Canada Votes 2004

So on Tuesday I exercised my democratic right and voted in a federal election for the first time ever. I did think it would be a little more glamourous than a little cardboard booth and newspaper-like ballot but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Making a decision was one of the toughest things I've had to do because after watching the English language debate I was disgusted with all of the candidates who participated. Why would I want to vote for someone as rude and egotistical as any of them? But apathy was not an option for me, though at times I felt a kind of despair for Canada. What kind of a future are we creating if we're voting against somebody instead of for somebody? I say this because it seemed to be the mindset for the election.

In my opinion it was a vote between a lesser of evils and I believe that's why only 60% of the population actually voted. Over the past 40 years, the government has backed out of promises and changed their party platforms after being elected. I would think that this makes people believe that their vote doesn't count, which is why so few people actually turned out to vote. Apparently this is the lowest voter turnout in over 100 years. The last time the percentage was at 60% was in 1898. As far as I'm concerned this is bad. Apathy is contagious and will only continue to spread if the government continues to break the promises they make to people. After all, what's the point in voting if your voice will be ignored anyway?

The only good thing to come out of this election I believe, is that the government will now have to listen to the people. With the minority government and the NDP (not really) holding the balance of power (they only have 19 seats), they will have to tread very carefully to make sure they don't step on anyone's toes. Because if the NDP don't agree with a particular vote then the government will probably receive a vote of non-confidence from the opposition. This means another election will have to be held in short order. For example, nine months after Joe Clark was elected in 79-80, an election was called after his government received a vote of non-confidence. Usually minority governments last about 18 months but I don't like the fact of having to go back to the polls that soon.

Quote: "Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody."

- Franklin P. Adams

Why do we care?

Last Saturday I was watched "The Day After Tomorrow" with some friends. While I was watching I heard one of the news anchors mention Canada at one point and Nova Scotia. For some reason I got really excited and poked my friends.

But after I got out of the theatre I started to wonder why I cared at all. Why do I care if an American movie mentions Canada? On the way home I discovered that it wasn't just movies, it was books, tv programs, radio, newspapers, etc. I seemed to care so much about American media mentioning Canada that I couldn't get enough of it. But why was this?

Was it because I'm a very proud Canadian and want my country to be mentioned everywhere all the time? Or was there something darker and more sinister about my reasons for caring?

It seems deeply rooted in Canadian psyche to not like ourselves or to at least not acknowledge that we like ourselves. We're far too polite to 'blow our own horn'. At least, that's the stereotype and for the most part it's true. But things do seem to be changing with our Joe Canada commercial and our 'I am Canadian' commercials. I just hope that we'll eventually move away from becoming a self-loathing country.

So, because we don't seem to like ourselves, we need someone else to like us. We need someone else to fill the big hole in our country's 'heart'. Who better than our neighbours to the south? We seem to constantly look for approval and recognition from America. Then we throw tantrums when we don't receive it.

Look at Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans". Sure it's funny and we get to see how Harvard professors think that there's an annual polar bear hunt in Alberta and that our National Igloo is melting. Sure it makes them look stupid but how many right answers did they clip from the footage they took? I bet that they'd get the same answers if they came to Canada and asked questions about the US. So why do we care? Why do we have to go make them look bad?

I think that as a whole we feel very inferior to our neighbour. Even though we're larger, they have more people. They have a military, we have a boat and a gun and a guy named Bob. (Sounds like a song to me). So why do we have to build ourselves up and tear them down?

Personally, I think it's time that we finally acknowledged how great we are instead of trying to make someone else look bad. I mean, we've got hockey, and basketball (invented by a Canadian, James Nasmith. He did teach in Massachusetts but people tend to forget where he's from). We've got the Stanley cup (it's just on loan Florida), we've got Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Kiefer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves, Bill Shatner. Of course, I'm pretty sure that all of these people now live in the US but that's beside the point. The list goes on and on. We have some great stuff going for us so we should start bragging about it.

People need to know that we are a proud nation and people need to stop caring about what the US says or doesn't say about us. We need to worry about ourselves first and everybody else second because we have a serious inferiority complex in this country.

Quote: "Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians."

- Helen Gordon McPherson

Election Time

Okay, so it's election time in Canada. On June 28th we'll have a new PM (perhaps) and because I'm now eighteen, I can vote. Of course, I haven't gotten my card yet but I know that I am going to vote, despite the fact that so many young people are disenchanted and/or apathetic to the government.

I think it's important to vote because then you have the right to complain about the gov if they screw something up. Besides, every vote counts, especially in this close a race.

The problem I have now is choosing who to vote for because I've ruled out not voting. The debate on tv didn't help much because first off, not all the parties were represented. The Green Party leader Jim Harris was all set to debate with the other leaders but he didn't even receive an invite. Second of all, in the debate the leaders did what you expected them to do. They avoided answering any questions by simply asking more questions or answering a question that hadn't been asked. I'm sure this kind of roundabout talk really helped the undedcided votes come to a decision (myself being one of them).

The leaders also tended to talk over one another and interrupt whenever possible. Harper looked like he was wearing a wig and somehow reminded me of Marty McFly's dad. Martin kept dancing from foot to foot, Layton drove me crazy because he kept gesturing with his hands and Duceppe looked extrememly angry throughout the entire debate.

What have I gained from this experience? What have undecided Canadian voters gotten out of this? I would say, absolutely nothing. There was no clear winner but there was some mud-slinging. This of course made me wonder where these leaders got their manners from. Perhaps they should be hit with nerf bats every time they insult another party leader. I mean, what does insulting do? It just makes you look bad and creates arguments.

So I would say that I spent two hours listening to four grown men argue about how wrong the other was and how they were going to be the next government. I can't see how they wouldn't have had a headache from all the shouting by the time it was over. I know I did.

I had hoped that writing this little rant would have made my decision a little more clear but it hasn't. It looks like I'm going to have to look elsewhere to determine who to vote for in the 2004 Election.

Quote: "There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a fortification against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences."

- Muad'dib on Law
The Stilgar Commentary