#48- Free Elections

Today I voted in the federal elections for the second time in my life and as I slipped the piece of paper into the ballot box I felt proud and thankful to be Canadian.

In this election, as in every election I have experienced, there was a lot of mud slinging from each side, every leader trying to convince the public that the other guy or girl was dirtier than them. Those tricks get me quite mad, but none of it mattered at all today as I walked away from the polling station, because, despite the name calling and put downs and conflicting promises, in the end I was able to exercise my right to vote freely.

As I walked down the street to the school near by to cast my vote, I wasn't afraid of being shot at or beat up. As I walked through the doors to the gym to the make shift voting area, I wasn't worried about being threatened or intimidated into voting a certain way. And as I left after choosing a candidate, there was no doubt in my mind that my vote would be counted and my voice would be heard.

The same can't be said in countries around the world. We can see in the media the great thirst people have to participate in politics, to have the democratic opportunity to mark a name on a piece of paper and who are willing to fight for this chance to speak out. We can see this hunger for democracy in our past, when the disenfranchised stood together and made it impossible for those in power to ignore them. We can see this same yearning in the history-making movement in the Middle East in recent months, in the vote mobs across campuses in Canada, in the eyes of senior citizen that stood in front of at the polls.

And all this, having the freedom when others don't, remembering how I got this freedom and using this freedom, make me proud and make me understand that those that fight for this right to vote in free elections are fighting a battle we can all understand on some level.

So I am grateful for free elections. I am grateful I have the opportunity to vote without fear of negative consequences. I am grateful that the outcome will be fair, even if I don't like who may be the next Prime Minister. I am grateful for the people who have given their time to make this election possible, mostly the volunteers, and the people who don't get any recognition or glory at the end, but serve the public nonetheless. And I am grateful for the people who will vote today. So go out and vote, because a vote in the election is a vote for your voice.