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Walking on the graves of our veterans |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Friday, 17 October 2008 |
In World War I, also known at the time as “The Great War”, 600,000 Canadians answered the call to serve their country. Of that number, one in ten, or 60,000, paid the supreme sacrifice. One quarter of those who served were wounded. While I was growing up in Windsor, Nova Scotia, I knew a number of the veterans who had come home from this “War to end all wars”, maimed, missing legs, arms, and for many, who were gassed, struggling to breathe.
During the six years of World War II, 42,789 gave their lives in the name of freedom. The Korean Conflict killed 516 young Canadians. In the Vietnam bloodbath it is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 Canadian men and women were killed serving with their American cousins. The exact statistics were difficult to track, because the Canadian contingent was fighting under the American flag..
This much is known: A Canadian Viet Nam Veterans memorial in Windsor Ontario has 105 names inscribed on it. And we know all too well that currently in Afghanistan, the death toll is closing in on 100. None of these recorded deaths include those who have perished or sustained injuries while participating in any one of our country’s efforts toward peacekeeping in diverse corners of the globe.
The memory of those Canadian war losses came to mind on Wednesday morning when I learned that 41 per cent of eligible voters in this country didn’t bother to cast a ballot on October 14. With the exception of those with legitimate reasons that prevented them from visiting their polling stations, these individuals should hang their heads in shame.
Tens of thousands of our young men and women gave their lives to keep us out of the clutches of dictators and tyrants, and yet we can’t take a few minutes out of our lives to mark an “X”? If that is their choice, then fine, but I would like to go on record in saying that they should have absolutely no say in how this country is run. If these non-participants, who clearly place no value on their good fortune to live in a country that embodies democratic principles, don’t like the taxes they pay, I say: “tough: suck it up!”. Not interested in voting? Well, in that case, sorry, but we’re not interested in your opinions.
On that same topic, kudos to Rosetta Miller-Perry, the president and publisher of the Tennessee Tribune, who published the names and addresses of those who didn’t vote in 2004, and plans to do so again next month. The paper, which serves about 150,000 Nashville American Africans, “outed” these people, hoping to shame them and force them to go to the polls.
"Sometimes when you embarrass people they do the right thing," Miller-Perry said.
The paper, which also published a list during the 2006 Senate race, saw voter turnout rise from 37 per cent to 65 per cent after the 2004 list was published.
Then there is the Australian model, where voting is compulsory. Every Australian citizen, 18 years and older, must vote. If an Aussie fails to cast a ballot, and cannot provide a valid reason for not doing so, a penalty is imposed. A very simple exercise.
Initially, the Australian Electoral Commission will write to all apparent non-voters requesting that they either provide a reason for their failure to vote or pay a $20 penalty.
If, within 21 days, the apparent non-voter fails to reply, cannot provide a valid and sufficient reason or declines to pay the penalty, then prosecution proceedings may be initiated. If the matter is dealt with in court and the person found guilty, fines range up to $50, plus court costs.
The only flaw in this, as I see it, is the amount of the fine. Make it $1,000, with failure to pay a criminal offence. That would mean loss of passport and the privileges that ownership of this document allows. Perhaps that would get their attention.
We live in one of the best countries in the world, a country that was built through the sacrifices of many, including those made by the men and women of our armed forces. What they did, what they sacrificed, must never be taken for granted. To laugh off or ignore the right to vote is akin to walking on their graves. Again, and I cannot say this often or loudly enough: “Shame on them!”
(Al Hollingsworth is a retied journalist and broadcaster)
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