In the last federal election, less than 60 per cent of Canadians eligible to vote went to the polls. Notwithstanding Stephen Harper’s comfortable parliamentary majority, the Conservative party got elected with only 40 per cent of the 60 per cent of people who voted. In other words, roughly one out of every four eligible voters used the opportunity to signal their desire for the Conservative government to continue in office.
Last week, only 49 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls in Ontario. Of that 49 per cent, 37 per cent voted to re-elect Dalton McGuinty’s government. What that means is that only slightly more than 18 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots in support of the Liberal government.
Forty-nine per cent turnout is a very troubling number. When a majority of citizens make a conscientious decision not to have a say in the selection of their government, our polity has a serious legitimacy problem. There is a breach in our social contract.
There is no single cause. And although it’s tempting to make simplistic conclusions, there are no easy fixes. Respected scholars have suggested we are already in a post-politics era. They argue that governments have become powerless in this globalized era of governance.
Others have noted that we live in an individualistic society. Institutions with different missions – from the United Nations to the Catholic Church to private banks, hospitals and schools – are all going through a confidence crisis. We are witnessing the most powerful country’s free fall. We see countries on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cynicism, fatigue, disillusion are words often used to describe the state of our politics. Every week, the newspapers and newscasts are full of stories about corruption, mismanagement and waste of taxpayers’ money.
By presenting 120-second reports that focus mostly on controversies, the media is for the most part exacerbating the negative feelings people have towards the political class. Newsrooms have become production lines. Twenty-four hour news comes with ridiculous deadlines for journalists. There are a lot of punchy headlines, but less and less rigorous analysis.
Because politics has become for too many a childish partisan game – and because it is being reported as such – less people are tuning in. To be sure, watching the spectacle of John Baird –- the diplomat-in-chief playing the role of pit-bull-in-chief –answering questions in the Commons is enough to discredit all politicians. When my graduate students watch Question Period, they are all turned off. They regard it as a bad joke.
For political actors, it has become too easy to go with the nasty rhetoric and the low blows, in the process resolutely avoiding any serious debate about public policy. Attack ads work and punchy clip lines are much more effective than lengthy explanations, so there is no need to go into a substantive debate on climate change or economic policies.
All of this generates a snowball effect. Once a noble profession, politics do not attract the best our society has to offer. Although many exceptional individuals do serve as elected officials, it has become increasingly difficult to attract people at the height of their career. The ones who succeed and last are, for the most part, professional politicians.
Representative democracy was never meant to be perfect. It was never meant to reduce democracy to the simple act of voting every four years. It comes with important responsibilities for all citizens.
We can choose to be complacent and stop caring. Or we can become outraged and tune out. We can think elections are useless and too costly. We can continue spending thousands of hours on facebook and twitter in our free time but not bother to take one hour every four years to cast our vote. (And not many will dispute the fact that it’s more entertaining to watch a hockey game or to go to a concert than participate in a town hall.)
At the end of the day, we must realize we will all pay for our cynicism and disengagement. When our politics is ill, as it is now, we delude ourselves if we fail to realize how it affects us in our daily lives. Only people who turn out to vote are taking part in the decision-making. Bad governments don’t happen by accident.
We have within our means all the remedies to fix our democratic malaise. If we don’t like the political parties that we have now, nothing prevents us from changing them or creating new ones. They remain too important as potential vehicles for change to ignore their usefulness. If we don’t somehow re-engage in the political process, our politics will just continue to disappoint and fail us.
André Malraux once said that loving your country doesn’t mean defending it at any cost, but trying to pursue ideals that would make it worthwhile. We can’t afford to resign as fellow citizens. We can – and we must — demand better from our elected officials. But we shouldn’t be under any illusion: our democracy will only be as good as we require it to be.
Origin
Source: iPolitico
Last week, only 49 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls in Ontario. Of that 49 per cent, 37 per cent voted to re-elect Dalton McGuinty’s government. What that means is that only slightly more than 18 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots in support of the Liberal government.
Forty-nine per cent turnout is a very troubling number. When a majority of citizens make a conscientious decision not to have a say in the selection of their government, our polity has a serious legitimacy problem. There is a breach in our social contract.
There is no single cause. And although it’s tempting to make simplistic conclusions, there are no easy fixes. Respected scholars have suggested we are already in a post-politics era. They argue that governments have become powerless in this globalized era of governance.
Others have noted that we live in an individualistic society. Institutions with different missions – from the United Nations to the Catholic Church to private banks, hospitals and schools – are all going through a confidence crisis. We are witnessing the most powerful country’s free fall. We see countries on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cynicism, fatigue, disillusion are words often used to describe the state of our politics. Every week, the newspapers and newscasts are full of stories about corruption, mismanagement and waste of taxpayers’ money.
By presenting 120-second reports that focus mostly on controversies, the media is for the most part exacerbating the negative feelings people have towards the political class. Newsrooms have become production lines. Twenty-four hour news comes with ridiculous deadlines for journalists. There are a lot of punchy headlines, but less and less rigorous analysis.
Because politics has become for too many a childish partisan game – and because it is being reported as such – less people are tuning in. To be sure, watching the spectacle of John Baird –- the diplomat-in-chief playing the role of pit-bull-in-chief –answering questions in the Commons is enough to discredit all politicians. When my graduate students watch Question Period, they are all turned off. They regard it as a bad joke.
For political actors, it has become too easy to go with the nasty rhetoric and the low blows, in the process resolutely avoiding any serious debate about public policy. Attack ads work and punchy clip lines are much more effective than lengthy explanations, so there is no need to go into a substantive debate on climate change or economic policies.
All of this generates a snowball effect. Once a noble profession, politics do not attract the best our society has to offer. Although many exceptional individuals do serve as elected officials, it has become increasingly difficult to attract people at the height of their career. The ones who succeed and last are, for the most part, professional politicians.
Representative democracy was never meant to be perfect. It was never meant to reduce democracy to the simple act of voting every four years. It comes with important responsibilities for all citizens.
We can choose to be complacent and stop caring. Or we can become outraged and tune out. We can think elections are useless and too costly. We can continue spending thousands of hours on facebook and twitter in our free time but not bother to take one hour every four years to cast our vote. (And not many will dispute the fact that it’s more entertaining to watch a hockey game or to go to a concert than participate in a town hall.)
At the end of the day, we must realize we will all pay for our cynicism and disengagement. When our politics is ill, as it is now, we delude ourselves if we fail to realize how it affects us in our daily lives. Only people who turn out to vote are taking part in the decision-making. Bad governments don’t happen by accident.
We have within our means all the remedies to fix our democratic malaise. If we don’t like the political parties that we have now, nothing prevents us from changing them or creating new ones. They remain too important as potential vehicles for change to ignore their usefulness. If we don’t somehow re-engage in the political process, our politics will just continue to disappoint and fail us.
André Malraux once said that loving your country doesn’t mean defending it at any cost, but trying to pursue ideals that would make it worthwhile. We can’t afford to resign as fellow citizens. We can – and we must — demand better from our elected officials. But we shouldn’t be under any illusion: our democracy will only be as good as we require it to be.
Origin
Source: iPolitico
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