YOUR-SAY

THE IGNORANCE ABOUT POLITICS

I think it’s obvious that politics affects our life. Even if you don’t like it and you don’t want to know anything about it, politics will affect you anyways. And also every day in the TV and on the news and newspapers there’s news talking about it: you can’t run away from it. But, well, in my opinion I think that, even if you don’t like it, you have to know which the situation of the country in political terms is, because it will affect your life, so it’s very important. 

A few months ago, there were elections in Spain, and just before that, I saw a video on Youtube which a man asked questions about politics to young people (mostly teenagers) and also to the political candidates of the different parties. The video was made humorously and he asked specific people that he knows they will answer with a “funny answer”. And I say funny answer with inverted commas because the video showed their political ignorance, and this is supposed to be funny but, actually, it isn’t. I mean, these people can vote and they didn’t know anything about politics, ANYTHING. In one question, the man asked “Which political party are you going to vote?” and one girl answered “PSOE” (a Spanish party). Then the man asked why and the girl said “I don’t know… Because my family votes that”. Then another young man said “I will vote PSOE because it has been governing for the last years and… Oh, no… It’s not PSOE, it’s PP, isn’t it?”. These are just two examples, but there are a few more. I will put the video at the end of the post, but it’s in Spanish.

Basically, nowadays, there are a lot of people that don't know the electoral platform of the different parties. And I think that, when there’s elections in the country, it’s essential knowing it because this will determinate your life.

To combat the ignorance of the young people about politics, I think it would be a great idea to inform the kids (specially the teenagers) about politics in school. They teach us a bit of politics, but basically the theoretical part, not the current part like what’s the political situation of the country. In my opinion, teenagers have to know the different parties and what purpose each one of them because in some years they will have to vote and it’s important knowing about the issue. Nowadays there are people that literally they don't know anything about politics and, however, they vote the first party that comes to their mind, or the party that they have been voting since ever, or the party that votes their family. We have to reflect on it. It took lots of years to get to have the right to vote, the universal suffrage and a more or less good democracy, so don’t waste the opportunity to choose which is the future you want for you and your country.

VIDEO:

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRrRBv3QjVo