Mr Common Sense
Youth and Politics
We live in an age of disillusionment with politics. This is especially common amongst youths, and leads to apathy etc. I was thinking, how do we get those now apathetic and disillusioned interested in politics? I mean, there is a lot of rhetoric on the subject, but it is empty rhetoric. Simple as that. So, people, any ideas?
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Divus
politics is seen as the domain of dry dusty old men (and political commentators often reflect this image) and the topics politicians talk about, though very important, have no relationship to anything young people care about.
how many young people are interested in the budget, except to know that prices on fuel fags and alcohol are going to rise... you can't get people interested in politics if its not actually anything to it that interests them
more to the point, the youth don;t care. nobody listens to them, their opinions don't count for anything, why should they care? thta seems to be the prevailing attitude.
you need to start engaging them in local politics first, because at the local council level, politicians actually are going to discuss a lot of stuff that will directly affect the youth, and the young people are more likely to hold opinions on it.
politicians also have to show a willingness to listen. just because someone is young, its easy to think they cannot argue a rational point, or that their view is worthless. this forum alone is a good example that this is not the case, with some of our most intellectual posters being well below 18 (Frood for example).
young people cna be interested, especially in local affairs, but why would they want to get involved if they are going to be patronsised and talked down to?
on a side note, the politics A level course at my school has been dropped for the last 2 years, as total applicants for it never exceeded 2. the last year it was run, it had 5 people. my sixth form has about 200 people in each year.
the BNP candidate for the Newcastle-under-Lyme seat on Staffordshire Council in the recent elections was an 18yr old girl, who was campaigning in between revising for A-Levels... politic apathy among young people isn't total... and its not irreversable. but the trend does need to be bucked sooner rather than later
Indefinitely Banned
I don't think the youth are more politically apathetic than any other cross section of society. If fact I suspect you would find quite the opposite.
I thinks its the nature of our society that prevents many young people in taking interest in politics. When they are being fed a certain image by the media it's hard for them to break from the mould. It's only when politics comes into conflict with thier lifes (i.e. petrol prices etc) that they are forced to participate.
So to change this we must try and get young people interested in politics through the same source which creates the current disinterest...the media. And the media has to accept this responsibility. But i dont know we can do that since the media is perfectly happy with brainwashing young people since its making the corporations that control the media tons of money by moulding young people into becoming the perfect consumers.
"In bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality." - Karl Marx on CapitalismUnder the patronage of the venerable Marshal Qin. Proud member of the house of Sybian.
Proud member of the Australian-New Zealand Beer Appreciation Society (ANZBAS)
Primicerius
In this country (the UK) election turnouts are lowest amongst the youth and highest amongst the retired. I think its a similar picture in the US and most of Europe.Originally Posted by Gubbins
However, that doesn't mean young people don't care about politics. They are very over represented in things like demonstrations and other direct actions. I think a system which incorporated more direct democracy (e.g. refferenda) on a local and national level would attract young people to it more.
For my name is Legion
There's mopre apathy in the ranks of the youth. Polls in my home country, Romania, at least, show it. Young people tend to be rather more interested in econmics, in sports, in leisure and social life. Politics is not an issue and I think the Black Prince has showed us the reasons, patronisation, no influence, no power, the need to make compromises...
But, on the other hand should really the majority of young people be interested in politics? Would the society where most of the young people are implicated/interested in politics be a beter one? I tend to say that we already have to many voters as it is. Young people tend to be very irational in their political choices. They support candidates because of their loooks rather then programme or principles. Yes, the same is true for older people. But it is more visible in the youngsters. Their votes are often given to candidates that are extremist or fanatical. Young people rarely take the time to be informed about their choices. Young people do not see into the future (the irony!) but rather focus in very narrow minded, lacking in perspective issues.
To joke (half heartedly) I would say that maybe its better for most of the young people to be rather uniterested in politics. This means that people like me, that are interested and studying Political Sciences, can be the ones to run the show. Is it not for an elite of the young people to rise and challenge the older politicians and eventualy have power, rather than having uninformed, brash youngsters figthing for scraps of political power?
Of course, it would be perfect if we could have a society that offers full and reliable information, with youngsters that want that information and know what to do with it. Sadly this kinf od society does not exist...
In the long run, we are all dead - John Maynard Keynes
Under the patronage of Lvcivs Vorenvs
Holding patronage upon the historical tvrcopolier and former patron of the once fallen, risen from the ashes and again fallen RvsskiSoldat
Indefinitely Banned
Elaborate? Just what is defined as a young person? 18-25? And retired expands 65-death? Or is it proportional? These old timers also come from a different era. I'm 18 and British and found myself incredibly confused over selecting a party to vote for. It's not a problem with youth, it's a problem with parties.
And referendums are a moronic idea in any democracy.
Mr Common Sense
1) Many older people not only vote on looks, but are more conservative than the youth. If we want a balanced political system, then we need to get the youth involved. And what happens when the baby boomers die out, if we (my generation) aren't politically active? Very few actual voters, for a start, and therefore a government that has no mandate as it was not elected by the majority. And don't generalise about us that much; nor accept the media image. If you believed that, we would all be hoodie-wearing thugs with drug and achohol problems who lost our virginity age 12.
2) Read the Republic recently or something? I would rather live in a democracy than in a country where only the rich could rule, because only the rich could get a good enough education. I know I do now but at least we have multiple leaders to choose between.
3) Well, we need to remember the cause of the non-existence: the media. How about bombarding it with letters and emails trying to get it to change both the image of politics it creates and the images of youths as antisocial misfits. People sometimes conform to stereotypes because they are treated as that stereotype; we wouldn't want that now, would we?
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Primicerius
Figures for 2001 (can't find 2005 figures):
"The youngest voter age group are 18 - 24 year-olds. In 2001 only 39% of this age group used their vote - this was the lowest turnout of all the age groups. By comparison the turnout amongst 60 - 75 year-olds totalled around 70%"
So people making direct "decisions on the issues that effect them is moronic? Care to elaborate?And referendums are a moronic idea in any democracy.
܁
The problem is, why should they be interested. It makes little difference to them (the mass of hoodie types that sadly make up a high percentage of Britians (and perhaps others) youth). Also, they are over protected, teachers, by means of a example, can do very little to restrain them. Thus growing up in a life where they are their own masters; makes them unruly and it is this system which is responsible for the general immaturity of young people throughout the country.
P.S. I say this being a teenager, myself, so unbiased in respect to that.
Mr Common Sense
Bavarian: First, are the majority of teenagers walking around around mugging people in hoodies? Where did you get that idea?
And how would you wish them to be less protected; bring back corporal punishment in the classroom? Allow smacking as hard as the parents please? Open the door to all kinds of abuse? No.
And they are not growing up their own masters; that is part of the problem. They have no power, and someone else is always the master, be it parent or teacher. Young people are as immature as the media makes them out to be, which currently is very immature; although they are, in truth, not as immature as you would think.
PS: I'm also a teenager. That biases me. How can it not bias you?
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Indefinitely Banned
Simple. People are ignorant morons. Direct Democracy didn't work in the relatively tiny state of Athens, to use it in a massive modern Democracy would be impractical and catasrophic.
Mr Common Sense
Democracy in the state of Athens involved only those of ages above 30 or 40, I forget which, male, and citizens of Athens. This was very few people, and thus not democracy in a true sense. Of course, it could not work now because of the sheer size. But is electing who is going to shaft you every 4 years or so any good at all? All the politicians make unrealistic promises and ignore them once they have won. Simple. Actually, going back to my oint aout it not working, it could do; with the technology we have now, it would be quite easy to do, no problem.
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Indefinitely Banned
No. All adult males had the power to vote and speak in the assembly on the Pynx. Of course with the great unwashed making the decisions it was disasterous and allowed the rise of dangerous demogogues. The best example was when the assembly voted to massacre an enitre city one day, and changed their mind the next. Can you imagine people actually having direct power today? Every spitting capped chav? Every shotgun wielding hillbilly? Ha! Democracy...
Mr Common Sense
I ask you another question: what if only one or two were able to make the decisions? What if one or two men ruled over the rest of us? What if they were good, but their seconds were bad? It requires but one advisor to these men to be evil for all to come rashng down. Democracy is not the best system; in fct, in the words of Winston CHurchill, "Democracy is the worst system of government, except for all the others."
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Indefinitely Banned
Luckily we have a comprimise between oligarchy and democracy.
Mr Common Sense
Yes; we can decide which leaders screw us, and if they do it too much we get another one; although four years of damage had been done. Look at Thatcher and major as well; that was a mistake by th British public. I'm glad I was born towardds the end of that Thatcherite era, and had gained political awareness only after Blair got power, neoThatcherite that he is...
primus pater cunobelin erat; sum in patronicium imb39, domi wilpuri; Saint-Germain, MasterAdnin, Pnutmaster, Scorch, Blau&Gruen,
Ferrets54, Honeohvovohaestse, et Pallida Mors in patronicum meum sunt
Indefinitely Banned
Anti-Thatcher? That's a shame. Good politician, did great things for the economy.
Yes most citizens are ignorant morons but most politicians are corrupt jerk-offs who cater to the needs of special interest groups and big business. So, which is worse?
For my name is Legion
Squeakus Maximus, I'm not talking about all of the youth, just the vast majority of them. And, it saddens me to say, the majority, even if it is stupid, uninformed and irational, gets to decide in a democracy.
You're right there are a lot of non youth that choose, from a political perspective, in all the wrong ways. But young people are the ones to make Le Pen, Heider and Vadim Tudor (a Romanian nationalist/extremist) political forces.
And yes I did read The Republic a few weeks ago and, yes, I really do think that voting and political rights should be linked to more than being a human being. Maybe to being an informed and rather rational human being...
In the long run, we are all dead - John Maynard Keynes
Under the patronage of Lvcivs Vorenvs
Holding patronage upon the historical tvrcopolier and former patron of the once fallen, risen from the ashes and again fallen RvsskiSoldat
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