This year, I'm voting for the CBC... seriously.
Word on the street is that politicians are liars, and although that may or may not be true, to a greater or lesser extent depending on which one we're talking about, there's something far more underhanded and destructive at work here. In saying that they 'stand for the people' or that they've 'listened to the constituents', politicians of all colours are creating the image that they know what we want, when in fact all that they've done is ask our opinion on ISSUES THAT THEY'VE DECIDED ARE IMPORTANT. Truly, I'm tired of anyone assuming that they'e got their finger on the pulse of the people when, at best, they were voted for by 45% of the 45% of people who voted. That, it seems to me, gives them a solid 0% chance of actually knowing what is important.
On the other hand, the CBC (radios 1, 2 &3, and all of their numerous podcasts), with the call-ins, blogs, forums, tweets and Facebook conversations seem genuinely interested in what we, as people, not as 'A People', are up to. In addition, they're down with Canada as a place... a place with a history and a diverse and interesting culture... and not just with Canada being an economic entity.
This year I'm voting for the CBC in both the provincial and federal elections because I AM A PART OF THIS PLACE AND NOT JUST AN INCOME EARNER.
When the time comes, are you just going to check off some person's name who has no interest in what YOU think, or will you take that pencil and write in your own vote, thereby staging the greatest act of a democratic society -- the right to be heard...?
I had a very "vote for the CBC" drive to the Lake yesterday. I left to go pick up my gal at around 11ish, and caught the tail end of the Sunday Edition on Radio One. First we covered the use and mis-use of Non-emergency Ambulance transportation in Ontario, how folks are often misinformed, lives are put into jeopardy, and the blatant denial/unwillingness to comment of hospitals and ambulance companies. Then it was on to hearing intelligent opinions on the value of a university education. A track by a 19 year-old Aretha Franklin. A piece about the Métis of the Mackenzie River and their amazing navigational abilities, with their almost mythical capacity to "read the water".
ReplyDeleteAll the while, I was being peppered with election signs on either side of the road. I couldn't help but think of how I knew absolutely nothing about any of the oh-so-smiley faces on the picket signs, nor do I care to. I am indifferent to the upcoming election because I feel as though my vote means nothing. That it is all a bunch of bullshit.
The last ten minutes of the drive were spent indulging in the Vinyl Café, broadcast out of PEI, from the oldest (very barn-like) auditorium in the nation, chuckling at the quirky/beautiful poem about potatoes and tearing up at Tanya Davis's musical ode to the Island. As I pulled in to my folks driveway, (and saw my youngest brother with my daughter in arms watching out the kitchen window) it dawned on me that in the 40 minute drive I had heard the actual voices of folks from one coast to another, discussing the stuff that really matters, the nuts and bolts of our daily lives. For me, real change begins with day-to-day decisions - and I thank the CBC for informing me truthfully.
I also thank you for being such a great teacher and for doing the same.