Slow and Steady....

Vote Mobs. They are a relatively new creation, and have been popping up at universities across the country in recent weeks.
If you haven't heard of them, check out cbc.ca. There is a lot of writing on the subject.

This year, Rick Mercer's traditional call to young people to vote has resulted in thousands of youth getting together to state their willingness to get out there and have their say. There are articles and YouTube videos out there showing the enthusiasm and spirit from great numbers of university students. There are colours and costumes everywhere, cheering and posters stating the students' promises to vote. The pictures have been a refreshing sight in the wake of the downright depressing slander and dark attack ads that grace our televisions and radios.

But as with every celebration, there's always one Debbie Downer. There have been a few small articles condemning these mobs as unproductive and chaotic but this recent one, courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen, blasts them all out of the water. Someone in Ottawa's getting nervous. And the fact that the article is written by a former speech writer for the PM himself, I'll give you 3 guesses who that someone is.

Sure, you'll say when you read the first part, vote mobs are not going to suddenly incite a few million new voters to make it to the polling stations on May 2. And they certainly don't guarantee that all votes cast a result of the mobs will be well-researched ones. But does this automatically mean they're all bad? That they won't make a difference for a few people in every mob at every university?
Mr Taube refers to the mobs as "silly" and the resultant videos as "pointless". If history has taught us anything, it is to never underestimate the power of numbers. Gatherings of thousands are never totally ineffective. And the power of mass media is only going to grow exponentially.
What have the ads been telling us? Every vote makes a difference. So it stands to reason that 10 new votes, 30 votes, 50 votes can make change happen. Just because a movement doesn't immediately overturn the current system doesn't completely invalidate it. Very rarely does change, any change, happen quickly. At least someone is out there, trying.

And I'm sorry, Mr Taube, did you have a better suggestion? Right.... you must have been so busy slamming those who are actually making an effort, you must have forgotten.

Please take a minute to read the article.
And please, please, don't buy into it.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/decision-canada/Opinion+Vote+mentality/4658160/story.html