I once wrote in a paper that the world would probably be a better place if Ronald Reagan's attempted assassin had tried just a bit harder. I was only kind of joking. I was in the midst of being saddened and ashamed of the anti-poor sentiments of conservative governments in Canada, Britain and the US in the 1980s.
When I got the paper back the note from the professor had said that my analysis lacked nuance. Really? The policies of these administrations weren't nuanced! They were sweeping and prejudiced and unfair. Nuanced? Come on. I couldn't see a place for nuance in a world where single mothers were treated like criminals and corporate thieves were treated like royalty.
Today I feel pretty much the same about the right-wing governments of the 1980s. But when I sit and think about so many other political issues I am nuance. I am drowning in nuance. I see complexity after complexity and can come to no conclusions. I have pages of words that run in circles led by except for and unless and on the other hand. But we live in a complicated world filled with different perspectives and different histories and so I'm learning to appreciate this little grey space that is mine.
Except. Of course, except. Except a handful of things. Except voting for one.
I've been voting for twelve years in all sorts of elections. And do you know what? Its never ever taken me more than fifteen minutes to walk into a polling station, register (without or without a voter registration card), mark my ballot and walk out. So I don't understand people who say they don't have time to vote. If you really think you don't have time here are some things that will help you to find the time: get off the facebook for fifteen minutes, put down the game controller for fifteen minutes, turn off jersey shore and oprah, put down the blow dry and wear an election day pony tail and/or pass on making fillet mignon for the family tonight and enjoy some election day soy dogs instead (while you all discuss why political participation is so important). If none of these snappy time savers apply, Election Canada had you in mind when they thought up mail-in ballots. No driving, no parking, no line-ups, just voting.
I don't understand people who say that they don't know enough about the issues to vote. Its really too bad that there wasn't a central repository of information that we could all access from our homes and offices. Some place where the different political parties could post their intentions and opinions. This isn't the era of Encyclopedia Britannica - we have the freakin internet. Internet = not knowing enough about the issues is no longer allowed as an excuse for not voting. If you are allergic to the online please refer to televised leader debates, local candidate debates and every radio and television newscast for six straight weeks.
Finally I don't understand the people who don't vote for no particular reason at all. Because they don't care or can't be bothered. Even after twelve years every time I think about voting I am amazed that this - this fifteen minutes every so often - is all I'm asked to do for democracy. In the last six months 300 people in Egypt and 3000 people in Libya have died demanding the right to choose who governs them. Not to mention the unrest in Syria, Ivory Coast, and Bahrain. None of this is new. See the histories of North Korea, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Uganda, Vietnam and Chile among others. I'm not saying that if we all stop voting a dictatorship is imminent, but that maybe its time we start to show some real appreciation for the privileges and freedoms we have (and don't have to die for).
Since were here I'll quickly help with a few other "reasons" for not voting.
(1) Politics don't affect you. This excuse can stand only so long as you will not use/encounter any of the following: roads, schools, hospitals, doctors, banks, planes, mortgages, taxes and energy. Yes, its true. The federal government (and governing party) has a hand in all of this.
(2) The current political system is unfair and often my vote doesn't count. Not going to argue with you here. But two of the current federal political parties have included electoral reform and proportional representation as part of their platforms. Not voting now is not going to make your vote count anymore in the future.
I think that about covers it.
For good measure, and in case you came here for cute pictures of a baby and not a finger wag, Frankie meet blueberries, blueberries meet Frankie.
May 2nd: vote, vote, vote!
Personally, whenever I hear someone say
ReplyDelete"I'm not voting", "I forgot to vote" or "I'm going to spoil my ballot", I think to myself, "That's probably for the best"
Maybe this is faulty logic, but when half the population doesn't vote, isn't that the same as the rest of us who do care getting two votes?
If an uninformed person, who is disengaged from the political process, casts a vote just for the sake of voting, my 'sensible' vote runs the risk of being negated by a 'bonehead' vote.
If you think 'they're all a bunch of crooks', you are 'too busy' or 'it's too cold out', do us all a favour... DON'T VOTE! Leave the decision making to the rest of us who have been following along.
Agreed. But as an “if all else fails” addition to Erika’s point. I think her point was “Everyone, keep up and vote” and not just “vote, vote, vote” (despite closing statements :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymouses. Such good points.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm still holding tight to the idea of a democracy that functions best when everyone (is informed) and participates. A little bit of idealism is part of a balanced diet.
And to throw a bit of a partisan spin on the debate, with the Conservative Party on the cusp of a majority (after already being in power for five years) and with voter turnout being at an all time low in the last election I'm left to wonder if the sensible voters are the ones really casting ballots. Is this what Canada looks like when only the informed vote?
What might it look like if some of the groups who’ve historically felt disenfranchised from the mainstream political system (those living in poverty or below the poverty line, students and First Nations) cast a ballot this time around?
This possibility and thinking about these groups does introduce an important caveat into my original argument though since these groups, particularly the poor and First Nations, have been so ignored by parties of all stripes (once in power) I can appreciate how hard it must be to keep having faith that your voice/vote matters and will be heard.