An Onion Ring? Or a political statement?

A group recently popped up on facebook. No-one knows where it came from, and reading the comments the joke is that it was an immaculate conception. Can this Onion Ring get more fans than Stephen Harper? The answer, overwhelmingly, is yes. It can.

At the time I am writing this there are 108,166 fans and it is growing by the minute. It took 5 days to reach that incredible number. This page isn't just fun. And it is fun. Why, even "Stephen Harper" himself has joined. Complete with his sweater vest, lego hair and kitten. Just go read the comments for a while. It is a huge political statement if I have ever seen one.

I recently blogged about the Canadian Against Proroguing Parliament group(CAPP).
I watched as the CAPP group was dismissed as "a little facebook group", "elites", "the chattering classes". Now the Onion Group is being dismissed as silly. I wouldn't be too quick to do that. The big difference between the Onion Ring group and the CAPP group is that majority of the CAPP group is already engaged, they are older, and they vote. Oh, the CAPP group has been a major game changer. Yes, they have been a game changer. They have raised awareness of an issue that would otherwise have not even have been on the radar of most unsuspecting Canadians - a tactic that the Conservative government counts on. But this Onion Ring group could work hand in hand. This could also be a real game changer. Imagine how this could raise awareness for young voters.

If the Onion Ring group was silly, the neo-cons wouldn't be taking it so seriously. They wouldn't be there trying to disrupt the flow. And I've seen that. Trying to spread false information. In my opinion, something has to be a threat or they wouldn't be wasting their time on this. Which brings me to another point. One of my all time favorite rants that sums up how I feel about the current state of Canadian politics is told by Canada's funny man, Rick Mercer. Yes, news has become entertainment and entertainment has become news. In a minute and and a half Rick tells us that Canadians aren't aware of what goes on in their country, they don't care, the government tries to make it worse by misleading the public and that we have a right and duty to be engaged. That's a lot of information to pack into a minute and a half, but oh so critical.

So, on that note, how do we engage? When will we start to:
1)be aware of how our government operates?
2)care how our government operates?
3)be aware that they are misleading us?
4)care enough to actually take the time to try and change it?

It's simple folks. Next election exercise your right and duty and vote. It's simple really. Find out about your candidates and you mark and X on a ballot. It can change not only the future of your country, but your future and the future of your children and their children. Think of the rights that have been won by those before us. Many people have died fighting for our rights and freedoms. All you have to do is vote.