Ah, provincial election time.
It's a magical time, for everyone in this province.
It's at this time that politicians magically have solutions for things that have gone wrong in the past four years, and seem to have access to more than enough money to pay for everything they promise.
It's also at this time that politicians take over our newspapers and airwaves, in the hopes of convincing you to vote for their party, come November 7.
Many think of election rhetoric as white noise, something they hear in the background of their lives but don't really listen to. They don't like to pay attention to what each party is offering, perhaps because they are jaded about the whole political process, or because they feel that what the policitians are talking about has no real impact on their lives.
But that's not the right attitude to take.
Though politics may be a yawner of a topic for many people out there, it is important that all of us stay plugged in to the political process. It's important that we not only listen to what the party leaders have to say, but that we put questions to our local candidates to hear their answers.
It's important that we know who we are voting for locally, and what they stand for, as they will be representing us in the Legislature for the next four years.
And it's important that we get out and vote, that we take 30 seconds out of our lives and mark an X on a ballot, to make our voices heard.
Because not everyone in the world gets to do that.
We're lucky that we live in a country where we can afford to be sometimes bored by the political process. That our lives don't depend on who is sitting in the Prime Minister's or the Premier's chair. That we don't have to worry about our governments being overthrown by some warlord with more money, more guns, and more of a thirst for power than respect for the people he wants to rule.
People all over the world fight for a chance to vote in a democratic election every single year. People die fighting for that right.
Yet in Saskatchewan, only 76 per cent of the population came out to vote in the 2007 election.
It wasn't that long ago that women weren't allowed to vote, or hold property. It was just a few decades ago that the last group of minority women was granted suffrage.
Our military has fought for others' right to vote around the world since the early 20th centuary.
How can we be bored with it already?
We are electing the people who will decide how much money we'll pay for taxes every year, which of our roads will get fixed next, which cancer drugs will be paid for, and which communities will get new schools. They will decide which agencies get funding for social services programs, how to attract more doctors, and how to keep more people moving to this province.
That is major stuff. Don't you want a say in deciding who gets put in charge of it?
Some say that one vote doesn't count. That's not true. One vote can make the difference. One vote can change history. One vote can change our reality.
Just. One. Vote.
So if you are over the age of 18, and eligible to vote in this province, make sure you get your butt to a polling station on November 7. But before you do that, learn what the politicians are saying. Decide which one you believe will represent you and your interests the best. Then cast your ballot.
Other people have literally died for that opportunity.
Take advantage of it. Use it. Vote.
