I had lunch the other day with a friend of mine, and talk turned, as it often does with me to politics. You can probably guess that I am a little politically active, I have been involved in politics since I was a wee lad, with a pretty active family. And not just party politics, but board of management stuff in schools, heritage projects, and public works stuff. So I was a little concerned to hear from someone, who has always been pretty smart and well informed, and who I respect, to say something along the lines of, ‘”I’ll never vote, I don’t see the point, like no matter how I do vote, the government always gets in.”
Young people are,now more than ever, apathetic towards organised politics. That is not to say that there aren’t young people involved in the machine, from youth organisations such as Ogra Fianna Fail to Young Fine Gael, and non-profit politically active organisations, like Suas and more directly Rock The Vote. Young people are being elected to office, in the Dail and Seanad, with Deputies Dara Calleary, Lucinda Creighton, Olwyn Enright and Barry Andrews, all having a high profile within their respective parties. The profile is astounding for Fine Gael, one in five TD’s are under 35. But still there is little or no evidence to show that young people turn out to actually vote in elections, with more and more staying at home or not informing themselves.
How do we tackle these kinds of problems? I think that parties need to do more to tie all parts of life into politics. Young people need to realise that every part of their lives, from college fees to grants, from job prospects to house prices, can be tied directly back to the government. It is a fact that if you don’t get out and vote, or get involved, then you are giving some of your biggest decisions to other people.
Some people, like my friend, don’t think they can have an effect. Well, I have been involved in several initiatives which have come to fruition with policy change. Students and young people have shaped society in the past, and could again. Look at all the major changes, student opposition to apartheid, student campaigning for equal rights for the gay community, student revolt in various countries leading to awareness and change. Maybe it because we are a little too comfortable.
And governments and parties need to do more to assist in mobilising voters, and young voters. Most college age people have been ruled out of voting in the last general election, and again in the upcoming Lisbon treaty, due to bad timing, either for the vote, or for registration amendments or changes. Everyone should be automatically registered to vote, and the act of polling should be made easier.
It has to be made easier to decide how to vote, by which I mean who to vote for. I will admit there is little or nothing to seperate parties on issues nowadays, but if people could identify a set of general principles they could agree with, a list of broad objectives for government that we could either get on board with or not. Then voters could get active, get involved, and shape how those general objectives are made into policy.
Politics is a murky world. It is often difficult to see the wood from the trees until you have been inside the organisations and understand how these leviathan machines plod along. We, the people, have the power to alter that machine once we get involved. I think that moves from the parties to select more young candidates are great, drawing people into the inner circle. I also think that groups coming together to politicise young people are fantastic, but have an uphill battle. Rock The Vote, which is a great idea, faces a problem. They have to dumb down politics to a certain extent, but not do it so much that the message becomes patronising. Lets wait and see how this campaign unfolds for them. But one thing is certain. Young people need to find their voice.
