Surprise Surprise: The Phil Blog

I admire the individuality of my walkman cell phone. It's a device that lets me choose the tone of my day and gives me the choice of listening to conventional radio. It doesn't treat me like a confused sheep or an ice cream product posted "Made in Canada" but with significant content from New Zealand. My attitude towards life can be as blissful as a Celine Dion tune or as torturous and melancholy as... a Celine Dion tune. I gave the conventional radio station a try the other day and was enjoying the influx of new tune to supplement the outrageously drowsy elevator music that I, and around ten percent of the radio audience in Toronto are used to, according to last industry survey. Considering we're into a new year, and another minority term of federal government over in Ottawa, I was startled to hear an ad from our gorgeous friends, the Conservatives. "Let's make government work," screamed this ad's overall tone and bit, "we need to reach a consensus bladdy-blah..." Is this because Stephen Harper was denied a majority? Was this because our Queen of Canada... ahem... Governor-General gave Stevie a Christmas break slash pick me up from certain political death slash let the public forget my latest boondoggle? Frankly any political advertising, especially from the governing Conservatives, about a consensus "anything" is patronising and insults a regular voter like myself to believe that they were always this conciliatory to political opinion and opponent contrary to their own. Do the Conservatives really think that I forgot their pathetic ways to "crush" what they see as representatives of the dominion undeserving of their seats even though we voted for them? I'm still reeling from the fact that Conservatives even run partisan ads in a post-election non-election period. The mongrels we have in parliament, regardless of political stripe, are pathetically laden with archaic semantics only acceptable in the Victorian era. I am certainly not fond of public advertising calling opposition moves as "Un-Canadian" or compared to a coup of any sort. No, that's called democracy in the Canadian dominion. And any political party should be sued for calling what is legal, "illegal". It's an arrogance that drives me further away from ever voting periwinkle. Maybe I should just use my next ballot paper in the bathroom instead. That's what our current Prime Minister suggests with his current ad campaign and put-downs.

Why is it so hard to vote? Even with minority governments, the time in which we can exercise such a fundamental right is so easily wasted and ignored by an uninterested public. I turned eighteen years old the day before municipal elections were held back in 2006. All I had to do, even without my name on the official voters' roll at the time, was to bring appropriate identification. It was easy, quick, painless and I got to say it was a calming feeling. Earlier that day, a female friend and I were trolling (which is probably a lousy way to describe it) on Yonge Street in Toronto, entering an adult-themed shop just because I could as a person over the age of majority. It wasn't as painless or calming as voting, but for some voters they would rather enter an adult shop than vote at all. For the record, I glanced and gave a disgusted look considering my naivete and baby face to boot, dragging my suddenly amused female friend out of the store. People are definitely not liking the government as we see it in general. I'm certainly not thrilled with partisanship, or corporate donations, or moustaches for that matter. But voting was a right that we as a country fought for in war and with the British. I'm sure that this history lesson has already bored most apathetic voters I'm trying to convince. Election laws stipulate that you have the time to vote. You can be excused from work or probably school just to slip that ballot into the ballot box. But why such low turnouts these days? Sure, we're not satisfied with politics. But without voting, even with a spoilt or blank ballot, you as a non-voter has given all permission to let the current system continue its apathetic voter-making ways. So take your damn Voter Information Card, and say what you need to say on that small piece of paper. Why is it so hard to vote?