More of Santa Bond’s favourite reading
During the present referendum on proportional representation, the concept of mandatory voting has been mentioned more than once.
Voter turnout by Canadians has been described as everything from “embarrassing” to “apathetic.”
Actually, for a country without mandatory voting, it’s not bad. In the last federal election, 68 per cent of qualified voters participated. Provincially, in 2017, voter turnout was at 57.7 per cent.
In the municipal elections, on average, 36 per cent of British Columbians participated. (The Okanagan is slightly ahead of the provincial average.)
Most won’t agree with this, but society shouldn’t have a problem with people who choose not to vote.
On the surface it seems as though they’re not doing their civic duty, or, are making some kind of protest by not voting.
But why force people to participate in a process that they’re simply not interested in?
Think of it like having to go to the in-laws on Grey Cup Sunday.
Statistically, some Canadians do not know the name of the prime minister, their provincial premier or mayor. Nor do they care.
While mandatory voting would definitely result in some people becoming educated with the process and the issues, chances are more would either spoil their ballot or select a candidate at random.
How is that helping the process? How is that electing better candidates or political parties?
Programs such as Student Vote (a mock poll taken by students under the age of 18, but made to look as realistic as possible) are good. Most polling clerks are pretty reasonable about taking your child into the ballot box to watch the process.
So what’s the solution to getting voter turnout in Canada and B.C. at around 90 per cent?
Offer more exciting candidates who will appeal to younger voters and find a safe and reliable way to vote online (while still maintaining traditonal polling stations.)
This is my second instalment of books I recommend for your holiday reading pleasure. Ian Buruma, Year Zero, A History of 1945.
With the end of the Second World War, a new world was beginning. Regime change had swept across Asia and continental Europe. This was the time of the greatest power vacuum in history and the vicious power struggles that ensued formed the basis our modern world. The postwar years gave rise to the European welfare state, the United Nations, American world leadership, Japanese pacifism, and the European Union. A work of enormous range and stirring human drama, conjuring both the Asian and European theatres with equal fluency.
Anthony Beevor, The Battle of Arnhem: The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II
Beevor, a renowned historian whose books on events in the Second World War are all outstanding, has done it again with the gripping tales of what the Germans referred to as their “last great victory.” Field Marshal Montgomery saw this battle as his chance to be the first allied commander to push into Germany. Unfortunately, he did little planning, ignored vital intelligence and caused massive casualties for troops under his command. Beevor makes the tale vivid and thought provoking. The Dutch, who supported the effort, paid a frightful price when the Germans retaliated. A truly great read.
Christian Wolmar, Railways and the Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India
If you want to understand how colonies were exploited by their masters, how rational thinking was precluded by the belief that white European masters were superior in every way, this book will provide you with chapter and verse. The British built the rail lines to transport troops in times of possible rebellion as well as to exploit markets for British goods and to obtain cheap sources of needed commodities. Those owning and operating the lines treated Indians in despicable fashion and imported virtually all of the plant and equipment from Great Britain. A first class indictment of imperial arrogance and stupidity.
Gordon S. Wood, Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
This remarkable dual biography is a gripping and awesome recounting of the interaction between these two men who did so much to give birth to the American nation and whose subsequent falling out did much to shape its course in those first years of its existence. Jefferson, the southern aristocrat with great faith in the goodness of men, was the champion of democracy. Adams, a middle class over-achiever, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government. Each became the founderfigurehead of two political parties. Late in life they reconciled their differences.
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die
Many in the United States are asking themselves if democracy in America is in danger or dying. These two Harvard political scientists, who are recognized experts on the survival of democracies throughout the world, answer “yes.” But, they also lay out what is required to prevent this outcome. This is a well-documented and reasoned volume on a critical issue of our time.
Max Hastings, The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers and Guerrillas, 1939-1945
The role of intelligence in the Second World War has been sadly neglected until this book. Hastings, a well-known and respected historian, examines how the successes and failures of each chief combatant (Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Russia and the United States) influenced the course of the war and the final outcome. This is a fascinating book ideal for bed-time reading.
Donna Leon, The Temptation of Forgiveness
Leon, in this her 27th work, does not disappoint. Commissario Guido Brunetti and his extended family, including those in the police service, are all there and are deftly presented. The central issue is illicit drugs being sold to young students at a local school. As ever, Leon describes Venice with both its beautiful and sordid aspects, greatly enriching the telling of her tale.
David Bond is a retired bank economist who resides in Kelowna. This column appears Tuesdays.