It's official Canadians are headed to the polls in May and now I have to ask myself a few questions. First, how many Canadians even care that were having election? That the government was defeated? What a motion of non-confidence is and how it relates to the government being in contempt of Parliament which was the first time in the British Parliamentary system. I could consider questions like the difference between a corruption scandal and say abusing our democratic system. What does it mean to lie to Parliament? Does it matter if the Speaker of the House rules against the government or what about all those high level public servants that are protesting? What do Canadians really care about?
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canadians care about their pocket books (the economy) and the musings of Parliament mean nothing. I think this is a horrendous comment to say considering that he means that Canadian citizens do not care about our democratic institutions. Yet, I actually believe him. The government has constantly stayed ahead in the opinion polls despite numerous scandals and abuses of power. Shutting down Parliament, a minister lying on a oath, changing Canadian government to "Harper government", claiming that Statistics Canada supported removing the short-form census when only after the CEO of Stat's Canada had to resign and say the government was lying and removing various public officials who did not support government policy and the list goes on and I am not even including the recent electoral funding scandals.
But Canadians are ignorant...
We must be if we cannot see what is right in front of our eyes. Do we need the government to literally kick the Governor General out of the highest chair just so we can understand? Granted when the Liberals were corrupt they paid for it but we can let the Conservatives have a pass? Is it really because the government has handled the economy so successfully in this uncertain time. Now we can argue into the week on which government is responsible for "fixing the economy." But Canadians seem really cocky that our banks did not collapse which is contributed to the government and not say the Bank Act (1874) which set up strict standards for our banking system.
Canadians are also lazy...
We make fun of Americans for starting a movement like the Tea Party but you know what at least when they are not satisfied they do something beyond turning a blind eye and sitting on the couch. Canadians have done this in the past with the rise of the CCF during the Great Depression, the Reform Party and the Bloc Quebecois. Now we just complain about everything and do not do anything about it.
At least vote if your going to moan and if you do not think any party matches your beliefs then start your own party. Last time we checked a little more then 40% of the population did the same thing. That's a lot of potential supporters.
How I can be positive about my fellow citizen when they do not even understand the basic system we live under? Health care is important but so are issues of gender, class, race, sexual orientation and place of origin.
Some people will claim I am harsh yet they do not want to face the truth. We do live under peace, order and good government but that mean's we should be a check on that. We have a responsibility to keep government in line. This means every citizen not just the chattering classes.
I want someone to prove me wrong.
Yet come this May electoral support may even dip below 50%. After all, it must be more important to get that third Tim Horton's coffee then to think about one's country.
Thinking about one's country.
It sound's so strange and radical but it might just make us a better country. Besides you can only roll your eyes so many times in one day.
I see your point, Michael. People should stop complaining about their government and get involved with the government's activities through awareness, submitting concerns, and voting. If they want change, they should get off their chairs and kick the ball. I believe there are issues with communication between news and citizens though.
ReplyDeleteHow many citizens choose to follow the news? Some people may not have time to sit down and look through daily news articles or listen to the radio. They may be too busy being concerned about personal matters such as taking care of a family on their own while working long hours. Should they still vote even though they don't know what's going on?
What kind of news--in genre and format--do people usually follow? It seems to me that people generally know more about the lives of celebrities, entertainment, and popular technology than government. If celebrities openly express their concerns about government, maybe more people will pay attention and care about it too. News can be accessed through radio, word of mouth, papers, television, and the Internet. Only people who want to know about news turn on the radio or television, or ask friends about events. News is not in-your-face enough like a size 36 font headline on your browser's homepage. I think having advertisements about government events in buses, streets, or even on that Tim Horton's coffee cup may help with exposure. It sounds absurd but ads with impressionable headings or images do attract eyes.
How many citizens know how to read English? I have encountered many immigrants in Canada in the last year who don't understand English text very well. They depend on news feeds in their own language to keep up with current events, but some of those news feeds don't give specifics on government activities in Canada as often as news in English do.
There are plenty more issues of communication, but I think the greatest one is people's choice of following government news. If you push it on them, maybe they will care more.
I would say Canadians are ignorant because they're lazy. We're a country made up of immigrants who don't necessarily want to be here, but really have little choice. Sure, the United States are similarly composed of immigrants; however they have more of an identity. You can most definitely define American culture. Can we do the same with Canadians?
ReplyDeleteMaybe Canadian culture is all the cultures from different countries combined. But if that's the case then it means there is very little uniting us together as a country, like a high school full of cliques without school spirit. So why should they care about what's going on with the country, so long as they're fine? They have their own lives to deal with.
I'm not saying the fault is on the immigrants. If that were the case then the US would be in the same situation as us. What we need is more patriotism. We need a reason to be proud of our country. While I'm sure there are plenty of reasons, clearly they aren't good enough for the general public. I can't tell you how many times I've heard fellow Canadians complain that we have nothing compared to the US.
Unless we suddenly become rich, I don't see this problem being fixed any time soon. However I do agree with Kore's post about getting the news out to the people. It might increase the chance that we'll actually care enough to do more than take the country for granted.
It terms of time how much effort does it take to switch the radio on during the drive home? Traffic is not exactly getting lighter these days so there should be no trouble at the very least catching the news at a half-hour point to know just what exactly is going on. The same thing can be said about the late night news. If you watch the 11:00 news for maybe ten minutes you usually get update on what the headlines are for Canada. I know the hours are getting longer and longer and when you come home the last thing you want to do is turn on that dial. But if you think about that for a minute that simple act is the difference between a informed citizen and a ignorant one.
ReplyDeleteI like the innovative ideas you suggest Kore although I would argue technology distracts us from these core issues.
I have not watched many of the non-English or French channels but that is a concern if immigrants are not getting the information. Then again on some cases immigrants are more passionate about voting because some see it as the moment when they truly feel they are part of this country.
I think Canadians do have a distinct culture Anonymous. There is a reason why Prime Minister Pearson thought Canadians needed there own flag or Trudeau wanted to bring the constitution home. I think there are reasons that are good enough for the public. Do we need someone in the government to literally say I will privatize health-care or Quebec should separate? There is a clear method to why Prime Minister Harper is the least "Conservative" Prime Minister in Canadian history and that is because he knows that if he removes or cuts elements of this country that Canadians will care about he will lose more then just a chance at a majority.
Canadians have had it easy. We have not had a large national issue since 1988 with free trade. We can turn something into a election issue, to make us line up at the polls and participate.
It does not take much to pay attention or turn up on election day. It should be our duty as citizens to do this. To give back to the country that has given us so much. A place we call home and our proud of.