How to change the world
Making a difference one small step at a time
Jacques Marcoux, Volunteer Staff
Manitoba’s youth wouldn’t know the meaning of democracy if it fell right into their laps.
I know what you’re thinking: this field has been ploughed by self-righteous student journalists time and time again. You’ve heard it all before — student apathy towards important issues is at an all-time high. But why should you care? After all, at the end of the day, no matter what you do or who you vote for, it makes no difference to your day-to-day life, right?
You sit idly by, amused by your IPod, addicted to your constant text-messaging, fixated with mindless Facebook.com banter, and brainwashed by purposeless reality shows. And, to be quite honest, I don’t blame you. Trying to make things change is fucking exhausting. Hell, it requires time, energy, and yes, action.
The fact of the matter is: you just don’t give a damn — and the numbers prove it.
In Manitoba, only 30 per cent of eligible university-aged voters exercise their right to vote. A little closer to home, we can look at the recent UMSU elections that brought out a dismal 9.7 per cent of students to the polls, despite voting booths being strategically placed in order to be most accessible. Ever since the 1960s, this trend of general indifference, especially among the youth, has gained momentum as voter turnout continues to drop from year to year.
So why am I writing about this tiresome topic? What spurred me to take on student apathy?
My little sister.
You see, my sister has a friend who left the province to pursue a university degree in Quebec. Just recently, the friend called my sister, irritated by a student strike that has been the root cause of her headaches. Spearheaded by the Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante, the equivalent of the Canadian Federation for Students in Quebec, the strike that has disrupted her entire semester and will likely cost her several hundred dollars in non-refundable tuition fees.
My sister expressed her sympathy for her friend’s unfortunate predicament, unofficially condemning the actions of those unruly Quebec students. That’s when I decided to say a few words.
As exasperating as those seemingly futile student strikes can be, it reveals something important about the Quebecois youth: something that Manitoba’s youth have all but forgotten. The Québécois, who have the second highest youth voter turnout in the country, have that burning desire to be agents of change. They are among some of the most politically active youth in the country and rarely do they back down. They take on issues with reckless abandon.
Whether or not the student strike in Quebec will lead to a better outcome is irrelevant. What matters most is that they have not lost sight of the fact that they can influence change — that standing up for their beliefs and voicing their opinions is something that cannot be taken for granted. They understand and accept that sometimes going against the grain and pressuring policy-makers comes at a high personal cost, but that ultimately the rewards can be bountifully positive. This sense of control and optimism is the essence of a healthy democracy.
But that feeling of personal empowerment is not entirely dead in our province. There are still individuals who strive to make positive change through small, but meaningful gestures.
For the past week, national news has been headlining the story about Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman who has been imprisoned for over two years without due legal process in a Mexican jail. The Canadian government was reluctant to come to her aid and chose to look the other way, hoping the problem would disappear over time. In response to this news, one of my close friends told me that after hearing about this injustice, he felt compelled to act. He wrote a letter demanding immediate intervention from the Canadian government and sent the letter to all the Conservative MPs in Manitoba as well as Steven Harper. I was impressed by his initiative.
Two days later, he called me to announce that, due to the mounting public pressure, the government announced their decision to intervene and come to rescue of the illegally imprisoned Canadian citizen. This is democracy in its purest form.
Was his letter the tipping point that led the government to reverse their position? There is no way of knowing. But one thing is certain: were it not for the collective voice of Canadians taking a stance on the issue by contacting their elected officials and holding them accountable, no action would have resulted.
Challenging the status quo and standing behind your beliefs can be a daunting task, but the rewards far outweigh the sacrifice. If the majority of young Canadians are uninterested in politics and important issues in their communities, it is because they don’t understand the power of their actions. They do not feel as though they have control over their surroundings; as though they are just along for the ride. Every young Canadian needs to know that change can be accomplished with small contributions.
As one of my professors once said: how do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time.
Jacques Marcoux is a commerce graduate.
