Are Canadians just unbelievably selfish?

Right now, people are being killed in Iran for protesting the fact that their voices aren't being heard. In Canada, we whine and stomp our feet because making our voices heard might bite into our vacation time. I have also heard Canadians whine about not having an election in winter because, horror of horrors, we might have to put our boots and coats on to go vote.

So, if not winter or summer, exactly when is the right time to fight for what's right?

Most of the people who don't qualify for EI are going to have trouble keeping their mortgages and bills paid. Helping them avoid foreclosure and/or welfare would be one of the most effective ways to combat this economic slump. But the Conservatives won't have it and the Liberals obviously don't have the balls to call an election over it, so these unemployed will twist in the wind while a "committee" argues over the same points that have already been argued in Question Period for weeks on end.

So why the hell aren't we helping people? Why aren't we demanding that help, bad election timing be damned? Is it because those who are employed don't want to give up their precious vacations so we can vote out the guy who won't help the less fortunate?

I want a leader who will stand up and ask these questions, and is willing to demand answers to those questions and immediate solutions. But apparently that's not going to happen anytime soon. Given the events in the last couple of days, I doubt Iggy's going to grow a pair by tomorrow.

And Parliament can sit all summer, as far as I'm concerned. They were paid by us the public for a full session, and only sat for a fraction of it, so I have no qualms about demanding that they continue to sit until an EI solution is put in place for the summer. All the more motivation for the Conservatives to stop putting obstacles in the way and take action now - they wouldn't want to miss their cushy summer vacations, after all.

Which brings me to the second point I touched on earlier. Is that shrinking group of Canadians who still hold jobs, so incredibly selfish, that they simply cannot bear to spend a little of their vacation time to vote out the guy who won't help those less fortunate than themselves? On they go, whining about how rough the winter was and about not wanting to cancel their reservations, and on and on. What the hell is wrong with people?

As a long-time American resident and citizen, I got to vote for the leader of the country once every 4 years, no matter how urgently we needed to kick out the current one. George W. Bush was only one especially obvious example. I treasured the opportunity to make my voice heard as often as possible because it wasn't heard nearly often enough. I've learned to value that opportunity and I'm eager to take advantage of it whenever it is offered. (I voted in every general election since I turned 18.) And let's face it: we already know what each party's platform is, and those platforms shape their policies in mostly predictable ways - so is it really that arduous a process to decide whom to vote for?

Canadians who think they have it so hard should try American voting, where you vote for several political candidates at federal, state, county, and municipal levels; plus judges, school district, water and other special districts; plus 10 or 15 state propositions and local measures, written in legalese, to read through and vote on at the same time. Take a look at the 2008 directory of contests and ballot for my former riding if you don't believe me. The 2008 Voter Information Guide was 144 pages plus a 16-page supplemental guide, just for the federal and state levels - the county and municipal stuff comes in another booklet. They also send you a sample ballot so you can mark it with your choices, since there's too much for most people to remember. Then when you're done with all that, you bring your sample ballot and go vote with a ballot card that slides into a slot behind the ballot pages, and then you go through each page and copy from your sample ballot using a special marker or stylus to mark or poke a hole in the card to indicate all your choices. Here in Canada, we get to concentrate on voting for just one seat - our Member of Parliament. We get to do some research and mull it over, then walk into the polling station, make one "X" and we're done. What's the big deal?

Weather is the last reason I'd expect for delaying an election. I lived in Los Angeles for many years so I am not accustomed to these Canadian winters; but I have now been here through 2 of the longest, harshest winters in recent memory and still would not hesitate to take the time and effort to do my research and brave the weather to go vote. I did it last October and I'd do it again in January, July, or anytime. Canadians' apparent aversion to voting, and for such petty and selfish reasons, is something I find both astonishing and disheartening - especially since voting is so simple and easy here. I love Canada and my fellow Canadians, and that is precisely why I think we can do better than attitudes like this.