Editorial

Democracy?

If fewer than half the eligible voters actually vote, can we still call it democracy? If not, we may have to come up with a new term for what’s been going in the Lesser Slave Lake riding.
The process reached a kind of paralysis in 2004. Only 31 per cent of the voting public managed to drag themselves to the polls to vote.
What does this tell us?
Maybe that almost anything was more important, or more interesting, than voting.
Watching a hockey game? Definitely. Taking in a movie? Of course.
How about having a coffee?
Such a degree of apathy has seldom, if ever, been seen in Canada or any other democracy where people’s votes really do, or can, make a difference. It would be understandable in a country such as Cuba, where the only choice is between members of the same party. They demean the word by calling that democracy, and anyone could be excused (by us, but not the regime) for not taking time out of the bread line to vote.
But here? We have the real thing, yet 69 per cent of us yawned and said (if we even thought about it), ‘Nah, I don’t think I’ll bother.’
Lack of interest in voting could mean many things. One possibility is that things have been so stable for so long that nobody believes they could ever turn bad. So why vote?
Another is that after 30-plus years of Progressive Conservative victories, voters don’t believe a change is possible. The PC candidate will win no matter what, so why bother?
It’s ironic and kind of sad that we are losing our appreciation for democracy. We do get to choose, and by not showing up at the polls we choose to let somebody else choose our leaders for us.
In many countries, the idea that the majority could actually choose a government that would then actually represent all the people is an elusive and cherished dream. People fight and die to make it work.
Here, we let it wither through lack of interest.
What we’re creating for ourselves resembles the former system of choosing leaders in early ‘democracies.’ There, only members of an elite group were asked for their opinion on who should lead. The rest liked it or lumped it. Only the wealthy, or only landowners had the franchise.
Here, it comes down to those who haven’t been claimed by laziness, complacency or apathy. It amounts to about the same thing – 30 per cent of the people deciding who will make the decisions.
It doesn’t have to be that way, and there are local examples of much greater participation. The 2004 municipal election in Slave Lake, for instance, drew an impressive 75 per cent of voters, and that was in the middle of a blizzard.
Give it some thought. The people we elect are spending our money; making decisions about the services we rely on. It would be good if we could give them the impression we’re paying attention.
Monday, March 3 is election day. Let’s get out and vote!