I am not political.  I used to be; very much so.  I had political ambitions, at one time.  … No more.  Today, I find politics inherently dysfunctional, with built in government and opposition.  Entrenched.  One “side” facing another, in never ending competition.  Partisanship and ideology often stand in the way of progress and ideas. But, that is another post.  That being said, I am a raging fan of democracy.  In Canada this month, we voted.  Some almost 70% of us, anyways.

Whatever one’s slant… whatever one’s ideology or preference; one should not mistake that Canada just experienced a national vote on character on October 19, 2015.  I am not saying that one leader versus another had some advantage on personal character.  No one truly knows the character of such public figures but for their closest confidants.  What I am saying is that economics and environment and geopolitics all took a backseat for millions of Canadians.  In this election, people were voting with their hearts, and their minds.  People were voting on the character of the country they desired, going forward.  The result was a voter turnout not seen in 20 years.  Character matters.  You can consider the following 101 virtues, and start to reflect on the type of country each leader essentially stood for…

and the character of the country you might have personally wanted…

For many millions voting, they consciously or unconsciously perceived the character of the nation being championed by each leader; and they made their choice.  While I do not like ideologies and partisanship, I recognize that ideas and progress do matter.  We must take them into account in our choices.  Ideas and actions are fundamental elements of policy and program.  That being said, this election demonstrates that, when push comes to shove, the character of a community or country is an essential element of a voting decision.  Economics, politics and environment aside, whether we realize it or not… character matters to us.  Not simply the character of our leaders and our government, but our country.

As to the future, who knows if actions align with words.  I am hopeful.  Ever hopeful.  Still, in the coming weeks, I will be exploring the notion of community and nation building around the 5 Strategies of The Virtues Project™.  They add real value to decisions on the community, company, campus and country we want, and can agree upon.  I look forward to the exploration.  I hope you do too, wherever you are.

For now, ask yourself… of the virtues presented above… what are the core virtues of being Canadian?  What strengths of character unite us across the diversity of this nation?  What virtues can we agree upon that make it a “Canadian Thing”.

If you are from elsewhere on the beautiful planet, decide the same for you and where you are.  What makes your community or country what it is from a character point of view?  Our diets, clothes, ages, genders, colors, views and more may differ.  Still, if we consider the common qualities we all share… we become an uncommon community, campus, company or country.

Peace, passion and prosperity.

Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy™