why i'm voting

In a couple of weeks, on October 14th, I'll head to Gower Street United Church to pay tribute to a belief system that I am a part of: democracy.

We fight monumental battles all the time.  We were asked in grade school not to litter, to recycle our bottles and cans, to not waste water.   Use your resources wisely, purchase organic products, boycott animal-testing companies.

But what if I like to let the water run the entire time I wash my dishes?  What if I want to flush the toilet instead of letting my human waste sit in the bowl until the next use?  What if it makes me feel good to drive an SUV that I worked hard to purchase?  I thought this was a free country!

The frustration felt on all sides of the issues about saving the world and improving society is palpable and understandable.  Some people see the potential for change if we could all just band together and make real adjustments to our lifestyles.  Others see so many pressures to alter their habits as frustrating their efforts to make a living and enjoy the things they have.

So, do we do nothing?  Do we maintain the status quo?  The answer is 'no.'  But the solution that requires us all to dramatically shift our mindsets simply cannot happen.

Or can it?  It all comes down to how long it takes.  My view is that we _are_ dramatically shifting our habits, it's just happening over a period of time that makes it difficult to see.  This change is obscured by the scale at which we are extracting resources, polluting the environment, and populating the Earth.

But as we increase our connectivity and reliance on each other globally, we are beginning to talk seriously about issues that affect us all.  The number and strength of global initiatives being initiated and attended by influential people is rapidly growing.  Our ability to pinpoint and stifle the roots of big problems is improving, and we moving away from blanket solutions such as throwing wads of money at corrupt governments who benefit from the crises.

Our growing population and prosperity is causing an increase in materialism and disease.  But this is a temporary effect.  We are, in fact, seeing a reduction in armed conflict.  We are seeing vast movements toward sustainable living.  Life expectancy is increasing and will continue to do so as the standard of living and care improves globally.  We are moving away from large families, and global population is going to plateau at around 9 billion people.

This is the future that is too often hidden from our view.  The fear that is propogated by sensationalist media encourages us to stick with what we know is safe enough, and we fear change.  But the difference today is that WE have become the media.  We control the message with blogs, forums, open-source communities, and social networking.

We have access to so much information that any individual can be as well informed as any head of state.  And in our system of democracy, we can be confident that our vote goes to the best possible choice for leader.  We know more collectively than we realize, and we can trust our selection.

So.  You have a choice on October 14th, and that choice is whether you vote or not.  I'm choosing to vote, and the good news is that I can leave work at 3pm to do so!  If you don't know who to vote for, take a few minutes to assess your views of the options and go with your gut.  It's as easy as that.