EDITORIAL: Politics needs active interest
Have we Canadians become so complacent that we can no longer defend our rights?
Would the past weeks of protests in Egypt ever happen in Canada these days?
For as much as we complain about our government – and everything else, for that matter – Canadians are unwilling to take drastic steps to change it.
Public protests of the magnitude seen in Egypt are usually a last resort and boiled for years, but most of us would recoil at the thought of even baby steps.
We’re great at volunteering our opinions to anyone who will listen and at giving our support in principle to those who advocate change. But talk is cheap; in the end, it is our actions that make the difference.
But perhaps it is not just Canadians. Once every 20 years for a planet filled with seven billion people is not a lot.
Still, have Canadians reached the point where they still remember how to get off their butts? The majority of adults don’t even vote anymore.
We are far too comfortable with and attached to our way of life. We give away our power to the people we think are in charge and trust that they will keep the country running smoothly so we’re never lacking for food, fuel, electricity, cars, trucks, motorhomes, TVs and other personal electronics, etc.
It’s like handing over your wallet to a complete stranger and telling them to go buy your groceries and pay your bills while you go back to your comfy chair in front of the television.
A little less trust in the powers that be and a little more hands-on interest in the political areas of our lives that matter most mean we’ll be steering the course of our own future.
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