We Don’t Care What You Think…Most of the Time.

It seems to be very popular for news websites to open up a forum so that visitors can comment on just about anything they read. It’s not just for editorials either. This weekend, I saw a variety of rants and raves sitting below a simple list of stores and attractions that would be open on Thanksgiving. A degree in journalism is no longer required in order to see one’s thoughts in print (or online). A cheeky username and a crummy dial-up connection are all that’s needed in order to air your dirty laundry for the entire world to see, spelling mistakes and all.

And I’m fine with that, for a variety of reasons. First of all, I’m thrilled that at least a small portion of the general population is literate, and is indeed reading something. Second, I’m tickled pink that the idea of freedom of expression has become so cliché in Canada that people will sound off without even thinking twice. In some parts of the world, failing to keep your pie hole shut is a good way to get dead.

What really disturbs me is that tomorrow, when all of us will be asked for our opinion on a variety of issues of national importance, a good chunk of would-be editorialists will curl up into a little ball and fail to leave the house. More Canadians will know what happened on 90210 than what happened in the federal election. And then on Wednesday, when the media waxes philosophical about all the evils the new government is about to commit, they’ll be back on the net, shoving their two cents down everyone’s throats

Most non-voters fail to realize that an election is just the act of asking a lot of people for their opinions. Okay, it stinks that the ballot box isn’t a magic hole into which we throw wishes. Checking off a bubble on a piece of paper does not guarantee that when we wake up the next day the Blue Fairy will have fixed everything just the way we like it. When was democracy ever a matter of simple cause and effect? Nonetheless, the rest of my country is asking me what I think, about money, about other people, and about myself. They’re spending a non-trivial chunk of our taxes to ask me, and it will take less time for me to tell them than it will for me to take a shower. If I don’t vote, then I’ll be a big fat hypocrite. I’d like to spend those years feeling good about indulging in the same self-righteous ranting as the rest of the online commentators.