With Quebec’s provincial election set for Oct. 5, one question deserves more attention than it is getting: Are we truly partners in shaping the decisions that affect our society, or are we content to be numbers on a ballot, counted on election night and forgotten afterward?
For some, the answer may seem obvious. No party represents me. No one speaks for my concerns. No political leader adequately defends our civil rights. My vote will not change anything. The outcome is already decided. After repeated disappointments, it is easy to build a long list of reasons to stay home. But is withdrawal really the answer?
It is true that many of us may not find a political party that represents us completely. We may disagree with every party on important issues. But voting does not require us to endorse everything a party stands for. It is not a declaration of loyalty, nor is it a blank cheque.
Voting is the exercise of a fundamental political right. It is one of the few tools available to ordinary citizens to express their priorities, influence public policy, send a message and hold those in power accountable. One vote may not determine an election. But democracy is not measured by the power of one vote alone. It is built from individuals’ decisions to participate. When we withdraw, we are not necessarily punishing political parties or candidates. We are surrendering, by choice, one of the few instruments we have to influence the political process. This matters even more when a community feels that its concerns are being ignored or that it is increasingly the target of harsh rhetoric, political polarization and sweeping generalizations. The natural response may be to retreat. But retreat is not resistance.
Silence does not protect rights. Absence does not create influence. And disengagement does not make our concerns more visible. In fact, it can have the opposite effect.
If we do not vote, do not participate in public discussions and do not demonstrate that we are citizens with legitimate concerns, priorities and expectations, why should politicians and decision-makers place those concerns high on their agenda?
Our participation also sends a message beyond politicians. It sends a message to our youth. When we encourage them to vote, we are not simply teaching them how to mark a ballot. We are teaching them about citizenship about responsibility, rights, civic engagement and the importance of having a voice in the society in which they live.
The lessons we teach today will shape the citizens they become tomorrow. Indifference can become a habit. Passivity can become a culture. And over time, a community can be present in numbers while remaining absent from the conversations that shape its future. That is not the kind of legacy we should leave to the next generation.
Civic participation should not begin and end with Election Day. It is an ongoing responsibility. It means engaging with elected officials, participating in public debate, contributing to our neighbourhoods and institutions, speaking out when rights are threatened and holding governments accountable regardless of which party is in power.
So perhaps the real question on Oct. 5 is not, “Which party represents me completely?” No political party is likely to pass that test. The better question is: “How can I use the voice I have, however limited, rather than surrendering my right to influence the decisions that affect me and my community?”
We may not have an ideal choice. We may disagree with every party. And we may not see all our concerns reflected in the policies that follow the election. But there is a fundamental difference between participating, disagreeing, demanding accountability and continuing to engage and withdrawing, only to complain afterward that others made decisions for us. So let us participate. Not because a political party represents us completely, but because we represent ourselves.
Our vote may be only one drop in a vast stream. But the stream itself exists because of all those drops. Let ours be drops that carry a voice not numbers without one.
- I previously wrote and published a similar op-ed in Arabic in Sada Online, addressing the same core theme : https://www.sadaonline.ca/ar/News/content/f71eac30-336c-4952-9fcc-cb5a72da88b6
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