Back in my student days, I was quite politically active. I perhaps went overboard, and burned myself out a little, but life felt much better when I knew that I was acting my conscience, and bringing to light those injustices that I felt were rampant in our political system. I am thoroughly disgusted with the state of Canadian democracy. I stew. I post Twitter or Facebook comments. I occasionally blog. But, I do not actually do anything to help resolve the situation.
How have we gotten to the point where we take our democracy so for granted that none of us stand up and say NO, when our sitting parliamentarians continuously avoid doing their duty to their constituents, and instead act as mindless seat fillers toadying to their leaders’ whims. When did we decide that actual debate, and sober second thoughts were not crucial?
This year, I will start to act, and will start to speak more loudly about my concerns about our world. Living in a place as free as Canada is, watching people around the world sacrificing their lives to the possibility of any kind of freedom or democracy, we have absolutely no right to squander our democracy the way we have been. No more.
