Voting's About as Hot as a December Day in Vancouver

Rock the vote! Get your vote on! Vote or die!

Is this a joke? Well, officially, no. But it is laughable that in order to get the youthful masses to vote, organizations resort to cute little slogans to make democracy more appealing. People die for the right to vote, kill for the right to vote, and get killed for wanting the right to vote, but not here in B.C. Youth here would likely rather die to win the lottery, kill to be the next Canadian Idol, or get killed trying to get a glimpse at Hillary Duff's exposed naval. Democracy, you see, isn't cool.

But is North American youth so politically unaware or inactive that we need P. Diddy as a poster child for democracy? He needed help on the $200 question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which clearly makes him a great role model for young people to encourage them to get smart and cast their ballot. Avril Lavigne, the little bastion of Canadian intelligence has even jumped on democracy's cool train -- probably after her record company handlers defined "democracy" for her, since she dropped out of high school when she hit it big, and likely missed the social studies class that covered the importance of voting.

Rock slide

Then there are the youth voting groups. They need to realize that placing the word "rock" in front of a slogan doesn't make voting any more appealing. How about "rock for fascism?" Come on, it's at least a little bit alliterative -- get it? And for that reason, I do have to hand it to whomever thought up the slogan "pierced, pissed off, and political!"

Possibly the best part about this campaign is claims such as the one on Rock the Vote's website, to encourage "young people to create positive social and political change in their lives and communities through awareness and action." Sounds great, especially to a young journalist like yours truly who wants nothing more "than positive social and political change." And I was especially pleased when I noticed they're looking for "rock reporters."

But here's where they lost me: "Are you interested in writing concert reviews, meeting and interviewing rock stars, artists, and celebrities?"

Last time I checked, interviews with rock stars and celebrities don't mix with social change. Simple Plan shows probably achieved the complete opposite of positive social change. Perhaps when Rage Against the Machine was around, this was possible -- but they're gone. And now the rock scene is limited to Nickelback, Good Charlotte and the like, notwithstanding Green Day, and A Perfect Circle, among others. One may recall that a while back, MTV changed its format to limit politically-charged content to late night hours - no doubt to keep the rest of the day open for reality TV shows and scandalous rap videos featuring scantily dressed coeds.

Vote buying?

These youth voter mobilization campaigns aren't "bad"; they just represent a bleak, desperate future for democracy. So bleak that they're even resorting to offering financial incentives for rocking one's vote.

Students at Langara College are being coaxed to get their vote on with tuition money. They earn "democracy points" by registering other youths to vote, and the individual with the most "democracy points" gets up to 15 credits of tuition fees reimbursed by the student union.

Rock the Vote B.C. calls these freedom fighters "vote rockers." "Vote rockers turn democracy up a level, putting you at centre stage," proclaims the RTVBC website. "To make things more fun, with every action completed you earn democracy points recorded in your own private account. Democracy points can be traded in for Rock the Vote B.C. merchandise, tickets to Rock the Vote B.C. events, back stage passes to meet your favourite artists, and chances to win great prizes."

A better name for this campaign could be "Dialing for Democracy Dollars." Again with the alliteration. It's effective -- at least I think so.

Between a rock and a hard place

Come election day on May 17, it's difficult to believe that anything will actually rock. The race is between the NDP and the Liberals; let's make no qualms about that, and our neighbours to the south can attest to the benefits of having only two viable options on the ballot. What choice do we have? Both parties' track records in the legislature seem so convoluted. The B.C. Liberals have a huge budget surplus, brought on by increased equalization payments from the feds, after the NDP made B.C. a have-not province, but the Liberals stifled budget debates by ending the legislature five weeks early, but just like the NDP did with one of its budgets -- and the story goes on, and on forever. It's a battle of who can point the best finger, and the losers of that battle are the people of this province.

What the Liberals have done to women's centers, schools, and to the political process itself is no doubt wrong, but it remains unclear whether the NDP will fare any better if given another chance to govern. I'm going to vote, but I doubt it will result in anything rocking.

Lastly, I could care less about winning anything for writing this piece, nor do I expect to. I realize that this contest features prizes from RTV and Get Your Vote On, so in the unlikely event, please donate anything, other than maybe the new book, to the Canadian Red Cross. Now that would really rock.