Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.
                                                                                                                      -Abraham Lincoln


In other words, if you don’t vote you get the government you deserve and, by the way, you have no right to complain.

This blog is a departure from theme, but I feel it is my civic duty to encourage and remind citizens of their civic duty especially since the present federal government’s Orwellian named Fair Elections Act has stripped Elections Canada of its traditional responsibility to do this. In this election and going forward Elections Canada is only permitted to answer questions. Questions like: where / when do I vote?

Could we talk for a moment about Democracy? We pride ourselves, we Canadians, on this egalitarianism, this system of government where everyone has a free and equal right to participate in decision-making processes – The True North Strong and Free!

So why is it, then, that nearly 40 percent of our citizens have stopped voting? Why are our young people eschewing the system?

Attack ads and smear campaigns alienate voters, I believe, and those moderate, alienated and apathetic voters simply stay home. I used to wonder how extreme, ideologically- driven minorities could win elections. Now I think I understand. They turn off the non-ideological voter with clever, hard-core propaganda, polarizing the debate, which energizes the partisan voter.

Sustaining low voter turnout weakens a democracy, but works to keep our present government, and any government that uses this strategy, in power. Retaining that power is the directive . . . at any cost. It trumps integrity, honesty, and decency, not to mention the common good. Longevity is what matters.

It can sink as low as whisking true believers to the polls while using robo-calls to direct non-supporters to the wrong voting stations.

In 2003 Elections Canada commissioned a report to study the worrying trend of low voter turnout. They discovered that it was ages 18 – 24 that stayed home . . . 62 percent of them. But then it was also 55 percent of 25 – 34 year olds that refused, and the decade older didn’t do much better. The irony here is obvious. Those whose future is most at stake decline to take part in shaping it.

That democracy is fragile is no secret. It must be handled with care and can never be taken for granted. A look at the past eight years, which have been an affront to democracy, should demonstrate that fact. And a look at the fate of countries without it should further drive it home.

I voted last Saturday. It was exhilarating and empowering. The act registered what I believe in.   I had my say, but it was not just about me; it was about the country and the world that I envision.   It was about democracy.

Do not allow yourself to be stripped of your power. Show up. Make your values known. Help to fashion the future. Lead by example. Take that pencil on October 19th and put down your X for what you believe in.

The world is run by those who show up.