We are going to have a Canadian federal election, and I am angry with those who say we do not need an election. I am frustrated with those who say there is no need to vote because we'll get the same thing again. I do not usually get very angry, but I am wanting to shake some sense into people.
Citizens around the world are dying for the right to vote, literally. They live in countries where government leaders do whatever they want. We in Canada live in a country where we have the right to vote, a country where our government can be overthrown without one shot fired, or one drop of blood shed. Not one drop! Is that worth voting for? Is that worth a few million dollars every couple of years?
We live in a country where there are rules about how governments should behave. Yes, the Bev Oda scandal (for example) seems minor compared to Japan's crisis or Libya's war, but if we allow our government to break the rules of democracy, do we have a democracy? No.
When people say we don't need an election, I wonder if they even WANT a democracy. They must must prefer dictatorship. I am not saying Mr. Harper is a dictator, but if we allow governments to do whatever they want, soon enough we would have a dictatorship.
Our votes are valuable. Our elections are indispensable even if they do happen every two and a half years. Yes, our representatives should learn to get along, but should they allow wrongdoing just to avoid an election?
Here in Canada we have the right to vote, but we must honor that as a responsibility. How hard is it to get out to vote? Must be easier than losing our sons and daughters in a war such as Libya is fighting. Think of that when someone asks if we need an election.
Do we need an election? Yes!
Repeat after me----- YES!!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
While I agree we should feel grateful for the rights we have (and I AM!) I think the rivalry between parties and especially their leaders has deteriorated to a grade school playground level. I think the leaders of the Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic Parties need to grow up and stop playing with our tax dollars. Canada is losing schools, hospitals and social programs at an alarming rate while these clods toss millions of dollars into advertising campaigns. That money would be better spent educating people so they don't end up unemployable and homeless. That money could be spent hiring back our doctors who have fled to the U.S. for want of better conditions and pay. That money could be used to make life easier for single mothers whose children go to school hungry while their deadbeat dads vacation in Cancun regularly.
ReplyDeleteI am angry too. Not because we need an election, but because it costs so very much and to prove that the leaders will still continue to act like pre-schoolers.
I agree. Our representatives, whether federal or provincial, should be conducting themselves in a more professional manner.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Advertising campaign dollars could be better spent.
On the other hand, I wish that the NDP would have a real chance to "play" with our tax dollars. The NDP wants all the things you have listed, while the other parties seem to be more intent on giving tax breaks to big business.
Just keep in mind that the cost of an election is the cost of democracy.
The NDP will SAY they want all those things, but here in Nova Scotia, they have in two years destroyed any chance they have ever had of proving themselves trustworthy. There will never be another NDP government in this province in my lifetime. They've proven to be a great disappointment here as they were in Ontario and Manitoba. One of my good friends ran as an NDP candidate in the last Federal election and quit as soon as the results were in, even though he ranked second in the standings; he was just unable to represent a party that he found fundamentally untruthful.
ReplyDeleteEvery party is made up of human beings. Thus not everyone is trustworthy, in any party. Too bad we can't elect gods instead of humans, but until that happens, we'll have to put up with faults, in all parties. That is why we need opposition, to keep any party on track.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed sad about Nova Scotia. Manitoba has a longer record.
This is one reason why I don't like politics.. the debates are never fun. There's always someone getting angry for one reason or another.
ReplyDeleteAnd possibly my ignorance will show up in my comments but- I find it interesting how there are cut-backs here, and cut-backs there- and yet never cut-backs when it comes to election time..
I think you are awesome Alice so, I will try to stay clear of your clutches on this one!!
Sometimes I wonder if political debaters are actually getting angry. People speak strongly when full of passion.
ReplyDeleteLast night, for example, I was trying to speak like an Old Testament prophet, i.e. if you don't start looking after the widows and orphans, you are going to get sent into exile.... (I was at a Bible study, trying to illustrate that prophets are not just fortune tellers. Prophets are social activists.)
I am afraid I might have sounded angry, when I wasn't angry at all. Some debaters may get angry, but force of speaking isn't always anger.
As for cutbacks, I agree. Most of the time they are promising to give people things, but where does the money come from? So when the election is over, the money gets rearranged. What is a promise fulfilled on the one hand, is a cut back elsewhere. Either that or raised taxes, and no one likes that. It is a balancing act.
I'm so sorry Alice. I Just meant personal debates.. not those between the politicians.
ReplyDeleteI try to steer from what I believe, and actually don't make an effort to be too informed BECAUSE I don't want to get into it. I check things out when they speak, and must admit I put my hands to my head and think how much people dislike the NDP and .. well I guess it's just which evil do we pick.. because there will always be something someone has to say about each party each time they're in.
I'm pretty good when it comes to finances. Maybe they should hire me!! ;)