Editor vs. Editor – Oct 14th Election
Topic: “To Vote or Not to Vote; THAT is the Question…”
J: Chitha, the elections are coming up!
C: So…?
J: SO?! I went to an all-candidates meeting a couple of weeks ago, and now all I can think about is politics.
C: Oh? How did it go?
J: It was pretty interesting actually. Within just half an hour I was able to learn a lot about each political party – not including the Conservatives because they just didn’t show up – and got a feel for what they stand for. I was sad that I had to leave early. But hey, who would you vote for? Do you even believe in voting?
C: I don’t know. I think I’m divided between NDP and the Green Party, and yes, I believe in voting. However, there are many times when I have been disappointed when they have not held up their end of the bargain. Idealistically, the perfect politician would do everything that they promise. In reality, we know that that is impossible, and people make mistakes. Yet it’s those politicians that ride of corporate sponsorship and secret agreements that bother me. Those are the ones that have their hands deep in their pockets and smile at the camera when necessary.
J: Yes, but doesn’t it make you angry that the same people that are elected, who screw up by breaking those promises and even commit crimes, get re-elected and not properly reprimanded? Obviously, something is wrong… so why should we bother voting at all? Why should we elect these people so they can make “sweeping changes” only to have them steal money from us?
C: I definitely agree with that, but if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. Some people don’t even have the right to vote. I mean yeah, it’s generally the same parties that get voted in every election, but if enough people actually cast informed votes by paying attention, following politics, as well as knowing what kind of change they want – this wouldn’t be such a big problem.
J: But it is – and the media doesn’t help either. The media has so much influence, so much power to persuade any view to think positively or negatively of a public figure. They can build your status up and turn it into a pop craze – like they did with Obama. Or they can be attacked mercilessly and town down – like they do regularly with celebrities. They can even manipulate the facts – show you only parts of things to let you make assumptions. So how do ordinary people know who to vote for when what they see on T.V. and what they read in the paper may or may not be reliable?
C: But it’s not that voting doesn’t work; it’s just that people are lacking the means to make those informed decisions and the results of the election are reflective of that. This is why we took on the role of editors, Jenn. Remember? We said we wanted to go against the mainstream media (including the journalistic branch) and to make people actually THINK for once.
J: Sigh. You’re right about our paper. But I think people have just lost the will to vote altogether… and if they DO vote – they vote based on outside appearances.
C: You mean they fall easily for the mention of big huge corporate tax cuts, the lowering of taxes, and basically the idea of being able to hoard as much of their income as possible?
J: Yeah, exactly. So instead of voting for parties like the Green Party that support sustainability, support the building of communities, and support initiatives like the carbon tax (proposed by the Liberals) all the way – they vote on the other end of the spectrum. They would vote for the Conservatives – which is why the Green Party has never taken an election. There is so much proof out there that we need to change our lifestyles, but do you think anything will change if we don’t even vote for the one party that might do that for us? The Liberals proposed that massive Gateway Project! And because of Harper (Conservative), we’ve had corporations getting big huge tax cuts – money that could have been directed to getting rid of our two-tier health care system!
C: Well, nobody can force them but I just hope that if they do vote, that they make a highly INFORMED one and that they don’t believe everything they hear. By the way Jenn, I think we just sort of switched sides…
J: Oh… did we? Heh… well, GREEN PARTY ALL THE WAY!!!
C: Jenn, we’re not even of legal age yet.
J: That’s interesting that you say that Chitha. Because I have the idea that in a few years, Green Party will be the top gun – not the underdogs.
C: Huh? What makes you say that…
J: More and more young adults (like us) will reach the age of majority in which we can finally have the right to vote. If you’ve noticed the trend in the last couple of years, we’re all thinking more green. Generally speaking, youth are more impressionable and haven’t yet lost the will to fight for what they believe in.
C: Well I hope you’re right because I wouldn’t mind seeing a change of political party in power.
J: Neither would I. In fact, I would plan for it. We can’t keep living the way we are. So we’re going to have to change sooner or later, whether people decide their single vote makes a difference or not.
C: I think it does. Every vote counts.
