Canadians are off to the races once more to pick a new group of MPs. There's 308 of them. One of them will become Prime Minister. And it seems that a good chunk of the electorate doesn't give a hoot about the process.
The media do a good job of reporting on the events. On the surface at least. But they try. They also seem to relish in finding Canadians and asking them about the elections to get the desired effect of a disenchanted and largely uninterested and ill-informed set of people to sheepishly grin on TV.
Many people I have seen interviewed have similar excuses; its not time for an election, I don't know what the issues are, I haven't voted since I last used my discman, this will change nothing (meaning the make up of our parliament). Many also don't seem to care. The level of antipathy and downright anger is amazing. Its like someone inconvenienced them with these (admittedly horrid) election advertisements in between their Jersey Shore and HNIC broadcasts. Canadians know what HNIC is. At least, they ought to. The nerve of that elitist Ignatieff (how do you pronounce it again?) and that funny fellow Jack Layton and that Frenchie old curmudgeon and evil Harper. That's about 10% of Canada. They can actually name 3 of the four federal party leaders out there. I am pretty sure Rick Mercer hasn't done a talking to Canadians version of his old skit (talking to Americans), but I would bet a good cup of coffee that Canadians are quite ill-informed about their so called democracy. And no amount of tweets from the party leaders is going to change that.
It is sad really. The good news is, the issues that are brought up in these elections are not really that relevant to the average Canadian out there in the Tim Horton's line up (think Roger Abbott's character at Tim Hortons). Most Canadians don't really know much about corporate taxes I would wager. But that's a big deal in this election. Should they be lowered to 15% or raised back to 18%? Most don't really understand what an F-35 is and why we should or shouldn't buy 65 of them at a cost that now sounds quite unrealistically low. This also is a big deal. There aren't very many issues that Canadians care about. Now, if they were talking health care or selling our water to the Americans, you would have a public who were willing to stick around and watch the news after HNIC on a Saturday night and see what the party leaders have to say about it.
But, is pleading boredom or worse, apathy really a good thing for our democracy? I hear people say this over and over: I don't care about the issues, they don't affect me etc. But they do. Huge chunks of money you send to the government through income tax, sales tax, import tax, carbon tax and god knows what other kind of tax are being portioned off by these guys. It is _your_ money. Know why gas prices are high? There's a lot of taxes on them, that's why. Oh and various coups, wars and what not in places that produce them. And speculators who are cashing in and paying capital gains tax on their earnings.
The other thing that makes me sad is that a whole whack of these people here care peripherally at least about what is happening elsewhere. We are quite animated when it comes to our role in Afghanistan and our lack of role in Iraq and especially, what is happening with various democratic movements in the Middle-East. I find it incredible that people are willing to get shot at, lose limbs, families and risk torture and losing everything they have to get a chance to vote. Meanwhile, here we are, bemoaning the fact that we don't know what the issues are and why we should vote.Thank goodness these people in North Africa and the Middle-East are not taking cues from us Canadians regarding democracy. Our enthusiasm might just make dictatorship appealing enough (I doubt that but still).
I was incredibly fortunate to be in the US to see the current president get elected. I saw the election process from start to finish. From the terrible advertisements,from the arguments about whether he was black enough or too black to whether he was a Muslim, a smoker or the devil. I went to his inauguration ceremony on the national mall. As an outsider, I was glad to see so many people show up and stand for hours in the cold weather to see their democracy in action. It was somewhat historic I agree, but at least they seem to care about their democracy. Passionately. Sometimes, illogically. But they do care.
I also come from a land where people like my grandparents did not have the right to vote when they were young. A lot of 20th century history had to happen before they got to vote. World Wars, winding up of colonial empires, Gandhi and what not. I never got to vote there, but I suspect the past century has imprinted in the people of that region the importance of democracy and why one should participate in it fully. Not that everyone there practices it... but I think they get how valuable their vote is.
So, my dear Canadians, do me a favour, give snooki or whatever other character it is that you're watching these days a break, get involved in your democracy, get intimate with the issues and make an informed decision on the future of your country. You should also cheer on all the Canadian teams at the Stanley Cup playoffs. But I am sure you can spare a couple of hours to perform this duty to your country. Voting is a privilege, make it count. Wearing a red hoodie and saying eh is enough most days, but we can do better this time around, eh?
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