Once again the viral craze of social networking has gone political. In the light of the recent CRTC Internet Usage online petition success, I've noticed an increase in the amount of Facebook fuelled, counter Harper petition links. Most recently of which is a petition to the Government of Canada to cease reference to itself as the "Harper Government" stating that, "The government of Canada is not Stephen Harper and Stephen Harper is not the government of Canada."
I, for one, wholeheartedly agree with, and have "signed" this internet petition, yet, I can't help but notice that re-posts of the link have flooded my newsfeed. While I'm pleased with the success of this appeal, I wonder, if every one of my friends who has signed, and reposted even one of these many circulating entreatments, actually took the time to vote on election day would it even be necessary to solicit names to this extent in order to repeal our Government's actions? Unfortunately, voter turn out during the 2008 General election was abysmal, mostly due to the fact that 18-29 year-olds didn't show up, 50% or less, of Canadian citizens ages 22-29 have voted in at least one election, yet 64% have participated in not-voting political action, if it's not that we don't care, than what is it?
When I implore my peers to vote, it seems that I receive looks of bewilderment followed by one of the following statements:
"It's not like it's going to do any good."
"I don't like any of the parties."
"If I vote for who I want to vote for, isn't it just a waste of a vote?"
The other response I get is "Democracy is corrupt anyways, so why vote?" More and more my peer group has become a swarm of counter-culture-anarchists who believe just that. We're damned if we do, damned if we don't.
I can't deny that our country needs electoral reform, and a 59% overall voter turn out in the 2008 General Election shows that most voters agree with me. As it stands now, the Canadian electoral system is that of the antiquated "First Past The Post" variety. What this means, is that Canadians vote for a candidate in their riding, and the winning candidate is granted a seat in the legislative assembly, or House of Commons, this candidate does NOT need a majority vote to win. The leader of the party who wins the most amount of seats in the House of Commons rather than the party with the highest percentage of the overall vote, is asked to form the government. In Canada with the FPTP system, governments often are formed by parties achieving less than 40% of overall voter support. The alternative to the FPTP system is that of Proportional Representation, where commonly, one ranks one's party in order of preference and a majority must be reached in order to gain a seat in the legislative assembly. With seventeen political parties registered with Elections Canada, it should be noted that PR is most effective with multi-party governments and usually results in a coalition, which have been proven to better represent the needs of ALL Canadians.
With the current system Steven Harper was elected with 34% of the 59% percent of Canadians who actually voted, this means that 18% of eligible voters in the country actually supported this government. This isn't old news, our current government is not supported by the majority ask any Canadian on the street.
Alas, whether it's "uncool" to vote or we've abandoned all hope, the epidemic of apathy when it comes to politics is spreading like wildfire and frankly, it's frightening. It's an old argument, "If you don't vote, then you can't complain about the way the countries being run" but the consequences of not voting are rapidly increasing. Not only are we currently being governed by an administration that is silently stealing our rights, we're throwing away the most important right we have and the only power we possess to change it! Every vote not cast is a vote to strengthen the status quo. That 18% of eligible voters who support the Harper Government gets stronger every time we take a pass on the polls by not diluting the core support. By not voting we send a message of "Everything's fine the way it is." Look around, read the petitions you've signed, look at the streets you avoid, the comments and complaints you make. Everything is not fine.
A common symptom of the affliction of my generation is the armchair political activism, when it's easy to take a stand, of course we will. When it's safe to rant from behind the safety of my keyboard, we'll rant! Even when we get out of our seats and protest, when we get out the poster paint, and the megaphones, we demand change and then neglect to cast our ballot.
We should be so lucky to be Canadians, and not have to have shed blood over our Government, we are blessed to be living in a country where we have a choice, each and every one of us. We are proud to have the rights and freedoms that we do, we defend them and we'll fight so that others may do the same. Still, we hesitate to take up the responsibilities that come with those freedoms, it's not a RIGHT to vote, it's a civic duty and a RESPONSIBILITY. My vote combined with your vote, combined with every other vote in the country are responsible for the healthcare, the education, and the support, of every Canadian.
It's our future, make sure you're heard. It's not enough to complain about the homelessness problem, and the state of East Hastings, it's not enough to protest, and it's not enough to sign a petition online.
Vote, and create a government you can be proud of.
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