Gone are the days when politics and political matters were the reserves of the old. The saying that the youth are the future no longer holds much weight; the future is already here. The youth continue to be actively engaged in political issues as the more they grow; it dawns on them that the way politics is handled in their countries, affects their social and economic lives directly and indirectly. The youth now feel that the obligation of ensuring the stability and development of their countries is upon them. Democratic Countries with progressive constitutions encourage youth participation in politics and affairs of running the government. Social factors such as wealth, access to information and education determine the extent to which young people are interested in politics. If one has access to political events through, for example, social media it is more likely for him or her to build interests in issues concerning politics and may want to get involved in them in one way or another (Quintelier, 2013). People in marginalized and remote areas are often less interested in political matters because their locations and situations hinder information about current events from reaching them. The following paper will discuss the various factors that influence the youths’ interests in politics. More specifically, it will discuss education, social conscience, exclusion of young people in politics, employment opportunities, experiences that shape beliefs and global events.
Education
Education determines youths’ interest and involvement in politics in several ways. When young people learn about political systems, issues, actions and realities in school programs and curriculum, they are likely to develop an interest in these matters and become more involved and engaged in the origination, development, and execution of political actions. In countries with strong education systems, interest in political matters among the young people is considerably high than in countries without similar capabilities. As they learn, students in high schools, colleges, and universities develop attitudes toward political establishments, politicians’ standpoints on important matters and legislation and regulations put in place by lawmakers. Education on political establishments, their principles and ways of doing things determines the political parties a young person would want to be affiliated with. Political interests in the youth are more inclined towards change; their aspirations and visions tend to deviate from the traditional ones that guide the older people.
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When political matters and issues interfere with education structures and schedules, political interest in the youth is increased. They develop a yearning to know more about these issues affecting their educational lives and whether or not they are in a position to do anything to help straighten out the affairs. For instance, when teachers in the public school systems go on strike due to delayed payments, failure by the government to honor collective bargaining agreements or poor working conditions, it creates a situation where the affected students ask a wide array of questions. They wonder why the government cannot just pay the teachers so they can go back to class. The students doubt the commitment of stakeholders in the sector toward ensuring an educated and literate youth population. This questions prompt action and research from which the students get to learn several things about how politics affects their education. They find out that appropriation of public funds for any government program is a bureaucratic process that requires input from lawmakers and experts on almost every level of governments (Fahmy, 2006).
Overhauls and changes in education curriculums are suggestions made by politicians all the time. This instantaneously spikes interest in students, parents, and stakeholders in the sector. It leads increased determination from the youth to want to be involved in the legislative and political processes that would see these overhauls implemented. The youth develop an interest in existing education laws, their significance to the current educational needs of learners, whether or not these laws can be modified to fit their needs and if not, how to go about repealing them in their entirety. The youth also scrutinize the proposed changes to assess their viability, practicality and the logic of whether they would be applicable or not. They get to weigh the pros and cons of these proposals and decide whether to adopt or reject them. The students can then explore several approaches to handling the issues. If they have reservations regarding the proposals, the students can draft petition bills and present them to the relevant legislation making bodies such as Congress for consideration. It is also possible for the youth to ask that they are involved, and their input is given ample consideration in the legislative process of enacting such overhaul proposals into law.
Funding of schools and their programs is one of the key responsibilities of government. Funding is usually dependent on the level of the school. Though the federal government does not directly fund schools in states, it gives funds to states to advance education programs that are of national interest. In times of financial difficulties, state and federal governments are forced to cut budgets and appropriate funds to activities based on the level of their priority. These reductions sometimes affect the education sector, leading to heightened interest from the young people affected by them, in the political aspects that circumvent this matter (Fahmy, 2006). They may want to explore the government activities, projects and programs and the criteria used to allocate money to each of them. When questions arise on the level of seriousness with which the government takes education, the young people will be interested in knowing what other things get more priority and consideration. For instance, lawmakers can decide to cut funding for schools to fund defense systems and capabilities. In such a situation, the youth, out of increased curiosity will probably want to look at the political interests driving the need for fortified defense mechanisms. Governments can also cut education funding to allow for damage control activities during natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Young people affected by these positions may want to advocate for legislation that indemnifies education programs funds from use for anything else, regardless of its graveness.
Social conscience
Social conscience is the sense and feeling of being concerned about the difficulties and injustices faced by the people in the society. A quintessential example of the effects of social conscience is the civil rights movement by the black people and other minorities in America in the mid-20th century. Under the leadership of youthful activists like Martin Luther King Jr, millions of young people indefatigably participated and dedicated their time, resources and lives to the struggle for racial equality and equal voting rights. They faced immense opposition from the white community and mostly white-led state and federal governments, but they never relented until they achieved their intended mission (Fraddy, 2002). Young people are naturally ambitious and very sensitive to situations that appear to threaten their well-being, liberty, and security. The youth will become quickly apprehensive of political actions that they deem unjust. The political establishment sometimes does mischievous things like enacting laws that attempt circuitously infringe the rights of citizens; for instance the passage of laws suppressing media freedom and denying the people their constitutionally guaranteed right to unlimited access to information. These actions raise political interest amongst the youth who feel the need to make these unjust situations right by actively speaking against them and starting awareness movements to consolidate support necessary to strike down such draconian laws.
Politicians and governments make decisions that affect the people all the time, but they do not always have a particular concern for the manner in which their action affect these people. Most political decisions are driven by self-interests and personal agendas of individuals with considerable influence in the society. Lobbyists for individuals and private corporations are known to be actively involved in the policy-making processes of the country. Their primary goal is to shape regulation and point it in the direction that does not hurt their business operations or personal interests. This form of interference and influence usually has an adverse impact on legislation as far as the general citizenry is concerned (Gordon, 2012). The young people, especially those with knowledge about the law and policy making processes are enthusiastic and willing to be involved in holding these lawmakers accountable for legislation that comes out of congress and the senate.
The youth are courageous and bold. While older people are cautious and often hesitant to stand up to the political establishment, the youth will rarely fold back and keep silent when they feel that a political agenda or action is wrong. The youth have been known to be the drivers of political change in countries the world over. Unjust political actions from leaders prompt young people to go ahead and seek political leadership positions so that they can bring about the positive changes they desire to see. Young and passionate leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and John F. Kennedy were all driven towards the political arena by the situations that affected them and their societal set up during their lifetime; cases they believed could be handled differently (Fraddy, 2002). They had a strong sense of conviction and belief that they were capable of effecting the much-desired changes in the political system. Their leadership style and prowess were driven by a strong sense of youth and high resolve.
Employment Opportunities
Job opportunities influence youth interest in politics from three major standpoints. First, the political establishment creates an environment that is conducive or non-conducive for business, thus determining the levels of employment. Secondly, the youth may view the political arena as a prospective career area and a platform for making a living and thirdly, promises by politicians to create jobs. The politics of a country affect its economic situation, the economy affects business performance, and this consequently affects the availability or scarcity of employment opportunities. Labor laws enacted by political lawmakers either make it easy for companies to operate and succeed in a country or not. Stringent regulation on labor and costs of doing business in a country has a profound influence on the willingness of local and foreign companies to set up bases in a country. Legislators make laws that affect wages, benefits, and the length of work days, terms of payment for overtime and pension structures. These rules should create a balance that ensures a good condition for workers and a favorable condition for companies.
A look at the current situation in America shows heightened interest in politics from the young people after President Donald Trump promised to bring back more jobs to America. He proposes to do so by pushing a regulation that will make it easy for American companies who had previously set up shop in foreign countries, to operate from within the U.S. Young people leaving college and university armed with degrees and certificates are highly interested in the politics that shape the business climate of the country (Trump, 2015). The youth want changes in labor laws that guarantee priority and consideration is offered to Americans when American companies are hiring. During election campaigns, employment is always one of the biggest and most sensitive issues. It becomes a cause célèbre that no aspirant or candidate can ignore. They promise to advocate for legislation and make domestic and foreign policy that encourages foreign investment, inhibits technological innovations from taking up people’s jobs and many other employment-related laws to benefit the people. The political climate of a country also influences how graduates are integrated into the work and career environment.
The political sector contains thousands of elective and appointment positions. Young people with impeccable leadership skills can pursue political careers by seeking elective positions as senators, congressmen and women, ward representatives and ultimately, the presidency. There are also very many public appointment positions in government. The judiciary and other state agencies offer employment opportunities to the qualified youth. For instance, when a young person enrolls into law school, their ultimate aim might be to sit on the bench of the Supreme Court. The political situation in the country has a significant influence on such appointments, which makes the young people significantly concerned. When one has studied disciplines like Political Science and International Relations, they can be indirectly involved in a county’s politics through diplomacy and consultancy (Quintelier, 2013). Young people who are interested in politics also work as volunteers, pollsters, campaign managers, political analysts, legislative aides, communications and media strategists and lobbyists.
Exclusion of Young People in Politics
Until recently, the youth showed little or no interest in politics, mainly because they were oblivious of the extent to which government affects their social and economic lives. The youth have long perceived politicians as untrustworthy. As a result, the political leadership and institutions ignored the youth in the processes of political decision-making. However, with the changing times and rise in the levels of global literacy, the youth have become educated and knowledgeable in matters of how politics and the ways of life of citizens are interconnected. Education has opened young people’s eyes to the fact that they are an integral part of the society’s social, political fabric. This reality has helped heighten the interest of the youth in politics (Barnes et al. 2007).
Experiences That Shape Beliefs
We often find ourselves in situations that invoke deep thinking and analysis. These situations change our perceptions of things. For instance, the entry of Martin Luther King Jr into the civil rights movement was marked by Rosa Park’s arrest after she refused to give up her bus seat for a white person as required by the laws in Alabama at that time. This experience led to the 385-day boycott against the Montgomery bus line which King headed (Fraddy, 2002). When a country’s political leadership does something drastic like imposing martial law, states – of – emergency or curfews, the affected people become more interested in the legalities, justifications and other dynamics of such actions. When laxity and negligence from politicians makes a country vulnerable to external aggression, it raises the interest of the youth to take up leadership so that they can correct such situations (Utter, 2012).
A Global Event
The real estate bubble burst of 2008 and the economic crisis it created, raised a lot of interest from young people on the influence of politics on Wall Street. It became apparent that banking institutions went about their businesses almost unregulated and unchecked. The operators of these firms made high-risk investment bets because there was no proper regulation in place to cap this sort of activities (Sorkin, 2010). Regulators and the government intervened when it was already too late, and investors had already lost billions of dollars. The Treasury initiated programs to bail out these collapsing banks using taxpayers’ money, and this sparked a string of events that saw congress and the senate intervene, and try to hurriedly scrap together legislation to regulate this behemoth of an industry. Politicians are tasked with oversight duties to safeguard the welfare of the public, but it appeared as if no one in Washington knew anything about how Wall Street operated. This made a lot of people interested in becoming involved in the banking regulations and policy making processes.
As it is articulately delineated in this essay, all the above factors have played a substantial role in increasing interest in political affairs within the young people. Political groups, parties and their affiliates now have to consider the youth factor when making any decision. More young people are becoming actively engaged in local, state and even national political activities. The youth represent the majority of the country’s population, and they have now realized that they have the power to drive positive change by becoming involved in politics. They now know they have a voice and that their voice is strong.
References
Barnes, M., Newman, J., & Sullivan, H. (2007). Power, participation and political renewal: Case studies in public participation. Bristol: Policy.
Fahmy, E. (2006). Young citizens: Young people's involvement in politics and decision making . Burlington, Vt. [u.a.: Ashgate.
Fraddy, M. (2002). Martin Luther King, Jr: A life . New York: Penguin Books.
Gordon, H. R. (2010). We fight to win: Inequality and the politics of youth activism . New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.
Quintelier, E. (2013). Engaging adolescents in politics: The longitudinal effect of political socialization agents. Youth & Society , 47 (1), 51–69. Doi: 10.1177/0044118x13507295
Sorkin, A. R. (2010). Too big to fail: Inside the battle to save Wall Street . London: Penguin.
Trump, D. (2015). Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again .
Utter, G. H. (2011). Youth and political participation: A reference handbook . Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
