On the Election

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money – Margaret Thatcher

Here in Canada we have an election coming up.  There are campaigns being run, promises being made, accusation being hurled and talking heads, well, talking. Of course election time also brings with it a question.  Who should I vote for?  Don't worry, I'm not going to convince you to vote for any particular party. I'm more interested in looking at some voting principles.

I always struggle at election time when trying to decide who to vote for.  Do I vote for the party with the platform I agree with the most?  What if that party has no reasonable chance of getting in?  What if I don't like any of the platforms?  Do I vote based on party lines, or do I only consider what the candidates in my riding stand for? What about the fact that politicians seem to break their word as if it was a brick at a karate convention?  Should I vote at all if I'm forced to choose between pack-of-lies 1 and pack-of-lies 2?


I know pretty well where I stand on social/economic ideas, but the problem is none of the 'big' parties  really come all that close to what I believe.  If you merely look at the party platforms I'm probably the closest to the conservatives, especially on economic issues, but when I look at the conservative track record I end up shaking my head and wondering where they got the idea that what they are doing is fiscally conservative? The same thing happens when you look at social issues.  Can I really trust anybody to represent what I believe?  Probably not.

So if I don't like any of the major parties should I vote for some obscure party that doesn't have a shot at getting in?  It seems kind of like wasting a ballot sometimes especially when I still dont' agree with their whole platform.  However, I do think that it is important to support those that come closest to what I believe.  When the rubber meets the road in parliament, it doesn't seem to make much difference whether there is a conservative or liberal government in control.  The policies that come out often end up being different spins on the same thing with enough good mixed in with the bad to prevent the implosion of our country and enough bad in there to make me want to declare my home and independent entity.  Ultimately I think that true, radical change will never come through an election.  Some other event is going to have to trigger that, so I am left with a choice between voting for the 'best' candidate, even though I probably don't have a lot in common with him, or not voting/spoiling my ballot.


I suppose in the end I'll roll my eyes, cast my ballot, and go on my cynical way, because when it comes down to it, agreeing with less than half of the platform is better than agreeing with less than 10% of it.  Good things seem to take time to come and sometimes it seems like stemming the tide is hopeless, but I guess I'm not called to stem the tide, just to throw my little bit of mud and do what I can, leaving the rest in hands that are bigger than mine.