Lately I've been involved in a few conversations about politics with people of different ages and backgrounds. Inevitably, someone will sigh or throw up their hands and voice their disgust/frustration/mistrust of the entire system. And who can blame them? So many poor (partisan) decisions are made, and so many people are completely alienated from and disenfranchised by our political systems, be they local or provincial or national.
At the same time, standing on the sidelines does nothing to improve the state of things - in fact, it makes it worse. The young people I talked to at a local pub felt completely uniformed on political issues. Some of them, well into their twenties, with degrees in hand, have never voted in a single election. The retired man I talked to at church today told me the story of how quickly a local MLA became disgusted with politics after he was elected. How can you get involved in politics and be successful in 'playing the game' without getting your hands dirty? Good question.
I've been interested in politics since I was a kid. My parents used to be card-carrying Liberals. People like my folks used to be the party rank-and-file, who played some role in bringing leaders to power. And inevitably, decisions about policy will be made, either with the participation of citizens or not. Mostly it seems that that power has been abdicated to large corporations and power-brokers, who understand the stakes and have their representatives trained and ready.
How do we re-ignite a conversation about the common good? How do we convince people (and particularly young people) to get involved in decision-making that affects their community?
My personal opinion is "without pressure, nothing changes." And that pressure can only be created when people work together to achieve specific changes that they feel will improve the community in which they live.
And sooner or later, in some form or another, that means politics.
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