Ape Rifle

The other night I was chatting with some friends, and our conversation turned to political matters. This is perhaps not so surprising given that 1) many of us are interested in and/or directly involved in affairs of state and 2) Canada is currently in the midst of its third federal election since 2000. A topic which got emotions going in particular was that of voter participation, and the realization that several friends and acquaintances hadn’t bothered to vote in the past, claiming a fundamental disinterest in politics or a lack of knowledge in its matters.

Some of us, including myself, find this trend particularly disheartening. Many times in my short life have I come across people in democratic countries who are “not interested in politics”, usually because “it doesn’t affect me” or because “they are all the same, nothing changes”. At the risk of offending a few of you, dear readers, I will say here that I find this attitude at best lazy and at worst deeply irresponsible. If, as a deep personal or political conviction, one refuses to vote, well that is fine. If particular personal or situational circumstances prevent one from voting, fine. If, however, one avoids voting simply because it “doesn’t matter” or “it isn’t interesting”, well then, I struggle to hide my contempt for you.

Like a friend said, these are often the same people who will complain about taxes, laws, government policies, what have you. Well if you didn’t even bother to vote, you have no right to complain. Don’t like the system? Well vote for a candidate who agrees with you, I’m sure you can find a feisty independent in your riding. Want to register a protest? Then spoil your ballet, but at least vote. Show that you aren’t taking your rights for granted.

I’m tired of hearing people complain that they are fed up with politics and the government because all politicians are the same, nothing gets done and so on (I’m sure we’ve all heard this speech at some point in our lives in its various forms). “Why should they be interested?”, they ask, “What’s in it for me?” Well, I have some news for you: whether you like it or not, every facet of your life, whether it be daily or long-term, is affected by the decisions made by these people. And given that you have the right to decide, even in a small way, who these people are, you’d better relish the opportunity you have to affect the system that governs you.

In the end what gets to me the most is that, in a society like ours that vaunts the merits of democracy to peoples across the world, many people just couldn’t care less about their own fortunate situation. Is democracy perfect? Nope. Are governments perfect? Hardly. Are politicians stupid? Quite often. But democracy is the best we’ve got, so we’d better take full advantage.

What am I doing? Well, I’m planning on voting and, one or two days a week, I volunteer for an electoral campaign. Will I change the world? Probably not. But at least I will know that, in some small way, I tried.

Yes, people have a right (and often a duty!) to mistrust government. Yes, people have a right to find deep flaws in our electoral process. Yes, people have a right to be deeply cynical about politics in general. I’m perhaps one of the most cynical people I know, and I think that the current Canadian political scene is- excuse the simplicity- pretty messed up. And yet I’m going to vote.

Why? Because cynicism is not apathy. It is not laziness. What’s your excuse?

I came across this picture while perusing the site of that well respected bastion of quality journalism, the China Daily (although I will admit their new columnists provide fairly interesting, readable, non-plagiarized content). Anyways, this shot puts me at a loss for words, able only to conjure up one of the basic questions pertaining to human existence: “What the f–k!?!” Other overcrowded, rapidly ‘developing’ countries may certainly try, but it will take them more than a few honking horns or swerving scooters to dethrone China, the undisputed champion of motorized traffic chaos.

And what are government and city officials doing to address this issue? Well, making it worse, obviously.

Over the past year or so, we’ve been bombarded with stories of riots, protests and general grumbling over the widening income disparity in China, associated with such fun things as pollution, corruption and a so-called gaping rural/urban divide (never mind that tons of poor people live in cities too). Well, your intrepid correspondent uncovered just such a protest last April in Xiamen, and was fortunate enough to capture it on film (or,uhmm, in digital format, but you know what I mean). In this exclusive footage, a trash collector lashes out at an obviously upper middle-class tourist by smacking him in the face with a bag of food. The motive behind the attack? Obviously, the downtrodden trash collector just didn’t like her richer compatriot’s new money strutting. In this clip, smuggled out of the country at great peril, witness a society coming apart at the seams.