Kincardine: New knowledge

By Brontae Hunter (Kincardine, Ont.)

The results have not surprised me. I knew that the Conservatives would be elected, and as soon as the NDPs received their sudden popularity, I knew that Jack Layton had a good chance at becoming the leader of opposition. Yet, the NDP went a little bit further than I forecasted. They rose above the Liberals and now have taken many more seats than many thought possible.

I'm glad for the NDP but I also thought that all the parties deserved more than what they got, especially the Green Party and the Liberals. All parties deserve to have full coverage and respect during the campaign so that they get the chance to show Canada what they have! Attack ads should be banned. Canada needs to be open-minded and trust that other parties may do a good job at leading our country. How can we not at least take the time to research the promises of other political parties to give each party a decent chance? Now that Elizabeth May has won a seat for the Green Party for the very first time, maybe her voice will be heard.

During this experience, I learned that not everyone will agree with me. Just because I'm a little girl, it doesn't mean people will automatically have the same opinion. I got quite a few negative comments about lowering the voting age and that made me realize that those comments were similar to the arguments women were receiving when they were trying to get the vote.

A special thanks to fellow Your Take bloggers Trina Stewart, Liam Chapman and Scott Wilkinson. Trina won't know this, but she was like a mentor to me. She encouraged me to keep writing and to keep following issues in our country. Liam Chapman showed me how voting can involve peer pressure. Last, but certainly not least, Scott Wilkinson showed me what other kids my age are talking about in the city of Oakville. Thank you to all the bloggers.

There was so much to learn from all of your posts! And very special thanks to Adrian, Jackie and Kim for organizing this and giving me an opportunity to exercise my writing and become more informed. Even though I can't legally vote, you gave me a voice in this election!