Who(that can) isn't going to vote on Oct 14th?

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by fotze

My grandfather took me aside once and said "I went to war so that someday you could use my hardship to further an argument you will make on something called the Internet", he said it didn't matter to him what the topic was, that I have the permission to say he fought for whatever my opinion was.

He died before the internet but that is a sacrifice I have always cherished.

AWESOME!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by fotze

My grandfather took me aside once and said "I went to war so that someday you could use my hardship to further an argument you will make on something called the Internet", he said it didn't matter to him what the topic was, that I have the permission to say he fought for whatever my opinion was.

He died before the internet but that is a sacrifice I have always cherished.

Laugh out loud.

I wonder if you went back to WWI and WWII, if you would find that people really did value voting that much more than now...

To me, the freedom to "cast a ballot" is secondary to my freedom to protest, of assembly, expression , mobility, privacy... etc. Voting is only a small part of our democracy and chastising people who choose not to vote is like chastising them not exercising those other freedoms... and I'm sure a lot of people here don't.

[Hemi-Cuda]

to those who are chastising people for not voting, would you rather have a system like Australia that forces people to vote? in my view making an uneducated person choose a leader is more harmful than someone not voting

funnily enough, i will not be voting in this election, but if i were a citizen of the US i damn sure would be voting in theirs. i'm not happy with the conservative agenda with social issues and would like to vote liberal, but there is no way i can support someone like Dion who can't even communicate effectively with the majority of the population. i've made up my mind that the day the Liberals elect a strong leader is when i'll vote for the first time

[4X4]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I look at a poppy EVERYDAY having one on my sun visor, so I NEVER FORGET!

Eh! Me too... Good job, HOOT.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

to those who are chastising people for not voting, would you rather have a system like Australia that forces people to vote?

Nope. But if you are not going to vote you should expect to be chastised for it.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Dion

There are people dying in other countries fighting for the right to choose a govt they believe in.

So just because nobody in Canada is dying over it means that we have a choice of government we believe in?

[Eddie Bronze]

What are you to do when you don't feel there is one candidate worth giving a vote to? Spoil your ballot in protest? They don't even announce the total of spoiled ballots so even if you had a "movement" to do it, no one would ever know.

[JiriHrdina]

Well as someone mentioned you can decline your ballot or you can vote for an independent.

I always find it hard to believe though that you can't find someone to vote for. You are basically giving one party a mandate to govern the country their way so even if you don't like their entire platform surely one can identify which platform they prefer.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Well as someone mentioned you can decline your ballot or you can vote for an independent.

I always find it hard to believe though that you can't find someone to vote for. You are basically giving one party a mandate to govern the country their way so even if you don't like their entire platform surely one can identify which platform they prefer.

Am I blind or does that nodice.com site not have a list of platforms?

[Eddie Bronze]

Instead of picking someone based on what I think they could do for Canada, I'd be selecting someone on the grounds of who would do the least amount of damage. If even one of them would come to my door, I'd at least consider them for that. But the only one I even know to see is the Liberal gal and only because she put her picture on her signs. None of them show their faces anywhere. If they don't show up, why should I? That's not to say I won't because I'll do it even though I don't want to, but quite frankly I think they're all terrible.

I'm half tempted to write Ken King and put a check mark by his name. At least I've met him in person.

[4X4]

I don't buy this argument that is constantly being used "our grandfathers fought for our right to vote". You can definitely argue that they defended our sovereignty, but the right to vote is also the right to not vote.
When I turned 16 I gained the right to get a driver's license and to drive. Doesn't mean I have to drive.
I believe that people that don't vote are still voicing their opinions - that they are satisfied with the status quo and unless something changes drastically, they are fine with whoever is in power.
What's the big deal? I happen to vote because I like knowing that at the end of the day (election day, that is), one of the votes that gets rolled out on TV in the statistics is mine. I like knowing that I told the country "I hereby choose the CPC as the party best suited to lead the country... For now."
And the people that don't vote send a loud message that this country's system of governance is sound enough that they are happy staying home and letting things be.

All this bullshiz about Hitler and "what if" is just that - bullshiz.

[Swarly]

so you would rather have hoards of uneducated people turn out and vote for whoever had the best sounding name on the ballot rather than not vote?
hear that, anyone not planning to vote come out and vote for the marijuana party or the communist party.

people are arguing that in other countries citizens are dying trying to get the right to vote. Well if our government was committing genocide or acts against humanitarianism then I'd probably feel the need to get out and vote but as its stands its a choice between a bunch of parties that for the most part wont change any of out day-to-day lives.

Like octothorp pointed out some people went to war to fight for religion, do you chastise people who don't go to church like those who don't vote?

edit- for the record I will be voting, I just think its wrong to look down on someone for exercising the freedom our grandfathers fought for, the freedom of choice.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Am I blind or does that nodice.com site not have a list of platforms?

Might not - but those are easy enough to get from each party's site.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I believe that people that don't vote are still voicing their opinions - that they are satisfied with the status quo and unless something changes drastically, they are fine with whoever is in power. .

That makes no sense. If they are fine with who is power they should vote for that party otherwise they could be voted out of office.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Swarly

people are arguing that in other countries citizens are dying trying to get the right to vote. Well if our government was committing genocide or acts against humanitarianism then I'd probably feel the need to get out and vote but as its stands its a choice between a bunch of parties that for the most part wont change any of out day-to-day lives.
.

I disagree - the government impacts our daily lives at minimum by virtue of their economic plan and how we will be taxed.

[CaptainCrunch]

I don't think our great grandparents, or grandparents or fathers went to war with the thought of defending the concept of demcracy or the right to vote on their minds. Some went for the adventure, others went to fight for a cause based around general freedoms, still others probably went to fight what they perceived as a great evil and a threat to their country or their families.

People went off to fight Hitler, but I don't think that they really went to fight for truth justice and the democratic way of life. They went because they saw that Hitler was an evil conquest monkey with plans to take over the world.



But for the right to vote or not to vote, nah, thats to specific.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

That makes no sense. If they are fine with who is power they should vote for that party otherwise they could be voted out of office.

It makes perfect sense. To some people, it doesn't matter if it's the Libs or the Cons or any other party that is actually on the radar. They're satisfied with the status quo. To be satisfied that the country is consantly being run fiscally and socially moderate isn't the dispicable act that deserves to 'have the ground they walk on spit at'. It's a general acceptance of the political climate.
What has changed in the last 15 years? Not much.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by 4X4

It makes perfect sense. To some people, it doesn't matter if it's the Libs or the Cons or any other party that is actually on the radar. They're satisfied with the status quo. To be satisfied that the country is consantly being run fiscally and socially moderate isn't the dispicable act that deserves to 'have the ground they walk on spit at'. It's a general acceptance of the political climate.
What has changed in the last 15 years? Not much.

I'm going to go with Jiri here. Sorry 4X4.

I believe that a lot of literature shows that people don't vote because of the "why does it matter" or "they are all bums/crooks" or "I can't trust them" or "my one vote doesn't make a difference" etc. I.e. what is termed political efficacy.

At the very least, I don't think a lot of people are not voting because they "like it how it is". I know a lot of people who are not voting because, for instance, they don't feel their vote will matter. E.g. say a NDP voter in Alberta for example. Just an example anyway.

[kn]

I blame voter apathy on our electoral system. I'm in a Conservative stronghold so any vote for the other parties is meaningless. If we had PR, then a non-Conservative vote here would have more value (or a Conservative vote in a Liberal stronghold).

I often wished I could vote for the Prime Minister directly. Many times the guy I wanted to be PM isn't with the party I want running things.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I don't buy this argument that is constantly being used "our grandfathers fought for our right to vote". You can definitely argue that they defended our sovereignty, but the right to vote is also the right to not vote.
When I turned 16 I gained the right to get a driver's license and to drive. Doesn't mean I have to drive.
I believe that people that don't vote are still voicing their opinions - that they are satisfied with the status quo and unless something changes drastically, they are fine with whoever is in power.
What's the big deal? I happen to vote because I like knowing that at the end of the day (election day, that is), one of the votes that gets rolled out on TV in the statistics is mine. I like knowing that I told the country "I hereby choose the CPC as the party best suited to lead the country... For now."
And the people that don't vote send a loud message that this country's system of governance is sound enough that they are happy staying home and letting things be.

All this bullshiz about Hitler and "what if" is just that - bullshiz.

I have no idea why you think that SOMEONE not voting is the same as saying "I think the CPC is doing a good job for now"

If that's how THEY felt then go out and vote for them.

So far we've seen people come up with any number of reasons (most of which I think are actually rooted in lazyiness) not to vote.

Don't kid yourself, no one thinks that SOMEONE not voting is an endorsement of the current ruling party.

EDITED as per 4x4's request.