Thursday, October 16, 2014

Red Pill or Blue Pill? Democracy in the Matrix (The Democratrix!)

'Twas the grandest of seasons indeed. Democracy season!

One could feel the excitement of change in the brisk autumn air. The restless residents of the GTA, and cities all across Canada, were 11 days away from the most important municipal elections in 4 years! While the leaves fell, the lawn signs rose. 

"Please, vote for me!"
They all plead. "I should be your school trustee, regional councilor, city councillor, or Mayor, for reals!" They suggested with great conviction. The people, understanding the big responsibility they had, deliberated carefully and patiently. Their choice of civic leaders would correct the mistakes of the previous administration, and dictate the future of their respective regions for the next 4 years, perhaps more. Such a decision couldn't be made on crazy impulses. Democracy was the biggest asset the society possessed, engaged citizens, it's most privileged guardians. Democracy was an ideal that many had died to protect, many had died trying to obtain, and many more had died being "given". Democracy, like Christmas was an ideal that all people could really get behind, and not lose sight of what it was really about. Oh, 'twas a grand season indeed! All the land was united in its efforts to keep things glorious and free. In the unseen horizons you could hear the millions (and millions!) chanting: Ford More Years! Ford More Years! Ford More Years!


Then I woke up. Hahaha. Ford...

Real talk — from my ironically dis-attached perspective — in 2014 Canadians don't really care, and democracy, unfortunately, doesn't really matter like it should. The countless reports of voter apathy, and the increased influence of private interests in government should clearly indicate something is indeed awry in our once thriving democracy. Canadian politics are nowhere near as fiery and well publicized as that of our neighbors down south. When it is, it is usually a big fat distraction from the real issues... no offence to Rob Ford, I've been a fan since his early days on Toronto city council, but that scandal was a big waste of time, even though great publicity. To our credit, Canada is still one of the most fair, most peaceful, and most beautiful countries in the world. However under the facade of peace, order, and good government, is a country that is in need of drastic new types of leadership and more dynamic citizen engagement. From the international level, down to the local level, we need our best, brightest, and most enlightened to lead a better way. The Harper Conservatives continue on their path of giving Canada a subtly applied (boring), yet dramatic makeover. We have changed as a country, and will continue to change at an increasingly rapid pace. I'm not writing this to scare people, but do some research about governance at any level in Canada and you'll find that our generation is inheriting something distinguished academics world wide refer to as a clusterf**k. I think it was Kermit the Frog who once stated "the times, they are a changin' ", how right he was! What a wise frog. I also think any Bob Dylan fans reading this are probably having a conniption right now, but that's none of my business. Mis-attributed quotes aside, we really need to cut our losses and "reboot" democracy. Not reboot in terms of tired Hollywood movie franchises, where you just get new faces, and directors to tell the same stories. I'm talking reboot more in terms of the 90's show where Bob, Dot, and Enzo lived in a computer system, and saved the world, or something. My point is we need to update the application of democracy to fit our new digital lifestyles, almost every other important aspect of our lives made the digital leap a long time ago. *Start thinking about it...start listing....*, see? Unfortunately for democracy, its outdated application in modern society has become its biggest problem. Instead of being a real time, "social" experience, like we are used to in 2014, democracy is applied in an old school, borderline absurd manner. Every 4 years, politicians engage you with the same dog and pony show. They use cutting edge marketing, technology, and big budgets to capture your attentions and convince you to elect them. They come to your neighborhoods, you'll see them around everywhere. They'll engage with you and make commitments to take your concerns to the top and have them addressed. Then we, the gullible public, go into some box and mark our choice, whoever gets the most votes wins. Yay! We pat ourselves on the back for "doing our part" and whoever wins is initiated into the mysterious society of ineffective politicians. See you in 4 years! Elections are to democracy, what the World Cup™ is to soccer, cause every 4 years....you know. The rest of the time, I don't know, go protest somewhere? Write a petition? Make a #hashtag? The rules of political engagement become vague and impersonal outside of election time. There are various official outlets that report what's happening, but they get drowned out in a hyper-competitive content market. Plus an increasing problem in contemporary times, most people are simply too busy to care. Attempts to be heard or get involved by the few result in being ignored, arrested, or both. Just ask the Native Canadian population or the G20 protesters. It's not a great scene. This is not only about online voting. That's a no brainer, but we need more! Imagine, for a moment, a platform that would simplify political involvement. Combine the transparency of the Internet, the convenience and security of online banking, with the crowd sourced knowledge of Wikipedia, embracing the era of big data, the share ability of Facebook, utilize the mobility of cell phones, infuse the simplicity of twitter, and give it the insta-glam of instagram. No doubt, a huge undertaking, but such a platform would be a literal revolution. Essentially a platform that will do for democracy what Facebook did for life, that is change the game! It would finally get democracy on an even playing field, with our various other digital applications. This platform would create a new way to capture the hearts and minds of an increasingly distracted and apathetic populace. The tools are there, the knowledge is there, the infrastructure is there, the brilliant minds just need to put it together. I know that whenever this platform emerges, some people will be perplexed by its simplicity and success. They will talk down on the idea, and defend the old way. They will also inevitably hate whatever Ivy League drop outs create it. Yet most will adopt it en mass and wonder how they lived without it, for better or worse. Whether you notice or not, technology wins every time in this era, its time democracy gets with the program. When democracy finally updates, then we can finally start having the big conversations in more meaningful ways, and begin the small steps towards progress. The current system, as it's applied is a farce, everyone kind of knows it, but those in charge have the most to lose, so don't count on them to change a thing. So, the billion dollar question is, what are you gonna do about it? You can start by getting up to date on local issues and getting out there to vote, but just remember it's only one part of what democracy should be. It's up to us to stay engaged and make it what it could be.


*JDA out*

JDA is a wildcard, but a #BramptonRises kinda guy. Follow him on twitter @Jibbyville.


#BramptonRises is a platform founded in 2012 to engage, connect,and inspire the new leaders of Brampton. Like us on facebook. Follow us on twitter. Municipal elections are on Oct/27/2014,  #BramptonRises a little before then.

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