By Bob Groeneveld
.
So.
The election is on Monday.
And you just don鈥檛 know what to do.
You鈥檇 like to vote鈥� but you don鈥檛 like any of them.
Well, duh! Of course you don鈥檛 like any of them. They鈥檙e politicians.
You鈥檙e not supposed to like any of them. Not if you have a brain.
That鈥檚 how the real world works.
But here鈥檚 another thing about how the real world works: you don鈥檛 have to like people to accept that they are a necessary part of how the real world works.
And that鈥檚 politicians.
So, grow up, quit acting like a millennial, and get the job done.
You have to vote.
You have to choose the ne鈥檈r-do-well who is the least ne鈥檈r-do-wellest of the bunch.
Some people will tell you that because it is your right to vote, it is also your right not to vote.
Wrong!
Others will tell you that it is a privilege to be able to vote, and they will plead with you to vote, but if you don鈥檛鈥� oh, well.
In fact, voting is neither a right nor a privilege. It鈥檚 a responsibility. It is a requirement to maintain democracy.
If you abrogate your responsibility to vote, you damage democracy. And that鈥檚 not just your democracy that you鈥檙e damaging, it鈥檚 mine and everyone else鈥檚, too.
It鈥檚 like smoking. You鈥檙e not just fouling your own air, you鈥檙e messing up the air that everyone needs.
Canada ought to enact a law similar to ones in a number of other progressive democratic countries, requiring every able citizen to vote. Don鈥檛 vote? Then pay a fine!
You don鈥檛 like your choices? Waaa!
Sometimes the world doesn鈥檛 bow down and get perfect for you. Elections can be like that, and often are. Dissatisfaction is not a new 91原创enon.
Especially in ridings like 91原创-Aldergrove, where everyone believes that one party 鈥� in this case the Conservative Party 鈥� has a stranglehold on the outcome, all the parties may put less effort into securing good local candidates.
Frankly, the Conservatives would probably win here if they had a fence post on the ballot.
Or maybe not鈥�
Look to the west, in the Cloverdale-91原创 City riding, where the winds of climate denial have shifted towards the centre of the political spectrum.
Can those winds shift further still?
Can they shift in 91原创-Aldergrove?
Do you want them to shift further? Or do you want them to shift back?
Do you believe Canada has a responsibility to citizens of the world? Or just to ourselves?
Do you believe that we are 鈥渙ur brother鈥檚 keeper鈥濃�� or that everyone should just keep to themselves?
These are choices that you can make by voting 鈥� and admittedly, you might not see a 鈥渂est鈥� choice in front of you, so you may need to choose the least worst.
You may or may not effect change by voting on Monday.
But all you can do by not voting is to damage the democracy that you may decide you want later鈥� when you finally grow up.
