To vote or not to vote; that is the question

Canadians, to borrow a tired expression, will go to the polls on January 23rd to possibly elect a new government. Even if I were in Canada, I wouldn’t know who to vote for. The Liberal party, seems to have angered many Canadians in the last few years with one scandal after another. Martin really hasn’t left much of an impression on me. He was elected just a month before I departed for Asia. Furthermore, I haven’t been home in almost two years so it’s difficult for me to say whether I like Martin as prime minister. All I know is from what I manage to read on-line. And I rarely have the time to get caught up on Canadian politics.

I always have had a problem aligning with one party over another. Sometimes I like the candidate but hate the party’s take on a certain issue and vice versa. Usually I just study the hot issue at election time and then flip a coin. Just kidding. Actually, I usually go with the party over the candidate reasoning that a party can always change its face but not its principles.

What brought my attention to Canadian politics today was the mention in the Korea Herald. I was amazed that Korea thought Canada was important enough to mention the dissolving of its parliament. Most Koreans know nothing of Canada except the cities of Vancouver or Toronto. In fact, my boss asked me the other day where Nova Scotia was. I shouldn’t feel slighted because of my national pride but it’s important to be proud of where you come from. With that being said, most Koreans are quite happy when I tell them I am from Canada and not the US.

So my dilemma now is whether to vote or not in a special ballot for Canadians living abroad. I hate not voting. I feel like I should exercise this important right in this democratic nation. But I don’t want to have an uneducated vote. I want to feel confident and optimistic about the party that I mark an X beside on that ballot.