We’re in the final stretch of that season, again. Election period serves to highlight a lot of problems with the way things run in this country. Often, it gives us time to reflect on why exactly we don’t care about politics, governments, parties or voting. We find ourselves experts in an endless litany of excuses ranging from lack of information, inability to affect change, the “brokenness” of the system and so on.
But why should that matter when it comes to exercising one of the simplest, purest forms of democratic voice? Moreover, how can we ever hope to fix the system if we refuse to engage with it in the first place?
Two things needs to be highlighted here:
- Apathy is not the solution to an imperfect system. If you wouldn’t abandon your car in the woods in hopes of fixing its engine, then why would you do that to the society you live in? If you resort to silence as a method of protest, you’re just making it easier for people not to listen to you. In an ideal world, we’d have a government with nothing but the best intentions for Canadians at heart. We would have political parties that actually work together. We would have a Senate that didn’t rob us the second we turned our backs. We do not live in that sort of world, but we do live in a world where we are able to fire those who directly represent us and choose more appealing candidates.
- Voting is the most luxurious right that we have. I grew up in a country where government took the form of a hereditary, male ruler who was appointed by a family council that dissolved popularly elected parliaments every time they disagreed with him. Furthermore, if anyone tried to form a political party, criticize the ruler or hold public assemblies, they would be imprisoned — at best. We should count ourselves fortunate that we have the ability to shape our government in whatever form it may take. Countries go through revolution and anarchic rivalries to gain such societies and here we take ours for granted.
So, please go vote on October 19. It’s the right thing to do. Look here for more details.
Jude Crasta is a fifth-year Cognitive Systems major and AMS VP External.