DEAR Jasminda,

How do I cope with sore losers in the household after the Federal Election? Our family is evenly divided between environmentalists, economy-at-any-cost-ers and donkey voters.

Maurie D.

DEAR Maurie,

Thankfully we live in a democracy where everyone’s vote is equal (well, except for those who would prefer to draw a democracy sausage or something similarly shaped but slightly more offensive on their ballot paper than register a valid vote).

We are all able to thoroughly investigate what each party stands for and cast our votes accordingly without any threat or favour.

Family hostilities can run high, however, when there is disagreement reaching levels almost (but not quite) comparable to when opposing football teams are pitted against each other for the Grand Final.

You could perhaps calm your frazzled family members by reminding them that voting opportunities are not so great in other parts of the world.

Saudi women, for example, were only given the opportunity to vote in 2015.

In Bolivia, if you don’t vote it can lead not only to a fine, but denial of salary.

In America, you can have a situation where the former president is such a sore loser that he refuses to accept the result, much like a petulant child.

And in Russia, the president rewrote the rules, allowing him to stay in power until 2036, something unthinkable in Australia.

Remind them, also, that they’ll have another opportunity in three years.

Maybe by then your donkey voters will have decided to take their right to vote more seriously.

Carpe diem,
Jasminda.