interpellate

Although overshadowed in the Canadian media and (inexplicably, in my opinion) the minds of my engaged peers (but that’s a post for a later date…) by the undue amount of attention given to the Democratic primaries in the US, there was indeed a provincial election almost a week ago here in Alberta. Unsurprisingly, and despite attempts by the local media to create the sense that Albertans were at an ideological crossroads, the Tories “won by a landslide.”

There are two things I would like to say about this, both of which have already been said elsewhere. First, I think it’s important to put this apparent “conservative landslide” in a larger context. Having lived in the east for many years, I became inured to non-Albertans regularly spouting off about what a “conservative” place Alberta is, and how all Albertans think the same. So let’s look at the facts (courtesy of Mike Soron):

• PC’s won a majority of the popular vote with 53%
• Liberals achieved 26.37% of the popular vote
• Liberals lost 43.8% of their MLAs, despite only losing 2.99% of support
• NDP lost half of their seats, though only lost 1.69% of their support
• Wildrose Alliance is no longer an official political party, having lost their sole seat
• Green support up almost 2%, only party other than the PCs to gain support
• Less than a million people voted this year

So what do these numbers tell us? Well, they immediately indicate what I have been saying for years: not all Albertans vote Tory. In fact, this “landslide” was achieved with a little over half of the votes cast. More significantly, though, is the reality that less than half of all eligible voters in this province voted! This turnout, the lowest in Alberta history, is part of a downward trend this province that indicates how increasingly disconnected party politics are from the realities of Albertans (whatever their political views).

Which leads me to my second point. The numbers also indicate how disconnected the electoral system is from democracy. Perhaps people aren’t voting because they are coming to realize that the electoral map in Alberta is drawn to ensure PC rule from now until the end of time. How else can you explain that a 3% drop in support resulted in the decimation of the Liberal party, a decimation that of course was proportionally advantageous for the Tories? This, and I want to really stress this, is not an Alberta-specific problem. It is endemic to the electoral system throughout this country!

My intention going into this election was not to vote. I failed in that endeavor. However, the experience has made me seriously question whether or not I will participate, with my vote, in the looming federal election. Here, I want to cede the floor to Mike Soron’s eloquent musing on this point, The Immorality of Voting, and to Wendy McElroy’s Act Responsibly: Don’t Vote! (who the former cites to great effect, and who comprises the American politics portion of this post). McElroy makes an argument that I find not only compelling, but also moving:

The check mark or the punched chad on a ballot means “yes” it is the consent you give to the electoral process by virtue of participating. No wonder all candidates agree on one point: you should vote. They are like religious leaders who urge you to worship at the church of your choice. First and foremost, politicians want you to sanction the process by which they acquire power and money because, without that sanction, they have no legitimacy.

But it is Soron who really brings it all home for me:

“If you don’t vote you can’t complain.” What garbage. How pathetic that this is the extent of social participation for so many — the tossing in to the churning machine every few years.

If you don’t get up everyday and work to improve the lives of people here and everywhere then you don’t get to complain.

And if you’re not doing that, then what are you doing?

It seems more and more likely that this is the last time that I will be giving my consent to an electoral process that doesn’t speak for me or for my politics. This is a big shift for someone who started out his university years working as a parliamentary page in Ottawa and who has actively participated in party politics in the past. At this point, though, all I can see coming from those who govern us is posturing and distraction, all in preparation for the next election, the next time that my vote will be solicited. It’s theater, not governance, and certainly not democracy.

I’ve come to realize that democracy is something that must be seized. It exists in action, in agency. For so long we’ve been told that voting is a form of this agency, that is embodies democracy and that in showing up every four years to vote we are keeping democracy alive. Clearly, as the Alberta election results indicate, this is bullshit. Voting does the opposite: it encourages inaction, apathy and stupidity. It’s time that we all start seeing that democracy is working to improve the world, to force our points of view on a system and a world that doesn’t want to hear them. This is a lot more difficult that just picking a party on a ballot sheet (as if a single party could possibly represent all of my perspectives on different issues), but in the long run it will be far more rewarding. It’s time to let the electoral system in this province and this country atrophy and die. It’s sick, so let’s put it out of its misery.