If You Do A Donkey Vote.....You're A Donkey!

With only one more sleep until the Australian federal election, it seems a lot of people will waste their vote tomorrow. Maybe they'll write garbage all over the ballot paper? Maybe they'll not put a lot of thought into it? Maybe they'll not even vote at all?

I thought it would be good to hear the opinion of someone fictional. Jacob Coote is one of the main characters in my FAVOURITE book, Looking for Alibrandi and he gave the following speech at 'Have A Say' which, in the book, is a public speaking event for some Sydney high schools.

".....Because we have a choice, and I think that we vote not to get the best party in, but to keep the worst party out. Because we can stand here and protest. We can get all riled up about the premier's ideas. We can say he's a d***head even. We can call the prime minister and the leader of the opposition one as well........

But in some countries, people can't do that.......In some countries people our age can't concentrate on their schoolwork because of the sound of gunfire.

In some countries they have one-party systems and they have things called the People's Army, and when the people come out and have a say like we're doing today....the People's Army shoots the people.......

So, great. Let's be apathetic. Let's not vote. Let's let anyone run this country. Let's be ignorant and let's all be proud of that ignorance. And maybe we'll have a People's Army one day too." (page 28)

Marchetta, M. (1992). Looking for Alibrandi. Victoria: Penguin.

I'm not a political person. Sometimes it feels like your vote won't make a difference or you're simply picking from the best of a bad lot.

But I urge you all, if you're voting tomorrow, to vote wisely and not waste it by believing that one person won't make a difference.

Be thankful that Australia is a democracy and that when we vote tomorrow, we won't have men with guns standing over us.