Vote, don’t complain

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/09/2023 (788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The easiest thing in the world is to sit back and listen, offering nothing, while a group tries to figure out where to go for dinner — and then grouse, after the fact, about the restaurant that everyone else picked.

Having put nothing into making the choice, you somehow still feel uniquely empowered to complain about it. The food was cold, the appetizers were too spicy, everything on the menu was too expensive, and you’ve never liked the place anyway.

And did we also mention, welcome to the provincial election.

There are less than a scant four weeks until Manitobans go to the polls to pick their next premier and provincial government. It’s not a long time.

For weeks already, provincial politicians have been wooing voters in the unofficial campaign — now, the harder sell will start, with the governing Progressive Conservatives and the opposition parties trying to find the right levers to pull to get you on their side. Platforms, policies, promises — heck, you might even get a politician or two at your front door.

And at the end of it, it will be time for you to make your choice.

Your individual, alone-at-the-ballot-box, private choice.

It’s not our job to tell you who to pick. In fact, it would be arrogant of us to feel we had the right to try and impose our choice on voters.

It’s not our job to tell you who to pick. In fact, it would be arrogant of us to feel we had the right to try and impose our choice on voters.

But what we will tell you is that you should do your research, and above all else, vote.

The choice you make by voting will help shape the political direction for the province for the next four years or so.

Is the main issue that you care about how much you pay in taxes? There are particular party platforms you might appreciate.

Is it the importance of a social safety net for all Manitobans? There’s no doubt a party catering to that as well.

There are plenty of opinions about what issues are the most important, and all of them are worth considering.

We’ll do our part to help — we’ll present platforms and positions, along with submitted opinion pieces on our opinion pages, all through the campaign in an effort to help you have the tools you need to make a choice.

Voter turnout has direct implications on whether or not a government feels it needs to serve all Manitobans.

It’s worth pointing out that, in the last provincial election, the voter turnout was 55 per cent of eligible voters.

The turnout has hovered around the 55-57 per cent mark for the last few provincial elections — which, of course, means that a government can be picked with the direct support of well less than 30 per cent of the Manitobans who are eligible to cast a ballot.

And that has direct implications on whether or not a government feels it needs to serve all Manitobans.

The smaller the pool of voting Manitobans, the easier it is for specific interest groups to set the political agenda. A small group of dedicated, single-issue voters has a disproportionate amount of power in a democracy where close to a majority of eligible voters don’t even cast a ballot.

Your vote doesn’t just elect a government — it also diminishes the power of niche groups to exert influence.

But if the next government is too spicy or too expensive for your taste, never forget that you had your chance to help pick the restaurant.

Voting, however, is not a command performance: it is one of the duties of citizenship.

It’s still your choice to decide to vote or to stay away from the polling booth on Oct. 3.

But if the next government is too spicy or too expensive for your taste, never forget that you had your chance to help pick the restaurant.

Sit on your hands, and you’ll eat what you’re served. For every one of the next four years.

And perhaps you will have surrendered your right to even complain.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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