Why Being Politically Involved Is Important | Lifestyle

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They told me not to talk about politics. It will only enrage people and end up in heated discussions about values, principles and morales. It will not make you any friends.

But why should we keep something so important under wraps? Especially when it is something that concerns all of us, even people as young as I am.

Just so you get a better understanding of where all the frustration that drove me to write this post comes from - try discussing your country's political situation with people between the ages of fifteen and twenty. In most cases, they will either laugh at you, roll their eyes or simply walk away.

When I talked to one of my friends about finally being able to vote next year, they told me that they definitely won't go to the polls - they have no clue about politics and anyways, you're way too young to think about that kind of thing at eighteen.

I'm really sorry to be this blunt about the matter at hand, but statements like that make me very angry. In which way will you benefit from being ignorant towards the way the country you live in is lead? Shouldn't you at least be a tiny bit interested in the affects current political situations will have on your life?
Because they obviously will have some, and you sure can't ignore them forever - at one point, you will realize that new legislations were passed and you can't get plastic bags at shops aymore, for example. And that's just a minor change to our lives, there's often a lot more at stake.

I'm this passionate about how important it is to inform and educate yourself on politics because my country's political situation isn't exactly a walk in the park at the moment. There's quite a bit of chaos and distempers going on, and the only ones benefitting from that are extremist parties - which I don't want to have a majority in parlament, if I'm completely honest.

By simply not going to the polls, whether it's because you feel like you don't know enough about politics, you think your vote won't make a difference anyways, or you want to make some sort of statement by not voting for the party you used to vote for, you're doing more damage than you think.

It's always better to go.
If you feel like you don't know enough, watch the news, do some research on the partys policies on the internet - you'll be caught up in no time.
If you feel like your vote doesn't make a difference, think again. It might sure seem that one single person doesn't matter, but it'd be a whole other thing if thousands of others thought the same thing.
And if you think that you'll teach the politicians a lesson by not going or voting for extremist parties, take a look at their policies - do you really want people who are homophic and xenophobic to run your homecountry?


I'm not really sure where I'm going with this entire ramble.
I obviously can't force anyone to do something they don't want, but I guess I'm appealing to people's common sense here.
This doesn't just concern some politicians far, far away from you, but also your future, your life. It's a matter you have a say in, so you should use your voice to speak up.


What's your view on this topic? It's highly controversial, so I'm sure a lot of people will see this in a totally different light - I'd love to know your opinions!

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