The Martlet

Rage against apathy

ryan haak

I know all about voter apathy. I’m 35 years old and I did not vote until I was 30. I won’t attempt to justify those years of cynical and snide disregard for the democratic process. In fact, if there is one thing I regret in my life, it’s putting off voting for as long as I did.

Apathy is just an empty buzzword for not giving a fuck. Apathy begets a stagnant and poisonous political climate where nothing changes.

Opting out of the voting process is not a choice, nor is it a noble act of surrender. Not voting gives more power to the current political system than an actual vote does. By deciding to refrain from voting, you are granting a license to the system to keep on with the status quo. And if the status quo is something you are content with then your name must be Stephen Harper.

Apathy allows pseudo-leaders like Harper to run roughshod over the other parties by assuming that his minority is truly representative of people’s wishes. Does it not stand to reason that anyone truly unhappy with how things are going in this country would get out and vote? It is far too easy for politicians to look at low voter turnout and assume victory in that degree of complacency.

Complacency. Now there is an ugly word. Doesn’t sound nearly as valorous as apathy, does it? Complacency is a cancerous attribute and not something any person should strive for. Google complacency. What names, icons and Messiahs pop up? Gandhi? Churchill? Rick Hansen? Not bloody likely. There are no game-changers who made their name by being complacent, apathetic, disinterested and unplugged.

On May 2, should you choose not to vote, your laziness will discredit this country. What does it cost you to mark an X on a ballot? Who ever said that you had to vote with faith and unshakable confidence in your choice? It’s your participation that matters more than anything. Revolutions have been fought over the right to scratch an X. These wars have been waged not only in the oh-so-distant past, but recently. This year. Today, even.

Whether you vote Tory, Liberal, NDP or Green, your participation is essential to the future of the country. It’s as simple as that. Simple as inking an X.