The Canadian National Newspaper: What now, self-imposed authoritarianism

Recently while browsing the internet, I found a funny little summary of social structures which used the metaphor of owning two cows. Authoritarianism, for example, was explained as: "You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk." Now our system, a democracy - a rule by the people for the people, praised for the liberties and rights it grants -- was described as such: "You have two cows. Your neighbours pick someone to tell you who gets the milk."

That brings me to the issue of the federal election that just passed us by. Did you vote? Did your dog eat your voter's ballot? Did you even know that Canada had an election, or did you fall prey to the U.S. candidates' celebrity cult? Upon hearing that merely 59% of Canadians turned up at the polls, I tried racking my brain to figure out why one would let someone else decide what to do with their cow, so to speak.

In this election there were two big cows to worry about: the environment and the economy, both of which are leaving quite a nasty mess over in yonder pasture. In a time of financial crisis and climate change, somewhat more than a handful of people will be affected-yet voter apathy continues to dominate.

As a student, I am aware of the 'personal irrelevance' felt towards elections on campuses. However, assuming that we are all forward thinking, rational beings, job availability and the environment should in fact concern us. What may have happened was that the schematics of a busy student schedule paired with the new Elections Canada process proved too difficult an obstacle to overcome.

The driving reason for the low voter turnout Canada wide was undeniably the Liberal candidate, Stephane Dion. Dion, whose proposed Green Shift referenced the illusive "Change" central to Obama's campaign, was overcome by his own (lack of) personality. Not only did the opposition question his ability to lead, but so did his own party. There were murmurs amongst staunch Liberal party members on preferring a Conservative minority to Dion shaming them in office. This general lack of faith in his leadership led many to correctly predict that an identical government would result. Rather than voting for the sake of formality, time was spent elsewhere

Not only were the Canadian candidates less charismatic and, perhaps, less sexy than those of our southern counterparts, they also failed to captivate the interests of voters. Attention was drawn away by the American election process and the possibility of a new precedent's being set. Within Canada, revolution was absent from the podiums.

Yet these reasons aside, the cow metaphor still rings unnervingly true. Within a democracy, if the people themselves do not care then the reins are handed over to a government who inherits power with little accountability. The politicians are ultimately swayed by the motivation to be put (back) in power. They thus cater to the whims of those who will get them there-which could be lobbyists, activists, or you.

As the politicians are running for a seat, long term investments do not interest them, but as someone who has plans other than jumping off a bridge, the future does affect you. If we do not vote, someone will vote for us. Personally, I would rather not risk my cows being taken, one shot, with the milk of the second being poured down the drain.

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