I'm not usually turned off by any aspect of discussions of politics or political strategy, but this week I have been disgusted. Don't get me wrong, it is not the usual mudslinging among politicians that has me down, it is an article in today's Ottawa Citizen that gives voters their primer on how to "decline" their ballots. This is the epitome of the dilettante commentator telling people to discard their right of citizenship in order to express an absolutely useless non-opinion on the fate of their province (in this case Ontario) for the next four years. I tweeted my dismay with this article and was told to basically "lighten up" by a national writer for Macleans. Have our pundits become so cynical that they no longer can understand the real value of the franchise? Have voting and elections become a vegas-like betting game in which pollsters and commentators make predictions and then take the voting public for granted like gamblers setting the odds?
This week the Globe and Mail editorial Board instructed voters to elect a minority government. Have they never studied parliamentary elections? Don't they understand that it's not like hedging your bets, it's making a deliberate choice for the future?
On Thursday, the voters of Ontario have the opportunity (far too rare) to make clear policy choices and direct a potential government as to their preferences for the next half a decade. There are drastic differences between the front runners and interesting policy proposals among the also rans. So, if I am an Ontario voter, why would I choose either not to vote - a cop out - or to make a pretentious show of arriving at the poll and dismissing all of the alternatives? The day after the election, both these choices are moot.
To be honest, after decades of calling Toronto my home, I now live in North Vancouver. The decisions made by the Ontario electorate are theirs and theirs alone. I have a mother, children and grandchildren who will be affected by the outcome of this election, but I trust their judgement to consider the issues, the parties, and the candidates, and to vote for their best option.
No party is perfect, no choice is without its pluses and minuses. But to give up your right to give some direction (and no, a spoiled or declined ballot is not a direction - it is a conceit) is the greatest insult to our parents and grandparents who fought for that democratic right.
On the 70th anniversary of D-Day, do we take our democratic freedoms so lightly that we want to trade them for a snarky tweet?
If you have the power to vote, use your intellect and your best judgement, and make a real choice.
This week the Globe and Mail editorial Board instructed voters to elect a minority government. Have they never studied parliamentary elections? Don't they understand that it's not like hedging your bets, it's making a deliberate choice for the future?
On Thursday, the voters of Ontario have the opportunity (far too rare) to make clear policy choices and direct a potential government as to their preferences for the next half a decade. There are drastic differences between the front runners and interesting policy proposals among the also rans. So, if I am an Ontario voter, why would I choose either not to vote - a cop out - or to make a pretentious show of arriving at the poll and dismissing all of the alternatives? The day after the election, both these choices are moot.
To be honest, after decades of calling Toronto my home, I now live in North Vancouver. The decisions made by the Ontario electorate are theirs and theirs alone. I have a mother, children and grandchildren who will be affected by the outcome of this election, but I trust their judgement to consider the issues, the parties, and the candidates, and to vote for their best option.
No party is perfect, no choice is without its pluses and minuses. But to give up your right to give some direction (and no, a spoiled or declined ballot is not a direction - it is a conceit) is the greatest insult to our parents and grandparents who fought for that democratic right.
On the 70th anniversary of D-Day, do we take our democratic freedoms so lightly that we want to trade them for a snarky tweet?
If you have the power to vote, use your intellect and your best judgement, and make a real choice.
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