I
was just outside having a cigarette when inspiration struck and now I have to
share it. It’s about the world; well I guess it’s more about Canada; even more
so about Democracy. In Canada, unlike a fair amount of other places in the
world, we live in a democracy. We have the luxury of voting for the government
officials who are meant to represent us and work towards our best interests. I
know that these days this is no longer the case; well, the illusion of it still
exists anyway. The representatives of the people have transformed into some
obscene beast we call politicians. Gone are the days when our elected officials
were actually representatives. It used to be that the government was an agent
of the people; somewhere along the way, we got lost and the roles were
reversed. Today, our government tells the people what to do and no longer
abides by the desires of the people. Who is to blame? The rich old white man’s
club? How about Stephen Harper? Maybe the Conservative party in general? No,
let’s blame those who are really at fault and I don’t mean the politicians, the
bankers or the CEO’s. No, for a change let’s put the blame where it belongs: on
us, the people.
This is where my inspiration came into play; an epiphany struck
me. In the last federal election there was a less than 50% voter turnout. That
equates to 10-12 million Canadians, many not much unlike myself, who didn’t
bother to vote. Here in Halifax in the last Municipal election that voter
turnout percentage was even lower. Why? Apathy. No one cares because no one has
reminded anyone that they do hold power. Well, I want to remind you that you
do, you do have some power. We still live in a democracy and believe me, like
you I am fully aware of how flawed it has become but right now we still have an
opportunity to fix it and then improve on it. I’ve been involved with social
activism for eight months now and in that time I have seen many governments at
all levels pass laws and bills faster than one can blink an eye. Not a single
thing has changed with my social activism; at least not my approach. So this is
my new one. Use the system to get back what belongs to us all: our Country and
our freedom. If you want to see change then you need to take responsibility.
Tired of seeing rich old men with personal agendas elected to office? Get off
your ass and go vote for someone else. These politicians get elected by narrow victories and sometimes
uncontested. How many of that 50% of apathetic voters do you think it would
take to overthrow these career
politicians? I tell you not much. Look around at the world you live in;
look around your town, city, province and country. Do you like what you see? Is
this the great country of Canada you were told about? Is this the Maritime
pride we claim to all possess? No. It isn’t. Nobody ruined anything; we allowed
ruin to happen but we can fix it.
We can take back control and we can decide.
Don’t like anyone running in your riding for whatever level election? Do it
yourself. It’s a ton of work, a lot of dedication, plenty of frustration and
endless amounts of stress but that’s what it means to truly serve
your community, city, province, state or country; because that’s what
being a representative of the people is: a service; a duty; a responsibility.
It isn’t a job or a career. So I’m taking the time to remind you; to remind you
that it isn’t too late. All it requires is that you remember. Remember that you
are a person; remember that you have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness; remember that others have this same right; remember that you live
in a democracy, broken as it may be, and that means you have a voice; remember
that your vote can count but it’s
going to take more than just one. We can change the government; we can replace
them all; we can demand it and we can do it. There are 33 million citizens in
Canada, surely among them must be those with impeccable character who can lead
the people safely and in good conscience? Women and men who are able to lead
but do so because it is necessary and not for celebrity status as is now the
case. Find them; encourage them; help them. Come together in your communities
and volunteer together. Find your own candidates and participate in democracy.
Why? Because right now it is your only option.
When protest and demonstration;
freedom of expression; freedom of association; freedom of speech; personal
privacy are all outlawed by our governments at the drop of a hat, it can only
get worse. Young and old, female and male, you are the last hope; the only
hope. If you crave change then you must act. You can no longer afford
to be apathetic as it is quickly leading to your permanent imprisonment. I
cannot express to you the urgency and importance of finding that memory of power;
that faint, glimmering knowledge that you are not a slave; not a resource; not
a number but that you are a human being damnit. Like I said, democracy is
broken but not beyond repair. Capitalism is killing the planet and killing us.
A new alternative must be found but it will never,
ever be found so long as things continue in this direction. We are all
going to die and I’m not speaking metaphysically. Any idealism that is based on
infinite consumption of a finite resource is destined for extinction. We are
most probably the only living beings in the entire Universe (that we are aware
of) that are knowingly working towards our own extinction. We’re committing the
largest act of suicide ever dreamed of and not only that, but we don’t seem to
care enough to do anything about it.
I understand whatever excuse or
rationalization you can come up with for surely over the last 13 years or more I
have used them all. No more. What has my inaction given me? Everything I put
into it: nothing; in fact I’ve even lost as a result. But make no mistake, I’m
as guilty as the next apathetic voter because that is the world that we’ve
permitted to be created around us but it doesn’t have to be this way. Look
around you. Just look. Is this really the best you think that humanity as a
species can do? With all of our knowledge, scientific and spiritual, can you
honestly say that this is it? I call shenanigans because that’s what it is.
There is so much more to be accomplished yet we don’t because the governments
we watch apathetically get elected (if you can even call them elections
anymore) don’t represent our views; our desires; our needs; our wants. They
represent a very, very, very small minority. You cannot blame corporate greed or
the lobbyists who work for them either. Our inaction has led to the environment
in which these things are acceptable. Whoever has the most money makes the
rules; it’s a simple setup that’s been created.
Again, it doesn’t have to be
this way. Use the system they have warped and polluted against them. Find
individuals who would not ordinarily find themselves in a position, nor
necessarily inclined to run for representation. Individuals who have an
investment in local community and national growth; people who see the long and
the short term; those who have little interest in making money and a great
interest in creating a sustainable, eco-friendly, equitable place for people to
exist in harmony; free from worry; free from strife; free to pursue their own happiness’s
in this life. And this life is short, my own perhaps nearing the half way mark
in a few short years and I have waited far too long to live. Now that I have
learned how to live, I find that the world in which I exist doesn’t want me to
be alive, it wants me dead. It wants you dead. So I implore of you; I beg of
you; for the sake of tomorrow and the future of tomorrow’s generations, find
your voice; find your power; find yourself.
Democracy can work; it can work to get those who would see us work to our own
deaths for the benefit of themselves out of positions of power but you, me and
everyone else must find the hope to try; at least one more time. Don’t give up
yet. Come together, away from technologies, in halls, parks, churches or gyms,
anywhere and talk, discuss, debate. In other countries, thousands of rebels fight and die to overthrow their
tyrannical, uncontrolled government. Our one last and fading luxury is that we
can still peacefully overthrow our uncontrolled, tyrannical government. Do not
make the mistake of thinking things will get better because they have to; they won’t. Get informed;
see past what the television, the newspaper and the internet is telling you.
Question everything and always seek the truth. Do your best to piece it
together for truly, the truth is never found in one story. Reclaim your right;
reclaim what it means to be a citizen; reclaim your humanity. It isn’t perfect,
but it is enough to get the ball rolling on something new.
Remember that the
role of a representative of the people is to represent the people who have
elected them. When someone becomes a public representative of the people, elected
by the people that make up that public, the personal opinions, ideologies and
beliefs of that representative cease to matter; those of the public they
represent take precedence; after all, the representative has put all that away
and assumed the role of ‘the public’. At all times, regardless of personally
held convictions, a representative must do that which they have been elected to
do: represent as the people; be there for the citizens who have elected them so
that they might be free to pursue happiness, safe in the knowledge they have a
voice. Find those people; those who would sacrifice self-interest for
altruism; give up their own pursuit of happiness, for a time, so that others,
many others, may pursue their own; those who would recognize the supreme
responsibility and humility of what it means to be chosen by the people, for
the people.
