Polling Booth with a View

Louise and I made the trip in to Wan Chai to cast our votes for the Queensland State Elections on Friday. Lynda (who is visiting) came along and had a whole lot of fun when they couldn't find my street. Apparently, my home does not exist according to the books in Hong Kong, but due to the amazing thoughtfulness of my Mom (she wrote an email giving the number for my district and I was able give this to them) I was still able to cast my ballot for Lyle to win the seat of Toowoomba North.

Even though as I write, with 74.7% of the vote counted, it doesn't look as though Lyle will get in, I still think this endeavor was worth the small effort we made, and huge effort many people have put in for many months, not least of all Lyle and his family.

I've heard it said recently to only fight the battles you can win. At the time I must admit I thought, "Yeah, that makes sense", however, in light of this weekend's events I'm not sure I would still agree, or in fact ever really believed that line or have at any time followed it in my actions. Some battles, some causes, are worth fighting even if you don't end up at the same place you envisioned when starting. You still need to pick the battles you fight wisely, but you don't always need to enter them knowing you will win without a fight. Whether you win or lose does not make your fight or belief valid.

In this specific instance, Water Recycling, the Public Hospital System, Family Values and other matters are ones that have long term implications and are thus worth fighting for in a public arena, whether or not the majority of people agree with the views we hold or are voting for, or the candidate we believe will carry those views forward on our behalf as citizens.

Anyway... no matter what the outcome, I still reckon I had the best view from any polling booth.