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Apathy and Activism
The Leveller: March, 2010
Morgan Duchesney

This letter poses a challenging and dangerous question: if current and past Canadian governments largely ignore the interests of working people, whose interests are they serving and why? Widespread voter apathy has been caused mainly by the public belief that government serves the interests of working people only if those interests coincide with the needs of concentrated economic power. This apathy expresses itself in peoples’ isolating and passive fascination with celebrity worship, professional sport, reality television and reflexive consumerism. The alternative to such isolating practices is communal engagement and regular participation in various forms of social activism. Such action takes time and patience but serves to remind people that they are not alone in their convictions. All the great changes in history were not the work of “great leaders” but rather the cumulative effect of organized and dedicated grassroots workers.
The tired cliché, “you get the government you deserve,” should actually read, “ I get the government you deserve.” I say this because I never voted for either of Canada’s two dominant and largely interchangeable parties. There are too many excellent alternatives to the status quo. Could a so-called fringe party really do any worse than what we’ve seen over the last 30 years?