This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s prime minister during the Second World War. With a provincial election coming up, I’m reminded of Churchill’s famous quotation: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Despite this negative view, after surveying the candidates in this election, I think even Churchill would agree that, for Alberta in 2015, “the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average candidate.”
This election pits the Progressive Conservative Party, a party that does not deserve to win the election, against the Wildrose, New Democrats and Liberals, three parties that don’t deserve to defeat them. While I will not venture any opinions about the outcome of the election, I believe that candidates running under the banner of “None of the Above” would likely win every riding in the province.
All kidding aside, however, while we may (or may not) like the selection of parties or candidates available, as citizens of Canada’s greatest province, we have an obligation that cannot be denied, and that obligation is the right and the responsibility to vote in the coming election. We live in a society where rights are talked about constantly, but few individuals want to acknowledge the responsibility that comes with these same rights.
When asked to define freedom, Pope John Paul II replied: “True freedom consists not in giving us the right to do what we want, but in giving us the opportunity to do what we ought.” No one argues that all Albertans have the right to vote, but I’ve seldom heard anyone suggest that all Albertans have the responsibility to vote. Yet, the right and the responsibility are forever linked together. You can’t take one without accepting the other.
Generations of young Alberta men and women marched off to war, firm in the belief that they were fighting to preserve our way of life. Many of them never returned. And whether you accept the occasional necessity of war, or oppose war outright, there is no denying that they fought for what they believed in, and they fought so that future generations could enjoy those beliefs.
While Canada’s location and climate provide us with some degree of isolation from world wars, we are not immune. In case you don’t recall, a mad man in Berlin, only 75 years ago, came terrifyingly close to destroying everything that was decent and just in this beautiful world. A river of Canadian blood was shed to stop this maniac. Or, if you require more recent examples, consider the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s, when a Soviet submarine’s first officer refused to follow his captain’s command to launch nuclear weapons, a refusal that saved millions of lives. Or even more recent examples include the thugs of North Korea, Iran, and Libya, all tyrants who would send us into the ash heap of history without a moment’s hesitation.
I obviously cannot say “thank you” to all the men and women who died in our collective wars, and it’s also highly unlikely I could ever thank every living veteran, and every current member, of our armed forces, but I do know I can show some respect by ensuring I vote on May 5. You can too.
Since I opened with a Churchill quote, it’s best that I close with one as well. As Churchill noted, “Democracy is absolutely the worst form of government until you consider all the other types that have been tried.” So, on May 5, make your province proud, make the members of our armed forces (and their loved ones) proud, and make yourself proud as well. Take the responsibility and exercise your right to vote.
God Bless Alberta.
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
