. Only the major parties will be represented."

A bit of background will make the student's plight clearer: her mother was raised under Communism. From soon after the time she was born, her mother worked and she was in the state-run daycare system. In such a system, the child does not learn to bond with her caregivers; family loyalties are severely undermined.

Then, at age 19, the young Hungarian woman found freedom and meaning for life through faith in our Saviour.

Under the Hungarian Communist state, the law required the parents to report their daughter, so she can be committed to a mental institution for "treatment"—brainwashing. Fortunately, young Ilona was able to escape this fate, because her father—a highly-placed Communist official—persuaded his senior authorities to let him try to correct her "aberration" at home. Her faith grew, and eventually she was able to escape to Canada and find acceptance and freedom.

Suddenly, she discovers that in "free" Canada, her daughter is not allowed to speak about what she believes.

But, in spite of being the "new kid" in the class, without an established network of friends, the daughter persists: she cannot support any of the four parties being offered, and she wants to represent the CHP. It's one of the 18 registered parties in Canada, she insists.

Eventually, the teacher and the principal give her permission. She makes signs and, after reading a CHP brochure, she prepares her own speech. On voting day, 10-year-old Anna garners five votes. Not many. She didn't win. But it was a beginning—a seed has been planted for the future!

Such young people are truly the hope for this nation's future.

• Part 1
• Part 2