Dear Editor,
Since my emergence into adulthood, I don’t believe I’ve ever been so aware of such a hot political scene. But comparatively, most Canadians are still fairly ambivalent about it. Sure, we truly do have more political engagement than we did three years ago. Covid threw us into chaos and many, like myself, suddenly became aware of the fact that the government could affect my everyday life far more than I had expected.
However, is it enough?
Our media has proven itself to have bias. Conspiracy theories abound. Is there anywhere we can get accurate information? Most of us have trust issues with pretty much any information source now!
Did you catch that the news reported that China influenced our last election? Does this bother you? What does it even mean? Is this a big deal?
What about bill C11? Are they really going to filter what we can or can’t see on the internet? Will our free speech be removed? Quietly changing what we can and can’t say while telling us that this is simply to keep us safe. Safe from “misinformation and disinformation”. But who exactly is dolling that out?
As Canadians, we value our peace. We’re known around the world for our peace-loving and friendly natures. But I think that sometimes apathy can hide behind peace. Can we not work towards having both? Political engagement and still love our peace. But it takes a bit of effort to do so.
Right now, much of the political engagement I’m seeing is angry. It’s not solution based nor is it effective. It only discourages the good ones and bad politicians simply don’t care. I think this frustration is normal, being that so much changed over the last several years.
How can we do better? Support and expect better but not harass or assume the worst of our fellow man?
With an election coming up we have a lot on the line. Let’s work together and get this right.
Sara-Lyn Quist
Three Hills, AB
