In this article, I will explain, why many young people, at least in my opinion, aren't involved or interested in politics right now. This is my opinion. If yours differs from mine, just post a comment. I want to start a discussion with this post.
TL;DR
- Problems
- System is obsolete
- Education is key
- Opinions get suppressed
- Solutions
- Parties accepting the youth more
- More modular approach to education
- Use and tell people to use P2P social media
Problems
The system is ruled by old people
If you look at statistics the average age of the US Congress is 56, not very young in my opinion. This isn't only the case in the US, this happens worldwide. Older people tend to be more conservative, so things like:
'He/She is just 24 years old, how could he/she know more than me!'
'I am in this position longer than you are alive, don't tell me what to do!'
are very common. This is a problem! If you want to get into politics, most of the time you get frustrated because of people like them and don't want to carry on. There are some idealists out there, but they are not enough.
The educational system is messed up
As Dave from Boyinaband told us in his song 'Don't stay in school', the educational system is just messed up. Frustrated students, frustrated teachers and frustrated parents. Just problems. This has to be addressed. And this can only change with discussions. For my part, I am not really frustrated in school. I have teachers which encourage students to not learn things just because somebody said it's important. They encourage us to learn so we understand things, so we can use these things in our private life. But I'm lucky, not everybody has such teachers, and not all of my teachers are like this either.
Opinions get suppressed
This is one of the most problematic things. Opinions that don't match the accepted opinion are wrong. They get suppressed. I'm not saying that all opinions are created equal. An opinion which is against the law e.g. hate-speech isn't the right way. But it can be discussed. Everybody has the right to spread their opinion. I recently watched a good TED talk about this. The 'anti-diversity manifesto' is a good example for opinions getting suppressed
Possible solutions
Start accepting the youth
Many parties want to get the youth on their side, so why not accept them into the party as 'full' members. Members who are heard, members that can bring discussions on the table. Give them a fair chance, hear them out. This can't happen overnight, but parties could at least try to do this.
Change the educational system
This can't also possibly happen overnight, but it could be worked on. Boyinaband and many other people suggested a more modular system. I also think that this can help. With core lessons, so kids learn the language, calculus, politics and other mandatory things, and then specialize in other things like science or art. Teach them the basics and don't cage them in things they're not interested in.
Use P2P networks so opinions can't get easily suppressed
That's a very simple fix. Just don't use traditional social media. Search for P2P alternatives like steemit, and tell other people they should do the same. Start a discussion with them, preferably in person, why their opinions matter, and they should no longer support companies which censor them. Get the word out.
I hope you were interested enough to read through this wall of text. As mentioned feel free to discuss.
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