It takes an army to make democracy work. It's time more of us enlisted

Sydney Morning Herald

8 hours ago

This story is part of the June 8 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories.
The election is done and dusted. Some people are delighted with the result, some relieved and some disappointed, as happens every cycle. But our system has worked and all of us should be happy that our democracy seems to be in good shape.
The same is no longer true in many other countries. Indeed, we are starting to be talked about as a global outlier; a rare Western democracy that is not fighting off looming threats from populist right-wing parties. If watching what happens when one of those populists manages to win has taught us anything, it is that democracy is fragile.
Perhaps that is why I see the increasing energy around our elections as largely a good thing. And perhaps as others have worked that out, too, that's why there is so much more buzz – both positive and negative – around them.
It seems we can no longer afford to think that compulsory voting and an independent Australian Electoral Commission – important as they are – are protection enough, and that all we need to do every three years is turn up and vote. All those people in T-shirts promoting their chosen candidate, who were knocking on doors, handing out flyers, putting up corflutes and waving posters in long emu parades beside busy roads, have recognised that a functioning democracy takes work and must be protected. It takes time, energy, sunscreen and boot leather.
I know getting flyers shoved under your nose outside your favourite cafe on a Saturday morning can be annoying, especially if they tout the candidate you don't support. But curb your irritation. The person doing the thrusting is doing their bit for democracy. By all means refuse their flyer, but do so politely. The volunteer is giving their time to support something they believe in: the essence of democracy.
Polling day itself can feel like a frenzy. First, you need to find a park near a polling booth. Then, you must 'walk the gauntlet', as volunteers for each candidate wave their how-to-vote cards at you. It can feel overwhelming.
I doubt my efforts changed a single vote, but it didn't matter. I made an effort, and that's the point.
I know because I have been on both sides. The first time I handed out how-to-votes was in 1972, when I was 16 and volunteered for the ALP to try to get Gough Whitlam elected. If memory serves, it was pouring with rain and I was standing outside our local public school, soaked.
Despite the ALP posters declaring 'It's Time', mine was a blue-ribbon conservative electorate and my somewhat soggy flyers were more often rejected than not. Mostly people were polite, but a few were nasty and intimidating. Perhaps this occurs more often with people who are worried their candidate is going to lose.