Voting in Canada should be required by law (meaning punishable by fines).

Our democracy depends upon the active participation from our countries citizens, and while voting is only one element of political engagement, it remains the very foundation of our democracy. I think we are very lucky to be in Canada, because in Canada we have the privilege to vote for who will represent us, but many people don't not take advantage of this privilege that some others do not have. Some people think that the voter turnout is a reflection of the public's interest in politics, but honestly i think that is just an excuse people who don't want to vote use. 

Last year and in the year 2011 only about 61% of people actually went out to vote,  I think it's absurd and foolish that people aren't voting when they have the ability to have the right to choose their leaders. If Canada laid a penalty on people who do not vote we will have more votes and maybe even more fair results. In countries like Fiji, and Morocco they don't have the choice or ability to vote for who will represent them. In other countries like Lebanon and Bhutan women aren't allowed to vote, I'm sure many of the people from these countries dream about being able to vote, and decide who makes the decision for their rights, but that's all it is a dream they don't have the privilege like we in Canada do to vote for our leaders.

In Australia citizens can be fined about 20 dollars for not voting and if they don not pay the fine after many warning letters are sent. Their voting participation rates are around 95%, though it is just $20 it still works, because people want to avoid being fined or put in jail, and this tactic is what I think Canada should do to get a more higher voting rate. I believe that the votes are a representative sample of the whole population, not just the people who are active and interested enough to want to vote, and Because everyone has to vote, the whole country may become more politically literate and they might actually learn what their positions on different issues are, allowing them to make very informed decisions about their choice of who they want as their representatives.

I think that if Canada makes voting mandatory it will improve our democracy, and people would be taking advantage of their privilege to vote. I  strongly believe that a law should be enforced to make Canadians aware that they are lucky to be able to vote. 

Loyalty, is there positive and negative effects of being too loyal ? (REVISED)

Loyalty is a word that you either hear, or don't hear too often, and it is mostly described as a good personality trait or quality. I think that loyalty is very important in friendships, business relationships, and in personal relationships, but being too loyal to someone can have its disadvantages and it has me asking myself the question, is loyalty always a good thing ?

Loyalty has many positive outcomes and benefits to it. One benefit is that when you are loyal you earn trust, admiration, and even a thanks from someone important to you like your boss, your family member, or a lover. When you have trust from someone you feel good about yourself, and the other person would have a good feeling towards you, because you were loyal to them. Another good benefit of being loyal is that you earn a good reputation for yourself. Having a good reputation can be very important for you throughout your career and life, and in the yes of others you would be a person with a reputation that is unbreakable. Lastly from being a loyal person y wold have great success and have many life time opportunities coming towards you, because people know that you are a loyal trust worthy person who will not let them down.

Although loyalty is a very good thing in life, it can also have negative outcomes and cause some set backs in ones life. One negative outcome is that you can experience a lost of personal judgement and thinking ability for yourself. When you are too loyal to someone you start to lose your personal judgement and feel like they should decide what is best for you and maybe even how you should live your life. Secondly you can be be taken advantage by the other person whether its physically, or mentally. Being taken advantage of can lead you to doing things that you don't want to do, or taking a blame for the other person, because they asked you too and you have absolute loyalty for them. Lastly the other person would know you have complete loyalty to them and would probably end up mistreating you, and instead of thinking of you as a friend and human they would treat you like a slave or animal. Over the years I learned that loyalty is sometimes or usually a bad thing, because people usually never reciprocate the affection. My loyalty now extends to the extent in which they demonstrate their loyalty to me. I only do what I think or know the other person would do for me, nothing more and nothing less. That way, you don't get disappointed when the other person falls through and fails to show you the same kindness that you showed them.

To me personally loyalty means just three things to me. One is that you have someone to lean on, not just a regular friend or a by-stander , but someone you know who is loyal to you and you know will help you through your troubles. Secondly it means the willingness to help one another, by this I don't mean that they would lend you money or anything whenever you forget your wallet, but I mean that both parties should be willing to help one another through hardships , even if it is just helping bringing in groceries to the house. Lastly and personally to me is the most important is honesty. As I said before loyalty earns you a good reputation from others , trust, and success, but not only do you have to be loyal, but you have to be honest to or else how do you expect others to be loyal and honest towards you?

To me loyalty is a diverse word. It has its positives which could really benefit you,and it's negatives which could sometimes bring negative impacts to your life. I think to avoid these negatives impacts and effects on our lives, we should learn to stop when the negative effects are impacting the way you live, or think.

Power always corrupts the one who holds it ( REVISED)helping others as well as gaining what you personally want.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely",this powerful quote was said by Lord Acton in the 19th century. When I heard this quote it made me wonder, does power always corrupt a person or does a person corrupt a person?

      In the modern days many people assume that the more power and money you have the better you life will be, I'm not going to say that what they think is completely wrong, but I don't think you need money or power, or the most updated piece of technology to be happy in life. To me just being comfortable in my life surrounded by my friends and family is what makes me happy. I don't think just because someone is a very powerful person, or has lots of money that's what makes them they way they are. The Lord Of The Rings is a good example of how powerful the desire for power is, and it can corrupt any man. Once you put the 'ring' on your finger you loose your ability to be true to you feelings and beliefs. The leaders from the movie became corrupted from having power and refused to remove the 'ring'.

      Why do people become corrupted? Why do they do what they do? These are just a few of the many questions I ask myself, and though I know that there is no concrete answer for my questions I know there is still ideas that somewhat answer these questions. One idea is that when you have power you develop pride and when they get power their thinking slowly becomes corrupted because they start making choices that only benefit themselves, and I think the more power a person has the more freedom they have for their choices. I think Hitler is a good example, would Hitler have done what he did to the Jewish people if it wasn't for the amount of power he was given? I think he wouldn't have done what he did, why? the answer is simple it's because if he didn't have the power he wouldn't have the confidence to conquer all of the Jewish people.

      Power does not always corrupt a person to me power is just a little push given to a person who is already corrupt.There can be good things that come out from having power if you use your power in the right way. One way can be having [power can give you less stress, I think the better a person is with being able to cope with situations the less stress you will have, another is you can use you power to help others in need like donating money and helping kids in places that aren't in good condition, like Africa.

If you achieve power, remember your values and sustain your humanity. Use your power for good, helping others as well as gaining what you personally want . "Nothing changes until you change. Everything changes once you change" This quote was said by an anonymous person, I like this quote and think it relates to this topic well, because it supports my argument that power does not corrupt people, but people corrupt people.