Politics – Do we care?

Politics = darkness, boring, control, government, fights, arguments, backstabbing, etc.

These are words that show how young people view politics, power, and influence of the higher authority. That explains why they are also called the disengaged generation.



Is politics good or bad? Well, I personally believe that it is amoral. Just like money, it depends on the person in control of it. Therefore, voting is important and having good people in the government to lead us is crucial.



Young people these days, including me, feel stressed out easily. Why? Because unlike most affluent and wealthy celebrities and royalties, our circle of influence cannot overcome our circle of concern, thus we are constantly worrying and looking for solutions to problems. The lack of power and the overwhelming concerns are the source of stress.

Therefore, I believe one big reason why young people in Singapore are apathetic toward politics is the fact that, unlike America, we do not have the full freedom of speech. Any comments that we make about the government might put us behind bars. Thus, even while typing this, I am really careful about everything that I say, because this topic is about politics. This lack of power and right to speak up is also a source of stress.

Another reason why youth refuse to engage in politics is due to the difficulty in understanding it. No one would enjoy doing something that they do not understand.



So how do we solve this major problem of getting youth to be interested or even involved in politics? Perhaps parents or teachers can talk more to them about it, BUT using simple terms and not jargons and big political terms that confuse and turn them off even further. For instance, to some people, the destruction of wild life, like politics, has nothing to do with the youth, but why are some of them willing to spend time understanding, protecting, and getting involved in it? Animals are the reason and motivation. Therefore, we need to find a motivation for these young people, to give them a reason to feel a need to understand and be involved in politics.

Alternatively, the Internet may be used as a tool to engage young people in politics. Politicians can set up personal websites, and create accounts like facebook and twitter to get understand the youth first before getting them to understand politics. However, despite all these change, it is still important that whatever is put on the website about politics, it must be simple, if not, no one would read!