Democracy: Be a part of the action

But perhaps even more vital is ensuring your vote is an informed one.

I’m now going on 30, but when I was 17, I did what any normal teenager does and joined my province’s youth parliament. The non-partisan organization, of which I was a member through 2010 before later becoming a director on its alumni society, taught me a few things about politics and what it means to be a contributor to democracy.

Let’s get one thing out in the open though first: Yes, you have every right NOT to vote, and if that’s what you so choose, then good for you. However, I don’t want to hear any complaining coming from your direction.

So as I was saying – democracy…

It is everything our society is built on. From the Legislative Assembly in Edmonton, to our local community association boards, to what the family should have for dinner tonight, we utilize democratic principles.

You have the right to have your say, so dammit, have your say. The establishment is asking you what and who you want, telling you that your opinion matters, by giving you the ability to vote.

So why wouldn’t you?

And why wouldn’t you do everything in your power to make sure you’re casting a vote that makes sense?

There is virtually no way you’re going to agree on every single platform item a party puts out, but you have as much of a duty to find out what you agree and disagree on, as you do to actually writing an X on that ballot.

Not everyone has spent time in a youth parliament before, obviously, but the real point is that all of these things fall under the category of common sense. You owe it to yourself, to your friends and family, and to the greater population to challenge your world-views and find out where you actually fall on the spectrum.

Is a stronger economy worth destroying the environment, or is maintaining a healthy environment worth flushing away a strong economy? Or can both be achieved? (Answer to that last one: yes)

Is it possible we can come to a better understanding around a student’s membership in a GSA simply by asking someone with lived experience why people stay in the closet in the first place?

And because kids can’t vote, ask yourself what kind of world you want to create for them.

I recently listened to a Muslim woman speak her mind about how people don’t ask her why she wears what she does before they make some kind of off-hand remark… about something that’s none of their business, mind you.

Coincidentally, I was asked by a colleague two days later what I believe needs to change in order to make progress on divisive issues.

It may seem impossibly difficult to come to a compromise on certain things, but one thing that could help is if we just asked more questions of each other in a bid to achieve greater understanding.

I challenge all Albertans – yeah, YOU reading this — to let yourself and your opinions be challenged over the next few weeks as we decide who will get to call the shots in our province for at least the next few years. Then, when that day comes, use that knowledge as power to make an educated vote.

I can tell you from experience that there aren’t many better feelings.

by The Hall Way

Democracy: Be a part of the action

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