RR Corner: From sombre to humour: Your vote matters: Choose wisely

 By (R)itesh Chugh  (R)ipan Sethi

Do you know what one of the best parts about living in a democracy is? The fact that we, as a people, are free to choose the lesser of two evils in every election cycle. Sure, you might be hard-pressed to vote for Candidate A over Candidate B, as both have their pros and cons. It isn’t solely about the candidates but the parties and policies they represent.

The beauty of our democracy is that we get to choose who we want to represent us from every level of government, down from the local level up towards the state and federal levels. We collectively decide who gets into power. With that overwhelming power that we’ve got – granted by the Constitution – we’ve seemingly got one kind of problem that seems to plague most democracies. Laziness!  At least compulsory voting in Australia reduces the physical lethargy. But the laziness to know about the candidates, the parties and their agendas is profound.

Laziness is not a new phenomenon. People in older times weren’t that much more informed than we are now with access to petabytes of information at our fingertips. So, were candidates voted on superficial reasons? It’s just that right now, there’s so much information coming at us that it’s hard to keep up with it all. Especially since we, like a lot of Australians, have a lot of other important things to do in our day such as work… work… more work…, paying off our loans and devoting time to our families. If you’re like the average voter, then spending time and trying to be informed about your vote choices can seem like a daunting uphill task.

“BUT WAIT!” You might possibly say. “Isn’t that the wrong way to go about a democracy?”

Well if you’re asking that hypothetical question to us (and you should), that’s very true. Procrastination to research candidates and political parties should be the voters’ responsibility i.e. your responsibility. We’re fortunate enough to live in a society that’s not only successful, but allows us that freedom to choose who we want to best represent our values and what it is we feel is best for our country, which is why we have to choose our leaders wisely.

Now, there are several pros and cons to that of course that we should take a quick look at.

Pros:

• Understand politicians a little bit better.
• Gain a better understanding of the issues that political parties stand for.
• Understand the political system and feel more connected to our communities.
• Make better decisions down the line.

Cons:

• Literally nothing, except the fact that you may not have noticed change/s since the last election. Well, in that case, you really need to exercise your vote more wisely.

See, there’s no downside to being an informed voter! Now, the next question is: how do you become an informed voter? Being informed doesn’t happen overnight after all. In fact, much like studying for anything, it requires time and dedication to go over the right material and to research it all on your own. There’s no real rubric either for you to follow other than “Go and find the information”.

So where do you find the information? Obviously news sources are a good place to start. But don’t get skewed as news sources often adopt a certain angle, i.e. one news source that appears to be leaning towards conservatism whereas another news source runs the same story but with a democratic socialism perspective. The best way to inform yourself when reading the news is to look at the language. If the language used seemingly incites you instead of informing you, it’s possibly being used as a form of propaganda instead of news. The trick is catching what constitutes more as opinion than not, and never letting opinions sway you until after you’ve gotten the facts!

Another good way that we can all keep ourselves informed is by reviewing the past performances of candidates. Most, if not all, of the past votes and actions of the candidates, are on display and in the public domain for review.  All you have to do is go and look it up yourself. While checking up on a candidate, evaluate how consistent they are, and see where it is they stand on issues that are relevant to you.

Those are just two simple ways that can assist you in choosing a political candidate wisely, out of perhaps several dozen other ways. As a voter, it’s up to you to stay informed and research the issues that are important to you, and vote not only with your heart, but also your mind. RR wish you, all the candidates and political parties good luck!

(The views expressed are personal).