THIS! Christine

There are a lot of political blogs out there these days. Some with excellent coverage and informed readership. A repetitive theme on a lot of these blogs is the erosion or undermining of the principals of democracy. An incident happened up my way recently which made me think about how easy most of us have it when we exercise our democratic rights.

Any regular of my blog knows that our area is knee deep in hearings regarding a proposed pipeline to transport our natural gas to the south. One small community along the route held a vote last week to decide if they would allow the pipeline to pass through their land. This is a fairly small, isolated community and this issue has been a divisive one. Some people in positions of power and influence have been applying pressure in this community to vote against the pipeline. So what's the big deal about that, you might ask? Let the democratic process take its course.

The vote went 104/80 against the pipeline. I was disappointed in the results, but didn't think any more of it; they'd exercised their rights and the decision was made. That is until I found out it was a public vote by a show of hands.

Knowing how strongly some people feel about the pipeline and how frightening some people's passions can be, I had to rethink my views on that democratic process. What an uncomfortable, maybe frightening position to be in. And I really have to applaud the courage of those 80 people who stood up in a public meeting and went against the leaders. They were marked and noted, and I'm sure, for some, the next little while will not be easy or comfortable for them.

But it made me wonder about my own principals. would I be brave enough to vote for what I believe in in the face of overwhelming condemnation, and perhaps reprisals? I don't think I like the answer. Do you?

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