Young people clueless about politics

Written By: N Say
Date: 2007-11-15 13:03:49
<a href="/article/83756193-young-people-clueless-about-politics">Article Link</a>

The study found, for example, that 55 per cent of young Americans were unable to name one permanent member country of the UN Security Council, even though their country is one of the five. But 30 per cent of young Canadians were able to answer the question correctly.

"But there is no lack of political ignorance on domestic issues," the study said.

It said 56 per cent of young Americans were unable to identify citizens as the category of people having the right to vote, compared to 43 per cent in Canada.

"Equally unnerving is a similar inability of young Americans to name even one cabinet member (55 per cent) and to name a party that is more conservative (60 per cent)," the study said, adding that Canadian numbers were similar.

...

<a href="http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=d9a2c5bc-006b-4204-92c4-0fd31e13e5e3&k=82817">http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=d9a2c5bc-006b-4204-92c4-0fd31e13e5e3&k=82817</a>

Hey, give the sheep some credit. They know how to stick out their swollen beer bellies and strut around acting cool. They'll tell you everything you need to know about their hockey heroes, their 4x4 trucks and their latest video game console. Sadly, the young ladies aren't much better off. They truly excel when its time to text message their friends about the latest Hollywood celebrity's escapades while smoking cigarettes and slurping Starbucks. They're experts of all things tattoo and peircing related, too. Wonderful!

I know, I'm painting everyone with a broad stroke of critique but can you really say things aren't as they are?

This is what our country has turned into. We can thank our government controlled main stream media and public brainwashing facilities for this dumbing-down effect.

---
Homeland Stupidity Threat Level: 4

"We can thank our government controlled main stream media and public
brainwashing facilities for this dumbing-down effect."

Well said - this is part of the master plan. An ignorant pop culture obsessed
population is easier to manipulate and distract than an informed one.

But hasn't this master plan been in place for awhile?

I mean, we can call them Baby Boomers...but technically they ARE the , 'The First TV Generation' as well.

I think the dumbing down and trivialization has been going on LONG before the handful of youth in the this country wandered into a tattoo parlour.

In fact in my 20th century history courses, I distinctly remember that the Baby Boomers used to PRAISE and ACCEPT acts of counter-culture non-conformity as a new paradigm for diversity and tolerance.

Well nowadays the Boomers grumble about their cable bills and jaw on about how 'stealing' music is a reflection of the general malaise and decline of 'youth' culture and perhaps more laws are needed to set them on the straight and narrow.

Well I'll let you fellows get back to your CSI episodes...

Cheers.

Interesting you mention Baby Boomers MrPrax. They are probably the most
corrupt and hypocritical generation to come around in a long time. The world
will be a better place when they are no longer in power and do not possess the
spending power they do today.

When Gen-X take over (a/k/a "The Me Generation"), the BBs and their holier than
thou New Order plan goes out the window.

As if everyone else is clued in! Every year we see the political system sink deeper in a cesspool. Us "mature" individuals have learned that absolutely nothing changes in the political arena. Us baby boomers are the same people who are creating wars and defied wars in our youth. Protestors of the sixties and seventies rule the world today. Kids today see the situation as bad, while we see them as worse. Why would these kids even care? We did at one time and have only turned against our own values.

No mater who you vote for, nothing ever changes. Teach our kids to vote for the lesser of evils, is no longer possible.

---
Expect little from life and get more from it.

I think the article is pointing out a lack in our education system, which is fine,
however we need to take responsibility for our own education if we really
want to know what is going on in our country, on the planet. I know when I
was growing up many of my elders spoke of the world 'going to hell in a
handbasket', and it didn't give me much incentive to look into what they were
upset about. They scared the crap out of most of my generation with the
threat of nuclear war; 'who do you think is crazy enough to press the button'?
That was the question sitting heavily on our minds. And perhaps some of us
thought whatever we did didn't make much difference, 'cause some idiot was
going to have an ego rush and blow us all to sky high!..

It isn't that different today. Young people are at a stage in life where they are
looking for
the joy, the excitement and the challenges. If we want to encourage them as
our future world leaders, we need to talk about what is good, what we want
and what can be achieved if we want it.

Real change will only come by having that desire for change, and real
understanding and education comes from being excited about learning. When
we complain that our youth don't know anything about politics, do we really
wonder why? If what they've grown up with is the negative campaigns, the
bashing, the trashing, the insults, would we really be surprised if they turned
away from the garbage and towards something that brings them laughter, joy
and excitement?

I find that when I'm interested in something and speak with passion and
excitement, my children are interested as well. It is the same with adults. Do I
want to be in a room with people who are all doom and gloom, people who
regularly tell me they are so smart and the rest of the world is so stupid?
Most people who are really that smart don't have to tell everybody else.

Just because the past generation messed up, and they thought the next
generation was going to save them, etc. etc. doesn't mean we have to keep
repeating history. We can chose something different if we want to. Or we can
keep blaming previous, and the next generation for all our negatives. I don't
think anyone is to blame. I think we've made some choices that have proven
to be unwise. We can acknowledge them and make better choices in the
future.

We can demand better education, but also more exciting education. We don't
have to teach history, or civics, or social studies in a boring way. We have to
want it and we have to start talking about world events in a positive way. Just
like in my youth when they turned us off, we are doing the same thing today.
The threats on the news are WWIII, maybe the U.S. will invade Iran and then
nuclear war, so who in their youth is going to be worried about what happens
in 10 years, when they are full of life right now?

That is only one example, but
the other aspect is when something happens in our world and our youth
question us, do we give the answer that we think might work(because we're
too busy), or do we
research for the answer with them? I don't think that blaming anyone is going
to make this situation better, but looking for solutions that can work might
be a place to start.

I admit that my history lessons from school were really basic, and that I wish I
had a better lesson in civics, however what I've wanted to learn I have taught
myself. I have researched through books, and discussions with those who
lived through various periods. We ne
ed to encourage rather than remind our
youth that they are falling short, because every age today is lacking in the
truth, even those who lived through WWII and since, lived with the
propaganda. So no generation is all knowing, all wise and we all need to grow
and learn, and relearn, but most of all we need to start looking at each other
in a positive light. We need to see the potential in each other.

Anyway, my two cents on this subject.

---
"aaaah and the whisper of thousands of tiny voices became a mighty deafening roar and they called it 'freedom'!"' Canadians Acting Humanely at home & everywhere

Maybe this, the tone I see in your posts has been going on for a longer time than I just noticed, but let’s try this, OK?

At some level you and I have ties, whether economic, philosophic or in some manner... and so your mood touches me and perhaps others who read but don’t post here.
And because we are would be well advise to actually support one another.
I see in your words a resignation and a taking on of responsibility for how the world of to-day is and to a lesser degree there is some truth in that …Some! Not all.

I have made it my mission to talk to young people as equals
And maybe some of what I say takes hold and maybe it don’t
But that don’t stop me from doing it. If not me, then who?

If there is any truth in getting back what we put out there … well you can see where this is going.
Like the old joke
Cheer up thing could get worse , So I cheered up and guess what?

Things got worse

---
"When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do."

William Blake

Like the old joke:
Cheer up thing could get worse , So I cheered up and guess what?

Things got worse

By my signature, you can tell I'm a pessimist. Never expect anything to get better. If it ever does get better, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Me and Mr Murphy believe that the surprises are seldomm pleasent. I don't believe in any of the gods either. There is no second chance and what you do now, is what counts.
I have no reason to think kids today are optimistic. Sad to think that they have no history other then what we teach them. Perhaps it's better to teach them to make the best of it now. Of course they always hear differently from us. It's senseless to try to predict THEIR future.

---
Expect little from life and get more from it.

Speaking in the moment I cannot say I fit into any particular category and after taking batteries of tests 
<a href="http://www.personalitydesk.com/personality-tests.php?gclid=COeT-JzY5Y8CFQY8gwod-34HDw">http://www.personalitydesk.com/personality-tests.php?gclid=COeT-JzY5Y8CFQY8gwod-34HDw</a> 
 
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator</a> 
I’ve always fallen into some in-between position on a 2x2 cubed matrix and it baffles the shit outta the examiners and most who try to ‘figure me out’. So I am the very last person to categorise my self in the overall sense, and expectations of future events are like trying to mind-read the gods of chance. 
I have had second and third and continuous chances, some I actually take. In my view chances are unending, Hell! My e-mail address is Endless Enterprises. 
 
In mind it is not that long ago I was a youth and probably had some/many pigeon-hole me, always for their sake 
I have great difficulty with mindsets that generalise and lump damned near every thing together for the sake of their simplistic reasoning, 
Kinda like those that speak of the “Jews” 
Or any other THE… you can think of with the exception of those trained to act as a single body: Borg-soldiers, Borg-police and so on 
--- "When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do." 
 
William Blake

Where to start? This is such a complex issue, influenced by many factors...

I can only talk about my own experiences here in Quebec City, so maybe it's not much but I think it's better than nothing.

You see, I'm 20 years old, soon 21, and I'm almost done with college.

People here seems... divided, struggling, to say the least. Part of them just don't care. Others are desperately seeking to make a difference. Some fall prey to propaganda and partisanship, and gladly play the political game, looking for the "lesser evil" and laughing at the "poor, idealistic, utopian fools".

Sometimes, I feel like most people are asleep and stuck in an endless nightmare, trying to decide whether they should struggle to wake up, or give up and wait it out in the hope there is an end to it all.

In my humble opinion, I think the crucial question is this:

How can we make a difference?

How many times have I heard stuff like "evil is part of human nature", "I know the world is crazy and politics is crap, but what can I do about it", "well, I guess I should have some fun with my life before it all blows up", and the like? Lots and lots of time, from just about everybody, whether they are parents, teachers, friends, activists, and so on. And I'm sure you all hear that a lot too.

"There's no way you can make a difference, now shut up, you naive idiot.", tells us the medias and politicians and so-called "adults" and "mature" people. For example, there is a debate going here, once again, about whether students should pay for education or not. The government has decided that it was time for students to cough up the cash, and that going to university should cost 1000$ more per year. Some students decided to protest, go on strike and so on, and what do you know? Everywhere in the maintream, are appearing articles calling us "youths" things like "crybabies", "lazy hypocrites", "parasites" and so on and so forth. "Cough up the cash and shut up, we don't give a damn about you.", that's what they say, in the end.

How can we make a difference?

Two years ago (if I'm not mistaken), the exact same thing happened, only this time the reaction was much stronger: many students associations and colleges and universities decided to go on unlimited strike. Eventually, the government backed down, so I guess you could say it was a victory, right? Wrong. Some time after, the politicians decided to cut down a hundred million dollars worth of scholarships and loans to students. The message was crystal clear: "We don't care about you. We're going to do as we please and there's nothing you can do about it, so just shut up."

And seriously, is there anything we can do? Many students here are angry at those who are more politically active for the very selfish reason of: "If we go to strike, it will screw up with classes and I might fail, or worse, maybe they will cancel the whole semester!" Others say: "A thousand dollars isn't that much, why can't those whiners get a job and shut up already?" And, well there is some truth in what these students say: our only "means of pressure", in our supposedly democratic and egalitarian society, is all in all us having to shoot ourselves in the foot. How screwed up is that?

Can you blame the young people for not giving a damn about politics? From the day they were born, they were told that nobody gives a damn about them little lazy naive crybabies, and that they should become yet another cog in the system or suffer and shut up, end of story. And most can see that the system is in fact broken beyond all hope of repairs, that we are in fact, screwed, that our parents, teachers and elders let it happen and that now we are the ones that will have to suffer the consequences. The old bastards who are reaping the profits of this masquerade are going to die anyway in ten or twenty years so it's not like it's a problem for them, but *we* still have our whole lives before us, *I* am still at the start of my life and I can't help being utterly disgusted at how those who were supposed to *help* us have decided to abandon us for their own selfish greed.

And it's not like we have any power anyway. We don't. If the government wants to do something, there is nothing that stops them from doing so. We can protest, petition and cry foul as much as we want, we can't do a damn thing about it and they've got the combined power of the mainstream medias, the police, public and secret, and the army to back their threats, and they're not afraid to use it.

So, I must ask again, because it all boils down to this:

How can we make a difference?

A real difference.

Not a "a society built for the good of its citizens is naive and utopian, so let's vote for the lesser evil" kind of difference.

Not a "oh, let's patch the system for now and leave the problem when it breaks down yet once again to our children" kind of difference.

Not a "well, real change is way too hard and risky to bring about, so let's make the best of what we've got and hope for the best" kind of difference.

Not a "we can somehow magically beat the politicians at their own game and try to change the system from the inside" kind of difference.

Not a "oh, I'm sure the system is fundamentally alright, it's just a few rotten apples we've got to get rid off" kind of difference.

How can we bring about real change? How can we bring about a society which only goal is the well-being of each and everyone? People don't give a damn about politics because they feel absolutely powerless, helpless in the hands of the "elite", cannon fodder, pawns on a massive checkboard to be discarded without a second thought. And they are.

I think that if we want people, espacially young people, to ever become interested in politics, economy, society, philosophy and the world at large, we'll have to find the answer to these questions, because until then, it's just a pointless waste of time for them.

The Sharp Wolf

"The oligarchs atop the present order have no need for re-education camps or the ever-vigilant gaze of neighborhood block captains. We have become our own, ever-vigilant minders; within us, we have in place vast networks of secret police informers -- our own personal bully boy enforcers of blandness who leave us as passionless and empty as the architecture of the corporate nothingscape that surrounds us."

sharp wolfe -I think you bring up some important points, some very clear
attitudes that are reflective of many(not all). I think many activists and people
who are aware of a society gone wrong are looking at the seriousness of the
situation and think its all or nothing. Often, they try to change the whole
world, or the whole country and when their attempts fail, they lose hope.

A couple of comments throughout your thread reveal a symptom of the
problem. I get a sense that you are saying its us or them, and that the older
generation is saying the same thing, its us or them. We have been trained to
think in these terms; someone must be sacrificed in order for others to
prosper. That is such b.s. There is enough on the planet for all!

But I know I felt that if enough of us do the right thing that the situation will
change, I still believe that, but I don't think we need to change the world. Just
ourselves. For example; if one person who is a senior reads a post from a
youth that says, 'you are old, you are going to die and therefore you are not
as important as I am because I am young and I have my future ahead of me',
that one comment may influence one senior who may speak to his/her
friends and then the attitude spreads. If one senior says 'you know I couldn't
get to college, I didn't have the money, but I made a good life for me and my
family without it; however today's youth will not have that opportunity. They
need further education and I believe the government could help.'

Our words have power. We do influence others by our feelings towards them.
We are living in a time when 'survival of the fittest' is becoming the norm. We
can change that, just by our changing our attitudes in our own circle.

If we keep staying stuck in the blame game, we won't create the solutions.
The generations that came before us made decisions based on the factors in
their lives at that time. We make choices today based on the same things.
Right or wrong, we have choices. One person can make a difference. Martin
Luther KIng changed the mass consciousness, so did Kennedy, so did
Ghandi, and Rosa Parks, and on and on. But so did the person that sat beside
you on the bus to work today, and so did you. We change everything
according to our actions, on act at a time.

There is a perfect example of this in a movie often shown on t.v. at Christmas
time you could probably rent it -'One Magic Christmas' is the name of it. The
concept is not a religious theme, it is a human theme; it shows a drama of
events which have an impact on all the other players. It is very powerful. You
can see clearly the power of reaching out to help another, a smile, a hello, a
hand to open a door at just the right time.

Today's youth will change the world, but seeing the struggles and bringing
the situation to the awareness of others without blaming anyone, without
saying 'I need help and you don't', is the way to allow others to care.

The common theme on vive and many other websites is that the world is in
crisis and their is nothing we can do except complain about it. We need to
find those who are responsible and make them pay. We need to scream
louder and to demand they stop being greedy. We need to bash one political
party and their leader to raise up another one. We can't chose them all, one
must be the victor and the rest will be losers. The trend continues in every
area of our lives, if seniors get help, students lose, if childcare is funded,
healthcare is sacrificed. We have to stop. We have to stop believing the b.s.

We've been trained that we can't have it all. We must chose one over the
others. Always we are told, good guys and bad guys. The only people
benefitting from our accepting this are those who do have it all, and they are
afraid their isn't enough. It is their fear that keeps the merry-go-round
going, it is our fear that feeds it.

Education is about money today. The corporations say you need a certain
education to work for them, if you want a good job you must pay.
Government,(which is suppose to be us) is not working for us, that is why
education is part of the money making system. We need to change the
system, but it starts with us, one at a time.

---
"aaaah and the whisper of thousands of tiny voices became a mighty deafening roar and they called it 'freedom'!"' Canadians Acting Humanely at home & everywhere

Sharp Wolf.
I always appreciate reading your posts. I thoroughly enjoy what you bring to Vive, Thank you.

This is the beginning and end of all dilemmas confronting man.

“A man is born a slave when he does not know who he is and by his own underwriting creates his own misfortune.”
Pluchard

The above quote is deep with meaning and wonderment all but lost by it’s burying with a constant barrage of mumbo jumbo to confuse the mind. There are straight forward identifications of exactly what causes both personal as well as global conditions, for the most part these identifiers are ignored due to our personal assessment d’jour
While looking for the spelling of d’jour I came across, thanks be to Serendipity,

. IDÉE D'JOUR
Ten lands are more easily known than one man.
— Yiddish Proverb

And how apropos it is too, for the knowing of lands is far easier than the knowing of self.

Pluchart gives warning in his quote as have many others through out time.

"This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." -
-- William Shakespeare

It is the search for and discovery of self that is part, and only part of the larger equation, and while there is great value in discovering self there is greater value in the knowing that there are indeed m and in deed those who are in control of all, yes all, we now exoerience and it is the knowing of who we are that breaks their control.
As long as we realise that words do hold power and the magic for our own transformations which will allow us to break the spells (propaganda) cast over us progress will be made.
It is when we water down our language with the “if’ frame for the ‘when” frame that suspends us forever in what we have and prevents us from going to where we claim we want to go.
Dio

---
"When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do."

William Blake