"If you don't vote, don't bitch"

So said the erudite American philosopher.... Steve Earle on the original liner notes of his 1987 album, Copperhead Road.

It's an important point.

Today, every Canadian citizen over the age of 18, has the right to vote in a federal election.

Please make sure you do that.

There are a lot of reasons why voting is so important, some of them are obvious, other less so, but all are important. I'd like to cover a few here.

1. You have the right.

Rights are like a lot of things, if you don't excercise them, they tend to disappear.

I'm hardly suggesting that Canada will fall into anarchy if you don't vote, or that a brutal dictator waits in the wings, but I am suggesting that if you want your government to take you seriously, then you need to mark your ballot.

Vote.

2. Make your kids crazy, and set an example.

If you're under eighteen, you can't drink, smoke, drive without your parents, buy nudie mags, and enjoy all sorts of other adult entertainment. Your kids are all waiting for the day they turn 18 to do these things.

Give them something positive to aspire to at 18. V

ote.

3. Some people gave up an awful lot so you can vote.

I'll say it. Thousands of Canadians gave up their lives to protect your right to vote, and to ensure others had that right as well. Some of them died quite recently, as you will see here, and here and here.

You'll note that these incidents do not necessarily include soldiers. They are aid workers and civilians building among other things, democracies abroad. They volunteer for this, leave home and family because they believe in a better world.

Show some support from home.

Vote.

4. Many of our parents and grandparents didn't get this opportunity.

Thousands of new Canadians arrive in our country each year, many from places where they can't vote, or where voting doesn't matter, where they had no choice in their government. Many of our parents came from similar places.

Show them what it is to be Canadian, that they have made the right choice in their new home.

Vote.

5. If you don't vote, don't bitch.

Ever get ticked off with the government? Think something was unfair? Well, if you don't vote, don't bitch. You had your chance, you blew it.

Don't blow it.

Vote.

Still don't know where or how to vote? Click here.