So we've just come through an election and, for better or worse, Toronto has expressed its quote-unquote "anger" at the establishment by electing a man who could either shake the city up like an Etch-a-Sketch and start over with a fresh, clean slate...or just run us into the ground like an out-of-control, armaments-carrying freight train colliding with a fuel depot. Either way, the city has voted.
At least, half of it has. It is a sad day for democracy when critics applaud a 53% turnout as being "the highest in recent memory". On a report card, that's a D-. If you only pay 53% of your bill in a restaurant, you end up in the back room scrubbing dishes. Only in a Canadian election is 53% considered a good number. I think more people vote for 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
Hey, maybe we should text our votes from now on! That would certainly quash the lame excuses people come up with the rest of the time. "Oh, I didn't know it was today...that election everyone's been talking about for the past six months? That was TODAY?" Or, "Oh, I was very busy between the hours of 10am and 8pm and couldn't get to the voting location in my neighbourhood". Apparently a lot of non-voters run convenience stores and can never leave their post during the day.
Then there's "I don't like the candidates". News flash, folks...there are MORE THAN TWO candidates running in any given election. In fact, there were over TWENTY on the ballot for mayor of Toronto. So you don't like the front runners? Well, neither did I. But I still went and voted, because that's my right and my duty as a Canadian citizen (one of the few, may I add, that we still have left to our names).
I'm not going to wax on about "our forefathers dying for the right to vote" or "so many peoples of the world are denied this basic privilege". Let's skip through all the rhetoric and get down to the meat...I CARE about what happens in the city. In fact, everybody does, because what happens to the roads and schools and businesses of your city can't help but affect YOU. If there is good leadership, the city prospers and your life improves. If leadership is bad, your life becomes much more difficult.
And here's how I see it...if you ignore your right to vote, then you LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO COMPLAIN. That's right, if you couldn't be bothered to get your lazy keister our of your house and spend five minutes casting your ballot, then I don't want to hear one word about what's wrong with the country's government. I voted and my guy didn't win (I knew he wouldn't anyway, but that's not the point. He was the one I agreed with the most). Now, I can say what I DON'T like about the guy I DIDN'T vote for. On the other hand, if you haven't supported a candidate, then I can only assume you don't care what happens to the city. And frankly, I don't want to hear the opinions of anyone who doesn't care what happens to their city. Such a person is simply ignorant and irresponsible and not worth my time.
Almost as bad as not voting, of course, is this ridiculous concept of 'Strategic Voting'. Basically, it's a policy cooked up by unpopular parties and candidates to keep a potentially qualified dark horse from even coming close to winning. The seriously flawed logic is, in Canadian terms, "Vote for the Liberals, because a vote for the NDP is basically a vote for the Conservatives".
Let's be clear. A vote for the NDP is a vote for the NDP. In order to vote for the Conservatives, you need to (gasp) vote for the CONSERVATIVES. There is no 'basically' about it. Don't vote against a party you don't like; vote FOR a party that you DO like! There are actually a lot of political parties in this country; if you don't like the big three (and, let's face it, most of us don't), then do a little research. The Marxists, the Rhinos, and those Yoga-people are all eager for support. Your one vote is not going to make or break the system...so at least go to bed at night with a clean conscience, having supported a platform that you agree with.
Because it comes down to the same thing. If you vote Liberal, not because you like them but because you're anti-Conservative, and then the Liberals get into power and screw everything up (like we all know they will), then guess what...it's YOUR FAULT!!! That's right, once again you lose the right to complain. How can you not like them? If you don't like them, why did you vote for them? "Not-Conservative" is not an option on the ballot. You have to vote FOR someone. Who do you support?
To summarize...get your ass out of bed, exercise your duty as a free Canadian, and most importantly DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS THE RIGHT THING. If every single person in this country voted with their hearts, my bet is the next Parliament would be a three-ring circus of fifteen different political parties all trying to balance their minority power. And THAT would shake things up in ways that Rob Ford can only dream about.
I don't mind a little bit of chaos...as long as we're sure that it's what we want.
