Young People and the General Election, by a young person.

There has been a lot of focus in the build up to May’s election about young people and encouraging them to vote. I am a young person (at 22 I’m slightly clinging on to the title, nonetheless I’m just about there) and for the first time, I will be voting for who runs the country, although I’m currently undecided. However, I can see why a lot of young people might not want to vote.

I don’t want to vote for someone who is a lesser evil, or “not as bad as that guy.” I want to vote for a leader. I want to vote for someone who inspires me, someone who I can trust is working for my future and not his or her own. This is something I believe the country is lacking.

There is a huge gap between power and leadership. Power can be obtained through many means, not all of them desirable – corruption and lies not the least. Leadership though, is a quality that takes years and years of refining.

Our leaders might be well educated, they might have the most prestigious qualifications and know everything there is to know about politics. While knowledge is undoubtedly important, the skill of leadership is something entirely different.

A leader, a true leader, forgets their own agenda. They forget their own desires and they fight for the cause and the welfare of those following them. Modern day politicians do not fit this billing. They claim to, yes, because that will win them votes.

If they were truly working for the average person, why has the general populace become so disenchanted with our entire political system and those who claim to have our interests at heart?

This is even more so the case with young people, who have grown up being taught, in many cases, that politicians cannot be trusted. Stories in the media have fed this lesson and so young people who are now of age to vote, do not wish to do so. Who can blame them?

I truly believe every young person (well, every person) should vote. The problem is, I believe the options we have are simply not good enough. I've heard it said many times that those in positions of power are often those who shouldn't have that power. If we look at our political leaders – there aren't many I think that doesn't apply to.

A shake up in our system is needed. If we want young people to get passionate about politics, we need those who claim power to deserve it and to give us something to believe in.

This is my challenge to our would-be PMs – make us believe in you. Don’t feed us promises to get you into number 10. Be honest, be transparent and give us a real reason to vote. Lead, and the young people will follow.

Will you be voting? Why/why not? Let me know below.

Why we're not the 'lost' generation

I’ve seen a few articles floating about over the past year or so referring to my age group and those a little younger as the ‘lost generation.’

Ahem.

Now, obviously I respect the opinions of others, what with me being a half decent human being with a fairly accurate moral compass.

However, the term ‘lost generation’ causes a teeny-weeny crack to appear in my usual composed, respectful and dignified self. I’ve largely kept quiet and got on with what I do but now I feel I should air my frustrations.

Young people, such as myself (just about), make mistakes. We do that. It’s part of being young. Our parents probably made similar mistakes at our age. As did our grandparents. Of course, the situation is different these days and some of my peers’ actions have been less than optimal in terms of decision making.

But before giving us up as a ‘lost’ cause, let’s have a quick scan over some facts:

Our generation have inherited a world of austerity, unemployment and limited opportunity. A world where the rich get richer and the poor, let’s be blunt, kind of get trampled into the dirt.

Despite how the media and our government would portray us, we’re actually (mostly) quite a good bunch of people. Sure, there are some cretinous individuals (-cough- Justin Bieber -cough-), but this is the same as any other generation. Overall, we’re not so bad. Our mistakes are more intensely scrutinised because news (and rumour and prejudice, it is worth pointing out) is so easily visible as a result of the growth of social media.

Let’s take a look at the riots a couple of years ago. I’m not condoning the actions of those involved. They further damaged an already tarnished reputation of young people with mindless acts of greed and criminality that will be remembered for years to come.

But why did it happen?

I saw quotes from people involved mentioning that they were bored angry and frustrated.

We are not the ‘lost generation.’ We are the frustrated generation.

We’re frustrated that, through no fault of our own, we’re forced to struggle much harder than our parents to make something of ourselves and to succeed.

We’re frustrated because our politicians claim to want to help us, then lie to us to gain our vote in unjustifiable attempts to satisfy their lust for power.

But most of all, we’re frustrated that those same politicians have given up on us and labelled us as “lost,” while simultaneously claiming expenses for holiday homes in countries most from my background will never get the opportunity to visit to broaden their horizons.

Why should we, as young people, tolerate such poor and inaccurate prejudice?

How is slapping the ‘lost’ label on us going to benefit us and encourage us to be more than we’re expected to be in this ever toughening world?

Why are our voices not being heard as much as they could be? Why is it right for it to be assumed that because we’re young, we don’t know what we’re talking about?

Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. Fantastic organisations, such as The Prince’s Trust, do amazing things for young people who need it.

But it’s not enough.

We are the future of this world. We are the people who will lead this country in whatever industry we find ourselves in. It’s time that those in positions of power, whether political power or in the media, have more faith in us and recognise that we are not lost and never will be. It’s time they recognise that we won’t ever accept such unjustified judgement from those who only try and help us if there’s a television crew and journalists there.

Most  of all, it’s time it was recognised that we deserve a whole lot more respect than is given.