Tag Archives: election

Voting in a democracy

How many people have died, fighting either to earn the opportunity to vote, or to keep the freedom to participate in a free and open society? Yet many individuals in free and democratic societies don’t make the effort to exercise their right… their duty, to vote. It amazes me. It baffles me.

Even if you don’t think your vote will make a difference. Even if you feel you have to choose the lesser evil because you are not a fan of any candidate or party. Even if you aren’t passionate about any of the party platforms… you have the opportunity to contribute to a process that makes your life better than if you didn’t have that opportunity at all.

Voting in a democracy should be like renewing your driver’s licence… something you have to do every few years. If you don’t vote, you should have to pay a penalty when you pay taxes. But more than that, it should be something you want to do; to participate in a free and open society. It should be a duty you want to perform.

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Upcoming elections: With Covid-19, there are more options to vote than just in person on Election Day. Your options can including voting early, and/or by mail, but this requires action before Election Day… so register now!

BC, Canada Provincial Election – October 24th 2020: Online Voter Registration

US Federal Election – November 3rd, 2020: I Will Vote

The great divide

I make a commitment as an educator to promote people doing their civic duty and voting, and so I choose not to publicly share who I vote for. I want people to exercise their right, and participate in the democracy that they live in, and I’d rather promote that than promote any one party.

That said, I must say that I’m saddened by the story told by voters in yesterday’s election:

  1. The news leading up to the election focused on dirty tactics and the ‘ugliness’ of the attacks by parties on other parties.
  2. The Bloc Québécois had a resurgence, suggesting the return of separatist attitudes in Quebec.
  3.  While the Liberals won, the Conservatives had the popular vote.
  4. #Wexit was trending during the election, with Albertans wanting to start their own separatist movement for Western Canada.

The story being told is one of a divided nation. Head south of the border and the story, while quite different, also speaks of divisiveness in their upcoming election as well. Head ‘across the pond’ and Brexit tells yet another story of a country divided.

How does our media promote this? News headlines need to be catchy to gain clicks and advertising, or to keep people glued to their television. Social media sites are slow to respond to hateful comments and trolling. Hate and divisiveness spreads quickly. False information is easily shared. Memes that attack and ridicule get more likes and shares compared to newsworthy items on issues that really matter.

Why are democracies becoming so polarized, separatist, and adversarial? Why do we identify on the extremes rather than recognize that our ideas and opinions sit on a spectrum? Why do these extremes define our politics?

I don’t have answers to these questions. I have concerns about how great a divide we are seeing, and I wonder what can be done to promote a democracy that can be defined by unity rather than polarization?