Owning your vote

Once again, it is candidate-nomination time in the United States. So, once again, I am drawn to listen in quietly as I make small, biased opinions on these politicians that could one day affect me. I find the values that seem to be most highly considered to be very intriguing. To me, it seems as if whoever gets the most publicity will win the race. The victor is rarely the one with the more ‘eco-friendly' platform or the person that cares about the pensions of our elderly. It is always the one that can support enough troops, and occasionally kiss enough babies.

Then, I begin to consider our Canadian election. Is it the same? Do we base our votes on some popularity contest, or is it according to who has the most beneficial platform? Or are we just ultimately apathetic? When you talk to the average university student they do not have a strong understanding of why they support any particular political party. Who is to blame, though; after all it is the age of the Internet. Everyone has the ability to access the information, they just need the motivation.

According to a poll done by the National Post only 61.4 per cent of Canadians voted last year. Consider that with the leftover 38.6 per cent, you could shift the course of the entire federal election. The complaint that seems most common to me is the irrelevancy of the election material, particularly to uninterested young voters.

Now, I am not saying that people do not worry about the economy: everyone does, especially considering the various OSAP loans or other forms debt that the majority of university students have. However, we are entering a new age. People want radical change. All over the World you see people standing up. Look at all the small clubs that support charities or the support of other students even here at Brock. More so, look at the major Occupy movements occurring around the World.

In my personal opinion, you could use this to motivate the general public to be more voter conscious. You see, if people are motivated by change, they are going to want to see an immediate result within their personal life. Thus, the political parties should become more involved in everyday life initiatives. They should try to show the ways that you could become involved to make a change; not only in the country, but the World. This idealism will motivate people to vote. On top of that, it would show people that do not support voting the direct change that others are making by exercising this right. For proof of this, look at the vote counts for the Green Party. They advertised a policy of change, so unusual from what has been instilled for so many years. They may only have one seat in the House of Commons, but nationally their votes increased. People are motivated by the idealism of change and are willing to prove it.

In the end, everyone desires to be known. People desire to be acknowledged, to be remembered. But what people don't realize is they can do this by exercising their right to vote. They can stop and say; "I was a part of the change".

Perhaps, this is why Obama was elected. People wanted a difference, and even if his political impact has been criticized, at one point he represented change to the American people; he definitely affected the US culturally, if only by his election. He motivated a nation, and is that not what you people want in a leader?