Being Young Today is Weird

So. Life.

I think it's weird being young now. Of course, every generation has always said that, but I think I have some good reasons for this theory. My father was a member of the sixties generation. Not that he was a hippy or anything like that, but he spent his young adult life growing up in that period. A time when the young truly believed they could change the world, that their actions, their protests could make a difference. They believed they could do anything, that if only they were listened to, the world would be a better place. And maybe they were right.

They certainly had some successes. There were dramatic shifts in society over that time, which I'm sure I don't need to go over here. They did make a difference. And as they grew older, and moved into position in society with more power and responsibility, they continued to make more changes. Many of these were good. Through their actions, they helped to bring down the Soviet bloc, they increased awareness of global affairs, they reigned in most of the more overt imperialism of countries. But they also began to be changed by the system they were in.

The most obvious example is part of one of their successes. Globalisation meant that the world was more secure. Countries depend on each other for trade, and this lead to more openess, and the eventual destruction of the Soviet bloc. But it also meant a form of imprialism became more rampant. The rich countries can now afford to bully the poor countries into acting as the rich please. Sometimes this can be good, when wars are averted. Other times it is bad, when debt repayments eventually lead to famine. And this was encouraged, because the trade led to more money for the generation that wanted to buy the new shiny goods.

The sixties generation grew up getting the things they wanted, the changes they wanted. In the UK, they made sure that university education was available to all according to ability, not ability to pay. Grants were expanded to help more people take a shot at bettering themselves. And this is a good thing. But as they grew older, it became their taxes that paid for the grants, and they were used to having their own way, so they demanded changes in the system that mean that almost all students now leave university with massive debt.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are calls for increases in the state pension. As the generation ages, they realise that they will need more money to support themselves and their longer lifespans in the new society they have created. Of course, the calls are not as loud yet as they will become, as most of that generation still pay tax, but I predict it will become a much louder call as they leave the job market. They still want their own way, and if that means that everyone else has to pay, then so be it.

Politics in the UK has been corrupted by this mindset. Gone are the days of farsighted social projects such as the NHS. There is no vision or spirit in UK politics anymore, and ideology has become a dirty word. The best politicians now are managers, those who will, on the whole, sustain the status quo, throwing the odd change to the benefit of the sixties generation in the mix. And this is only to be expected, as politicians are there to be elected, not to fight battles.

But I think we have lost something important through all this. Good politicians give the people what they want. But great politicians give the people what they need. Good politicians follow public opinion, great politicians set it. But we have no great politicians left, and there is nowhere for them to come from.

The best politicians have been those who entered politics because they felt a duty of service, and they felt they had to do something to change the world. But the sixties generation doesn't want the world changed anymore. They want it kept as it is, safe and secure - for them. And those who do want the world changed, the young, the impetuous, are sidelined, and feel they have no power. The disenfranchisement of youth with mainstream politics has ensured they will never be heard. Their energies are spent on minor issues, or on single issue groups. There is still a great desire for change among the young, as shown by the huge numbers protesting against globalism, wars, foxhunting etc. But as long as they remain in these small groups, they will never be heard. Small groups are easy to ignore as the media's attention will drift away. And the inability of these groups to create change leads to further apathy, driving youth away from all forms of political action.

What this country needs is for a mass movement of youth to come about. It doesn't have to be a youth group, it needs to be a politial party. But no mainstream political party will fill that need, as in the short term it doesn't get people elected. So youth needs a new party to rally behind, one that will listen to them, one that will encourage them to get involved, and to get elected, unlike the present crop of parties, that attract and encourage a small elite, a clique to get elected. (This is most galling in the case of the Labour Party, set up to bring working class people into politics, which now uses lawyers and professionals almost exclusively for new Parliamentary candidates.)

The solution is clear. A mass movement must be created, with a raft of issues that a large number of the young can rally behind. But someone needs to set it up, to work at it, to create it. And you know what? We're all too apathetic, too busy paying off student loans, too busy trying to afford a mortgage. And as we age, we will be pulled into supporting the status quo. It is the nature of all people. But now we can't even wait for the previous generation to get old and leave. They're hanging around for longer, taking our money, and keeping us in our place, as children.

Of course, I would say that, I'm young.