Canadian McGilligans, may I please have
your attention?
As you may be aware, on October 14 you have an opportunity to influence the direction our country is going in.
This is a free choice. You can make of it what you will. But let me suggest to you that this opportunity ought to be seen as an obligation. Voting is only consistent with our bedrock political values if it remains a free choice. But remember that citizenship comes with both rights and responsibilities. As a Canadian citizen of voting age, you enjoy an immense privilege. Or maybe you enjoy a small privilege. The point is, the least you can do in recognition of that privilege is to act responsibly and present yourself at a poll.
Once you're there, you can vote, refuse your ballot, eat a carrot, write a protest, mumble to yourself, curse my rhetoric, or do whatever else you want. I won't presume to tell you what to do. I only want to persuade you to share my passion for voting. Voting is the least you could do for all the joys and woes that come with being a born, naturalized, or adopted Canadian.
Before you go: get informed. Read or watch the news, if only for five minutes. Be aware. Talk to people around you. Try to form your own opinion. Don't get overwhelmed or frustrated.
You don't get to "choose your Canada" like this everyday. So make election day count. Use your brain, use your voice, use your ballot, and let's aim together for a better country, a better world, and a better future. Vote for whomever you want to vote for, or refuse your ballot if you don't want to vote for anyone. But for your own damn sake, don't stay at home. Your life, your choices, and your decisions matter. Choose to be an active part of your community.
If you're still not convinced, go read Martin Niemoller's poetry and think about speaking up for others. Politics isn't just about playing the game or manipulating money. Politics is personal, politics is local, and politics is comprehensive. I invite you to consider one of Niemoller's observations, as interpreted by me: you may or may not find something in this election campaign that matters to you or to the people you care about. But ask yourself if the overall goal of advancing, or at least maintaining, the welfare of every individual and of our society as a whole is worth the effort involved in voting.
It's a complicated question. Don't worry if you need help deciphering it. But in the meantime, let me leave you with another bit of poetry, whose authorship is disputed: "to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived-this is to have succeeded!"
Maybe that's not your definition of success. To be honest, it's not exactly mine. But it might help you clarify why any of this matters.
Peace out, McGillians. Have a cookie. I've got some to spare, so let me know if you need one.
Tasmia Sher is a U2 political science and philosophy student, and vice-president of publicity and media relations for Liberal McGill.
2008 Woodie Awards
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