I wrote a post way back on August 10, 2006 - one of my very first. It dealt with citizenship and cynicism. A reader recently reminded my of it and its timeliness in Alberta around the concern of a lower and lower voter turnout in elections.
Here is the link to a reflection on our declining state of citizenship.
I hope revisiting this post generates some new commentary on this Blog about how we can revitalize civil society and revive a sense of citizenship as both a duty and a right. People died for us to have this opportunity for a free and democratic society and that seems to be cliche now. Sad when you consider that our troops are making personal efforts and sacrifices, in our name, to help others in Afghanistan. They are risking their lives right now so others can have these democratic rights that we are blithely taking for granted.
We seem to have lost our way somewhere along the way as we seem to have adopted the dominant social goal of getting "rich" instead of the more exciting goal of becoming "enriched." Or is that just me talking?
Is this a sad sign that humans, when left to their own devices, do not prefer democracy?
ReplyDeleteI've heard much said about how forcing people to vote will yield voters who do not make rational choices, but can that be said of the voters who turn out in every election?
People don't want rational policies that make sense. In the absence of glitz, glam and charisma, they prefer things the way they are.
The median voter in Alberta doesn't care about provincial politics, especially when folks south of the border could re-write NAFTA, and affect change to a much greater degree.
It wasn't too long ago that your Liberal Party did not want our troops in Afghanistan. And they have been playing politics with the issue when Afghan men and women still don't have the basic human rights we have here in Canada. It's a terrible shame.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that repost, it was informative.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really clear on what modern democracy demands of its citiens. We always talk about rights - including the right to not vote, but do we have responsibilities other than observing the particular laws of the day? Is there anything we actually owe democracy in exchange for the rights we are granted by it?
Neo - I thik we owe a lot - especially to those in the WWs who fought and died for our freedoms and our democracy and the right to vote. But that is just corny old me.
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