3 Reasons We Need Youth Political Participation

With the Covid-19 pandemic still ravaging the world and racial tensions still high following the deaths of unarmed black people in many countries all over the world, not only the United States, youth culture and the younger generations are possibly becoming disenfranchised with the global socio-economic system as a whole.

But, as they say, the children are the future and there is growing concern that young interest in politics is at an all-time low, putting in jeopardy not only the future of the political system itself but the essence of a democratic society that only comes from being involved in meaningful action.

While people are happy to vote, sign a petition or join a party, that’s about as far as it goes. Without holding governments accountable for their actions through each nation’s democratic and social frame, the following might be lost or dramatically changed due to inaction.

Future Events

The global situations of the past 12 months have almost redefined the meaning of democracy as governments all over seek to tighten control by using tragedies as a catalyst for draconian and Orwellian laws akin to an impending Police State the likes of which the nations of the developed world haven’t seen for centuries.

Because of mass protests that quickly turn violent due to the actions of agent provocateurs, governments from countries such as France, the UK, and the US seek to impose laws preventing mass gathering in public spaces. This recently led to violence and arrests in the UK where mass demonstrations took place against the proposed bill that would allow police to enforce any measure they deem “necessary” to shut down a protest, using the tragic murder of Sarah Everard as an excuse, and the Black Lives Matter movement requires no introduction.

Upholding Values

Every nation has their own views, traditions, and values which contributes to the beauty of the world. None more so than the core principles of the American values of liberty, self-government, and equality, all of which have been sorely lacking since the War on Terror began and show no signs of coming back in the wake of global lockdowns and mass arrests or shootings of minorities by both the Police and private citizens.

A generational attitude shift is currently in progress and has the potential to change the world as a global youth “woke” movement seeks to include everyone in everything and politics is just the beginning.  Promising youngsters like Mike Kahoe who was elected as a school board member at the age of 18 are a start, but actions need to go beyond local and regional boundaries if we are to reassert and uphold the core values of any nation that seem to have been lost in recent times.

Global Economic Partnerships

The last few years have been a worldwide guidebook on how not to get along with each other on an economic level. War, secession, and international sanctions are at an all-time high that could have long-lasting repercussions for everyone on the planet. The War on Terror is still limping along, helped by weak excuses and false accusations to justify the occupation of nations like Iran and Syria while the UK and Europe still bicker over Brexit resulting in millions of vaccines being withheld from vulnerable people and tit for tat policies on trade between the USA, China and Russia are decimating economies.

With the old guard and outdated views still the nature of business, as usual, it’s about time a fresh approach was adopted. While there is no suggestion that things are likely to change in the foreseeable future, we can all breathe a sigh of reprieve in the hopes that our younger, brighter, and more exorable younger generations will at least work place a band-aid on the wounds we have caused while we gingerly ask for forgiveness.