Youth must put 'yes we can' into practice by getting involved, writes KATE FITZGERALD
THE ELECTION of Barack Obama in November 2008 was groundbreaking. Suddenly the US had a candidate who didn’t look like any other candidate, who spoke elegantly of hope and change. Millions of people around the world became excited about politics. Crucially, millions of young people became excited about politics.
This could have been an opportunity for young people in Ireland to become excited about their own politics and put “yes we can” into practice by getting involved and changing the system from the inside. Instead, it seems to have made matters worse.
Hugh McDowell wrote last week in The Irish Timesthat young people cannot be expected to interact with the system unless they are inspired by politicians.
The youth of Ireland deserve at least some sympathy for their desire to be inspired. They have been harnessed with awful monikers like “the YouTube generation”. We are used to every issue being explained to us in colourful, bite-size pieces.
Those of us who are more politically minded were brought up on the West Wing, which by all accounts was a Hollywood daydream that made us resolve that when we grew up we would only vote for a Bartlett. When we grew up and president Bartlett went the way of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, we became discouraged. This was not the way it was meant to turn out.
Politics in Ireland is different from politics in the US. The combination of a parliamentary system and a small country means that politics is local.
It is time the youth of Ireland looked at the real key to Obama’s campaign. Inspiration does not come in the form of an elegant stump speech. It comes from the actions of the individual. Look around your community. If it doesn’t work the way you think it should, don’t wait for someone else to inspire you to change it. Put some research into it and find out how it could be changed.
Attend the local information meeting. Insist that your local representative explain his or her position to you and why they came to this conclusion. Listen to their answer. Sometimes even the most unpolished answer can have some substance if you take the time to listen. Sometimes, a complex issue can only be described in a way that you may find “boring” or “uninspiring”.
Find a candidate who can explain their position and offer to help them change things. This might mean distributing leaflets or knocking on doors. It is not glamorous work. But it makes all the difference in the world.
This is how Obama’s campaign was so effective – people volunteered to help. If you think the issues aren’t being communicated effectively by representatives, help them. One of the best parts of the Irish system is that we can walk up to our elected representatives and engage with them.
Do not expect politics to court you. If you are dissatisfied with the system, work with it, but get involved. Do not expect change to come easily or quickly. If you truly care about Ireland’s future, do not long for another system. The US system is the way it is because it works in America. Irish politics will never have an insight into our generation unless our generation engages with it first.
Every generation complained about being misunderstood. We have had our time to complain. Now it’s time to act.
Kate Fitzgerald is a former chairwoman of Democrats Abroad Ireland