It is so sad that there is frequently so little voter turnout in both American and Canadian elections. IMO, this is a slap in the face to our societal, if not biologically direct, forefathers and mothers who fought for the RIGHT to vote.
Please THINK about that.
Not long ago there was a large percentage of our population that was not allowed to vote, even if they wanted to.* In many countries around the world -TODAY- there are still many citizens who are not allowed to vote, even if they want to. If someone told you that you were not allowed to have a say in how your country is run today, what would your reaction be?? If someone told you that half the population of your country was not allowed to vote (including ONLY whatever gender, religious or ethnic background you particularly ascribe to) what would your reaction be??
As a citizen of a "free" country, YOU ARE LUCKY. Be thankful that you do not have to risk your life to obtain the basic rights and privileges of a democratic society.
Remember that this is only possible because citizens who came before you stood together and demanded change. People who came before you sacrificed and, in some cases, gave their LIVES in order to obtain the opportunity to vote.
I believe we, as members of society, are obligated to honour those who fought before us AND those who are currently fighting across the globe (our fellow humans!!!) for this right. You are taking the PRIVILEGE of voting rights for granted by neglecting to get off your ass and get to the polls no matter the inconvenience. I guarantee you it will be much more than an inconvenience when your right to vote is taken away because so many people clearly don't care and the (eventual) 10% who do turnout vote to not give lazy asshats a choice in the matter anymore.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. One vote will not change anything. One vote is only a drop in the bucket. But MANY water droplets can create a rainstorm or even a tsunami if they work together. A crowd of voices can shout louder than one.
To the same point, every apathetic breeds more apathy. And more. Until so very few are engaged that the ones who remain so take control. Then, it's "Hello Lybia".
You MUST make an effort to vote. You MUST submit your two cents. We may not have pennies in Canada anymore but cents are still money - they still have worth!!! Two cents may not have physical presence anymore but they still have value. Maybe not as much value as you'd like but still SOME.
ARE YOU GETTING THIS IRONY????
If all you have to spend is two cents... why are you choosing to NOT spend them????
That two cents is the only way you get to have a say in how your immediate world works. That's so cheap!!!! What a deal!!
But wait. Isn't your voice worth more than that?? ...Yes, it IS!! But the only way to ensure your two cents is worth more someday is to INVEST IT! The only way to invest it is to add it to the collective.
Here you have a choice!! Choice is a LUXURY, my friend, don't forget that!!! And which way to invest your two cents is your choice, yours and yours alone. Nobody can tell you where to spend your two cents. No one can tell you which piggy bank to put it in.
So what are you going to do? Are you going to put them in the glass bank? the one made of candy floss? that titanium, unbending, unbreakable muther..? the biodegradable bank? Or are you going to put those two pennies into a random piggy bank?
Choice too hard? Is it easier to just chuck 'em than make a decision? You can't keep those two cents forever and you can't chuck them either. One way or another they will be invested. You can invest in apathy and the insidious degradation of society or you can invest in a cause. How much effort you put into choosing that cause is up to you.
I hope to God people get off their lazy, spoiled asses and remove their heads from said rectums.
Good luck.
Yes, That Asterisks Mean Something
* In Canada, women won the right to vote only 100 years ago (in 1916). That was only SOME of Canadian women, btw. Quebec was the last province to give women the right to vote... in 1940. My father was born that year, FYI, and my biological grandfather was born in 1919 -- only three years after his mother was considered equal to his father (in theory). This is NOT THAT LONG AGO.
In the USA, the fight for women's suffrage (the right to vote) took 80 YEARS. The first election American women were allowed to vote in was in 1920. Again, my own biological-grandfather pre-dates American women's right to vote.
And it was only in 1965 that black Americans** were afforded the right to vote without impediment. To put that into perspective, 1965 is the year my father immigrated to Canada, four years before he met my mother.
**Interestingly, gender was more of an impediment for Canadian voters than race. After the abolition of enslavement (a gradual process ending around 1834****), black men in Canada were considered British subjects and, therefore, entitled to the right to the privileges of such status. Racism and various requirements for eligible voters inhibited black voters to an extent but the legal right existed. Black women were not discriminated against for the colour of their skin, only their gender, as they didn't win the right to vote until did white women.
Of further interest, in 1963 (two years before any black American was granted the right to vote), the first black Canadian was elected to parliament and three years after (in 1968) Canada's first black member of parliament was elected.
**** NOT A TYPO!
Reference Resources
1. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/suffrage/
2. http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage
3. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-voting-rights/
4. https://www.reference.com/history/did-blacks-right-vote-34950a1d7a70f5e8#
