Running head: THE DANGERS OF POLITICAL APATHY
The Dangers of Political Apathy
HSB 4U1
September 12, 2013
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Running head: THE DANGERS OF POLITICAL APATHY
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Abstract
In the 21st century, there is a wide range of sociopolitical issues challenging Canadian
society. Current hot topics will range anywhere from Canada’s Aboriginal crises, to marijuana
legalization as more taxpayer dollars are wasted because of inadequate government management.
It is arguable, however, that the most relative issues are the Keystone XL pipeline’s
environmental impact in western Canada, as well as the continuous occurrences of fraud in the
Canadian senate. This essay, nevertheless, will verify that the most dangerous issue facing
Canada today is the apparent apathy and indifference exhibited by Canadian youths towards
politics. With politics being the vessel of social and political reform in society – none of
Canada’s problems at the local and national, nor the international levels can be properly
addressed and dealt with, if the future generation Canada does not care enough to act.
Running head: THE DANGERS OF POLITICAL APATHY
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Canada witnessed its “second-lowest rate [of voter turnout] – 53.8 percent – during the
2011 federal election. This was only slightly higher than the 53.6 percent in 2008” ("Voter
Turnout," 2013), subsequently making Canada one of the worst countries in the developed and
democratic world in regards to voter turnout. In particular, the cause of this continual drop in
voter turnout rests on the shoulders of the 18-24 year old age bracket, which is regarded as the
“youth vote”. The effects of Canadian youth failing to vote are clear – tuition spikes continue to
occur with the costs increasing every year ("Tuition Fees," 2010), money is instead being spent
on outdated military jets, the Canadian Senate is full of fraud (Ditchburn, 2013), yet not many
youths know enough to even care, let alone be bothered. Political apathy, is currently (and will
continue to be) an on-going issue that faces Canada ; it is imperative that we as a society address
this problem and come to a solution, or face the consequences at a local and national, as well as
an international level.
Local and National Level
A majority of Canadian teenagers are on the forefront of social change – this is
indisputable. More Canadian youths are supporting concepts of socialism, marijuana
legalization, women’s rights, and more are even actively, openly discussing controversial topics
such as abortion and LGBT rights. However with such a low voter turnout percentage amongst
the 18-24 age bracket, it is no surprise that these modern social views are not being properly
represented in Canadian government. On one hand, the MPP for Brampton is Vic Dhillon – a
liberal. On the other hand, the MP for Brampton is Kyle Seeback – a conservative. All while
Brampton’s Mayor, Susan Fennell, is the highest paid mayor in all of Canada and is an
independent. Not only are our public servants accepting overly healthy sums of taxpayer dollars
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(Susan Fennell is paid over $210,000 annually) (Grewal, 2013), but it seems that those who put
our public servants into office, are not exactly sure why they voted for them.
The future generation of Bramptonians alone cannot help but sit back idly as property
taxes go up and up, yet quality of service continues to drop. Wait times at the Brampton Civic
Hospital continue to increase, all the while funding is being ripped from the education system –
something does not add up. Furthermore, the average Bramptonian student will gladly tell you
how much they dislike or even hate the quality of their textbooks, desks, school facilities, and
etcetera – and lay all the blame on their teachers, or the school building itself. Not many of the
masses are aware that behind the scenes, the government is in control of whether or not we get
great quality, newer textbooks – or the ones that have phallic symbols drawn all over them, and
the answer pages conveniently ripped out.
So while the average Canadian or Bramptonian youth may say that they are social
advocates, part of a new way of thinking in this modern society, public servants who do not
actually serve the public continue to come into power. It is ridiculous to see that as the future
generations of Canada become increasingly liberal, the government of Canada becomes equally
conservative, when elected politicians are representatives of the people – it makes no sense.
International Level
On a more critical note, this political apathy is not just a trend here in Canada – it is a
global phenomenon. Countries like France, Switzerland and the US all fall under 42 percent of
voter turnout ("Voter Turnout," 2013), which means that hundreds of millions of Westerners
around the world do not practice their democratic right to vote. This is statistic suggests that
more-or-less half of the people (who are eligible to vote) in these countries do not care about the
Running head: THE DANGERS OF POLITICAL APATHY
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future of their livelihoods, their safety and wellbeing, and the prosperity of their nations,
including Canadians here at home. This is an alarming trend because it is giving democratic
leaders around the world unaccounted power. A democratic nation, in theory, works best when
the voices of the masses are all heard – not just a select few. When a select few in any given
country vote, while the rest do not care, then the elected representatives simply do not represent
the majority, which is entirely counterintuitive of democratic societies. At the international scale,
political leaders from around the world can very easily use this to their own advantage.
Politicians would prefer the masses to be and to remain ignorant and pacified, so that the rich get
richer and the working class continues to suffer. As a society, we are throwing ourselves into the
slaughterhouse as though we were cattle, and for some reason we seem fine by this.
When the current prime age bracket of voters is eventually replaced by my generation of
voters, what will happen to society then? The older generation which will be obsolete will still be
in power if we allow it to happen, and they will continue to live wealthy, happy lives while my
generation gets exploited like farm animals. Future politicians will not support us, they will not
stand for us, and they will in turn use us to their advantage – much like they are now in regards
to our parents and grandparents. Wars that we do not believe in will be fought, invasions that we
will have to fight in without knowing why; history has shown extensively that the ignorance of
society will lead to its own downfall, such as in the infamous Dark Ages of medieval Europe. If
the world continues to choose a path of apathy, then we will only become enslaved by the
systems that were meant to serve us.
Ultimately, whether we the future generation choose to acknowledge it or not, politics is
in fact the most significant vessel of social and political reform, nationally and internationally.
Although there are many different issues plaguing the world today, they cannot be properly
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addressed without society first waking up and realizing that, to ignore politics and government is
to ignore ourselves. Politicians have the power to fix all the world’s problems, but it is because
we as the masses fail to bring the right people into power, that we end up suffering and being
exploited. Our politicians have forgotten that they are public servants – instead they are using the
public to serve them. That is not even the saddest part – what is sad, is the fact that we stand by
idly, allowing for these people to do such things to us. Canadians and the citizens of the world
cannot hope for equal rights, economic prosperity and ensured safety and wellbeing if we cannot
care enough to act.
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References
Ditchburn, J. (2013, August 2). Canada's senate problems. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/02/07/senate-canada-problems-brazeau-duffyzimmer_n_2641103.html
Estimation of voter turnout by age group. (2013, January). Retrieved from
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/part/estim&document
=inde&xlang=e
Grewal, S. (2013, March 26). Brampton’s susan fennell highest paid mayor in canada.
Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/26/bramptons_susan_fennell_highest_p
aid_mayor_in_canada.html
Ibbitson , J. (2011, October 14). The alarming decline in voter turnout. Retrieved from
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-alarming-decline-in-voterturnout/article4247507/
Tuition fees on the rise. (2010, September 23). Retrieved from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2008/05/15/f-highereducationtuitionfees.html
Voter Turnout. (2013, January). Retrieved from
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/voter-turnout.aspx