Go and vote!

I love face punching, and complaining and being unemployed and depressed and lonely as much as the next depressed, unemployed and lonely girl. But what I would really love is some change to the world. However can we make that happen? Here is my solution. Vote. We are lucky enough to live in a democracy where we have the choices and options to vote.

Blah blah blah there are a lot of complaints about our system and reasons why people claim not to vote. Do rich, white, men represent most of Ontario? And especially most of Toronto? Absolutely not. Does the occasional rich white woman make this vote more representative. Maybe marginally so. Do politicians really care about you? No, they do not. Let me explain to you why not. WE DON'T VOTE! Check this out. In the 2008 general election only 37.4% of youth between 18-24 voted. Only 48.1% of us even bothered to register to vote. 25-34 year olds didn't do a whole lot better, 48%. Less than half. Do you know what this means? Politicians don't have to care about you because you aren't going to vote. From the age of 45 and up, 60 to almost 70% of people vote. That's right, as a generation we suck. We are apathetic and pathetic.

Enough boring numbers, if you are still reading, I am slowly getting to my point. There are a lot of things we all have in common - we don't have jobs, we don't have job prospects, we are over educated for the jobs we are trying to get, we will never pay off our OSAP, and in the future our children won't have safe and affordable day care, we won't be able to buy houses, our health care and later our own health will fall apart. We will end up working 3 part time jobs all for minimum wage, none with adequate benefits, just to make rent on our small apartments while our children are in daycare from 7am to 6pm and we've gone with the lowest bidder to be in charge of their well being. Is this your future? It sure is looking like mine.

Here's the solution. VOTE! Maybe this election they don't care, but when 70% of 18-34 year olds are voting, politicians will have to start catering to us. They will bribe us with tempting offers and they will offer us voting choices in a range of skin colours, genders, sexual orientations, backgrounds, and income levels. We can have a real say in this country.

 

I used to think in order to vote you should be well educated on the issues, know your candidates, watch the debates, have real discussions about politics. I think now the situation has gotten too dire. We need to get our voices heard now. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, or even who I am voting for. Pick a voting method and go do it. Stay up all night researching issues and political histories and make a good choice. Choose your favourite colour and go for it. Vote NDP in memory of Jack Layton, vote not NDP in memory of Jack Layton. Go into that little cardboard box and play 'eenie meenie minnie mo'. Or pick the funniest name, or the longest, or the one that starts with a vowel, or the one that has the same name as your grandmother's neighbour's parakeet. I don't care. I just need you to get out there and vote.

Go here, look for the big yellow posters in your community October 6th, and go do it!! For me, for yourself, for your friends and family and for your children who all deserve better and greater opportunities in this world than what we currently have. Do it or else my next face punch is going to be for you!