In his beautiful writings, Ronald Rolheiser (a straight-from-the-heart theologian) once expressed the crucial need for us to surrender ourselves to tenderness. I couldn’t have depicted the state, which many of us find ourselves in better than he has, “Our world has a very restricted place for what is unprofessional, sentimental, inefficient, fat, soft and fragile. Toughness and achievement are what get respect.”

Of course, being university students, we haven’t entered the workforce (which he is primarily addressing). And many of us do have playful, cheery and tender spirits. But I still see – in myself and around me – the desperate need for softness.

Fall 2008 has certainly been a bit of a windfall for all those who follow politics. In Canada, we had the federal election on Oct. 14, the municipal election on Nov. 15 and we’re already looking forward to the B.C. provincial election on May 12, 2009. Of course, we also had the American federal election on Nov. 4, where our brothers and sisters to the south managed to get all three of these done on one sheet of paper – not that I would ever necessarily advocate for such a course of action here. But what about the stories that were ignored because of all this activity? With the opinion pages bulging, a lot of other content was cut out – here are some of the more interesting stories that didn’t make the front page but perhaps should have:

Finding true love is a top priority for most people. But sometimes, true love finds you.

Let’s go back 50 years. In 1958, Richard (Caucasian) and Mildred (African-American) Loving, got married in Washington DC, and chose to live in Virginia. Unfortunately, their love couldn’t stay there. Nine years later, they fought against the Virginia Supreme Court for the right to get married and won.

What’s changed from then until now? The laws have changed, but some people haven’t. According to Mike Richardson, professor at Trinity Western University and former marriage counsellor, “Laws change before people’s attitudes do, and racism is an issue for interracial relationships…even though we have equal rights, we technically don’t have equal rights, because everything comes down to changing our social norms.”

As of the Mars’ Hill deadline, it was increasingly looking like Barack Obama would walk to power. By the time you read this, barring a repeat of 2000, the winner will have long been decided – and there is a good chance that the Democrats will have unprecedented power and a mandate to change the United States. Barring a last minute change of fate, Obama has become the first black president of the U.S., and has been placed at the head of a government that has more of a mandate than any government since that of George W. Bush on Sept. 12, 2001.

Following the Canadian federal election, there was much speculation on the future of the Liberal party. The Liberals received their lowest percent of the popular vote at 26 on record, and lost 19 seats on Oct. 14. After his concession speech, Stéphane Dion disappeared.

Dion remained in seclusion in Ottawa for nearly a week. Reportedly, he sought advice from past and present Liberal representatives on how to respond to the disappointing results.

The voter turnout for the Canadian federal election followed the downward spiral seen by developed democratic nations across the world for the last 20 years or so. Oct. 14, 2008 marked the lowest voter turnout ever in Canada—a dismal 59.1 per cent.

There has been much speculation as to the cause of this movement. I will address some of the common reasons identified by fellow students Joshua Brown, Ivy Chau, Karen Koning, Alenka Kyslik, Zachary Legg and Rachel Thiessen for why many Canadians chose not to vote.

Voting Canadians smack their lips in disbelief at the 10 million who declined to exercise their right this election, filling the air with platitudes like, “if they had all voted for someone, things could have turned out differently” or “if they don’t care enough to vote, then they shouldn’t complain.” I voted, but I’m not shocked that our voter turnout was the lowest it has ever been.

There have been a lot of promises going around for a long time: to curb homelessness, to “win” the war against terrorism and to put more money into the pockets of Canadians so they are bound to spend more time with their kids, saving them from juvenile delinquency and a life of drug crimes.

Nations usually go to war either to gain more territory or to exploit resources. There is no such thing as an ethical war. Of course, there are many subtle pretexts as to why a nation can go to war – for example, imposing democracy or fighting terrorists. Another shocking pretext I heard from a colleague is that, “As a superpower, we have the obligation to police and save people from tyrants like Saddam Hussein.” Of course, by “we,” she meant the United States.