Voter fatigue

It was my friend William who first pointed it out to me.  The eligible voters who are declaring their intention not to vote in this election are coming from a most unlikely group.  We expect a good percentage of newly eligible voters to declare a lack of interest in politics.  But there are huge numbers of seniors now saying they are so confused or disgusted with politics that they don’t know how to vote and intend not to.  I’m hearing this more and more.  And seniors are generally regarded as the most reliable voter group by age.

This riding is home to areas that have a lot of widowed seniors struggling to make ends meet, frustrated by rising costs, rising taxes and lack of services.  Garbage strikes and reckless drivers have a profoundly adverse effect on them.  And yet a large number of them are also declaring their greatest worries to be about the lack of opportunities for their grandchildren.

I’m glad to say that many of them are happy to see me, and view the Green Party as a potentially positive option.

We have a great deal to learn from our seniors as we move back to a lifestyle that’s less wasteful.  I love visiting their homes with neatly trimmed lawns and gardens bursting with flowers, delightful smells of home cooking, carefully painted balconies and worn tiles scrubbed clean.  I love to see patched screen doors, well-worn comfortable clothes, cloths draped over balcony railings to dry, old towels neatly laid out at the entrance and objects getting a second life in a new use – all characteristics of a careful and measured life.

The world I want to help build for my kids is a compassionate one which has a big place for our aging population.  It’s a world where as much as possible seniors get to stay in familiar surroundings with family nearby to keep them safe and healthy.  It’s a world where children get the full benefit of the love of their grandparents.  It’s a world where if our grandparents need care we do everything we can to help family and friends provide it as a first option.  And it’s a world where seniors feel like they have choices and that their voice remains meaningful and strong.