Image via WikipediaUnder our Canadian parliamentary system we have elections. And I must applaud our principles, but the key to change is not voting, it is the open door provided by Elections Canada and other bodies of oversight that really make our system work. If you think that going behind some curtain every few years means that you are engaged in the process, you are sadly mistaken.
Ditto for all of the professional protesters in this country. While protest has changed the course of history, protest only works when people have been crushed into oblivion and are willing to lay down there lives en masse.
Lets face it, in a country where the HST is the big issue, this ain't gonna happen, and I'm grateful for that.
Voting is more nuanced, a placebo to keep people of average intelligence engaged in the illusion of participation in the outcome of the country.
It allows them to have passionate and pointless debates over Pinot Blanc in restaurants, it sells newspapers, and it makes frogs less aware that the water temp has just been increased.
For example, in more than 80% of the Federal Ridings in this country, the result is a foregone conclusion before the campaign begins. While this does change with the fortunes of time, the results are still easily predicted and generally accurate.
In my own riding, I know who is going to win and an election hasn't even been called, and the chances are that many of you could make the same claim.
On the upside, Elections Canada is a wide open door that allows each and every one of us to truly participate in our democracy with a minimum of effort and expense.
I know this because ten years ago my name was on a ballot in a federal election with a ragtag group who used the internet to cobble together a campaign that led to us getting Official Party Status.I am proud of the fact that my name was on a ballot in a federal election. I did not expect to win, but I stood up for my beliefs.
My point is that the rule of our democracy is highly open to grassroots participation, and that we can all do better than simply regurgitate whatever biased media opinion that we choose to expose ourselves to.
Participation in democracy involves more than sitting at a dining room table, a bar, or a keyboard and complaining.
Canadians don't seem to understand that real change involves getting off your ass. This has led me to the understanding that your opinion is as worthless as mine, and my efforts are better expended on trying to help people in other places.
Lets face it, Canadian Politics is little more than a useless pussyfest, and people truly do get the kind of government they deserve, and the powers that be are quite happy to watch you get angry at each other around your dining room table. Its the way the system works, and it is so much easier than getting off your ass and actually doing anything.
Now, is there any of that Pinot Blanc left?
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