Civic and democratic duty

Nov 20, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Every citizen is required to register. But no citizen is compelled to vote. One of the objectives of the political elites who dominate the political parties is to make you feel that it is in your interest to cast your ballot. The public has long been convinced that it is their civic duty to vote – to participate in electing a government of your choice.
The public has also been made to accept that it is their democratic duty to vote. Even if they do not a clue about what they are voting for.
These two things – one’s civic duty and one’s democratic duty – need to be examined closely. They constitute part of the farce of democratic governance.
A person’s civic duty covers a wide range of obligations. It includes obeying the laws, paying one taxes, respecting the rights and beliefs of others and voting.
A citizen’s democratic duty refers to a person’s right to participate in society. And political participation is said to involve belonging to a political party to vote in elections.
Voting in elections is the common denominator of one’s so-called civic and democratic duties. But whose interest is served when a citizen votes? For sure, it is the interest of the political elites – the small grouping which controls and dominates political parties and who are primary beneficiaries of the ballot.
How many of the supporters of the PPPC, the PNCR, AFC or the WPA have benefitted from their vote more than the political elite does. The people are thrown crumbs while the political elite enjoys the good life.
How democratic is the holding of elections every five years? How democratic it is for a person to vote in an election and then have absolutely no say in what happens afterwards?
The closer therefore that one examines the civic or democratic duty to vote, the more they appear to be shams. These duties are part of the charade of western liberalism deceiving the people that they matter and are doing something worthy and lofty when they cast their ballots.
Since, however, there is no legal obligation to vote, a person should not be forced to vote. And every person should vote only of they feel that by voting they are serving either their own interests or that of the greater good of society.
The claim about a civic duty and a democratic obligation to vote form part of the stock-of-trade of those merchants of power who wish to use your vote to pursue their own interests and that of the group which they represent. Political parties have their fair share of with charlatans, carpet baggers and conmen.
Why vote for parties and persons for whom you have limited respect? Why vote at all when it is clear that there is an elite class which benefits from that vote?
Why vote at all when one there is not much difference in how the political parties operate? Why vote for parties which when they get in power demonstrate a palpable lack of ability in managing anything?
None of the political parties which are likely to contest next year’s elections have attempted to define their political ideologies. They are afraid of labels. Yet, they all want people to vote for them without knowing for what they stand.
At least in the past, the public used to be presented with ideological labels about which party was capitalist, socialist, liberal, conservative, communist etc. Not anymore, all that is being presented are hodge-podge of measures and these are not in any way part of any ideological orientation. So why should anyone vote for such parties?
Right now there are thousands of security guards whose basic pay is far less than the $70,000 per month public service minimum wage. The government boasts that the public service minimum wage of $70,000 is far greater than the G$44,000 private sector minimum wage.
Yet, the PNCR and the PPPC would want you to believe they are working class parties. The PNCR is in power and they can more easily establish how much of a working class party they are.
The basic pay of most store clerks, security guards, household domestics and handymen are under $70,000 per month. So why does the government not raise the private sector minimum wage to $70,000 so that those private security guards, domestic workers, store clerks and handymen can benefit? The PNCR will not do so.
The Peeper has no respect or regard for any of the political parties who will be contesting the 2020 elections. And so the Peeper will fulfill the Peeper’s civic and democratic duty and NOT vote.

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Civic and democratic duty

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