24/01/2014

"I'm Only 12... Why Should I Know What's Going On?"

This post has been sparked by my history lessons at the moment. We're doing voting, and people who have died for the vote and for change. 

So, we were doing why people don't vote. Here were some top reasons: 
  •  Laziness
  • Can't be bothered
  • Don't understand politics
  • Doesn't care
  • One vote won't matter
  • How the heck will it affect me
  • All the parties are liars
  • The weather (I found this one somewhat hilarious)
SO. Those were just a few that were bought up. We then went on to write a speech about why we should vote. 

But what actually inspired this particular post was a conversation with my friend after the lesson (walking to the bus stop, if you're interested)

  • Her: I don't think I'll bother. And this stuff bores me in the lesson. I'm 12. It doesn't affect me yet. 
  • Me: It will... Our generation's justice is on the line and we already have a messed up economy [Explains economy and recession]
  • Her: But still. I don't care YET. I shouldn't, anyway, I'm just a kid. 
  • Me: Well, maybe not, but you need to know or you won't know when we're older, we only have 5 or 6 years before we're in that position. 
  • Her: But what does one vote count? 
  • Me: Every vote counts. If every person who said that voted, there would be so many more votes, so it does count. 
And then we went on to listen to music, because, yeah. I don't talk about politics all the time. 

Anyway. I digress. 

But I think that maybe, just maybe, we need to be educated some more on topics like this. But every vote does count, and my generation should know what's going on economically and politically. Legal Aid is involved with politics, on a general level, and we're going to be really affected by it. If you refer back to my post here about the amount of young people wanting to go into law, it goes to show how many are naive to what is happening but yet want to have a profession in such a passionate topic. 

So what? 

I'm passionate about law, about politics. I think all the women and men who have died for us to have justice, the vote, everything, should be honoured and everyone should vote, should have that justice, and it shouldn't be taken away! My generations and many generations to come need to learn on a more psychological level, as opposed to just historical, about what's happening, voting and Legal Aid.