I've never been what you would call a 'political' person. Actually, that's putting it mildly: I've been teased for once having a momentary lapse in memory regarding the Prime Minister's name. Sad, but very true. To my credit, that's only happened once, but it does reflect my general lack of current political knowledge. So here's my terrible secret: I've never voted before. I've never criticized the government either, let's make that clear, I think that would be very hypocritical of me to complain when I didn't bother to use my power to make a difference. I know it's pathetic, living in a country that encourages all it's citizens to be involved in the democratic process but not get involved myself, but I've always had trouble understanding what's going on. So many different promises, accusations, with each party only focusing on certain issues, I feel like I'm trying to compare apples to oranges. So, in the end, I just... didn't vote.
During this provincial election however, I started to make more of an effort to follow along. I have a basic understanding of the general ideas from each party. I tried to do some research on each of the candidates and learn as best I could about their choices, actions, or lack of actions. I even checked the local paper for a synopsis from each candidate: this ended up being a waste of time since the paper misprinted some of the information, making it appear as if two parties had exactly the same ideas! I gathered as much info as I could and I made my decision. After a long day at work, I drove to my local voting station, walked up to my designated table and... voted.
Okay, not really a big deal for other people but it was a big deal for me. I've finally become a contributing member of society.
Now I just need to work on getting a full-time job...
No comments:
Post a Comment