Who Cares About The Youth Vote? Certainly Not The Corporate Media.
Regarding this article in the Globe & Mail: Dear Young People: Not Voting? No One Cares.
Politicians need to take a chance and talk to youth and aim policies toward them too. And, at the same time, youth need to start talking to the politicians.
However, one of the problems, unmentioned here, is the corporate media itself, a willing participant in discouraging youth to get involved. This article and other media articles about the youth vote and youth apathy are missing the policies here and there aimed at youth, and at the youth speaking up for themselves. Protests and rallies are usually mainly populated by young adults. They ARE stepping up to be heard. But corporate-media and the corporate parties (Conservatives and Liberals) want to play down disgruntled youth raising their voices as this threatens their cozy security. Just check out the headline! - Dear young people: Not voting? No one cares (not said here is: Especially us, the corporate media). Change is not a friend of the establishment, so the establishment, including the propaganda machine (the mainstream media) of the corporate establishment, is not a friend of those who would bring about change - the youth. The vicious circle here would more likely disappear if it were not for the complicity of the media in maintaining that circle.
2 comments:
hi Thor...thanks for standing up for young voters. When I saw that Globe story and that headline I had smoke coming out of my ears. Nobody is doing enough to reach out to young Canadians, not the parties and not the MSM. Which is a pity, because in Scotland where the Yes side in the recent referendum allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, they turned out in greater relative numbers than the 18 to 24-year-olds. Now the same age group is going to be allowed to vote in elections for the Scottish parliament, so I am expecting equally good results. Studies have shown that the younger you can get young voters involved in the political process, the greater the chance that they will keep on voting. All it takes is a little effort, and a little creativity, and you can reap some very exciting results...
There are a few variables at play here:
1. The Cons are buying the influence of the mainstream media with endless Conservative Party of Canada ads disguised as 'public service ads' (and using our taxpayer dollars to do it).
2. The only people that read this tripe and subscribe to cable/satellite/newspaper services (ie. 'traditional media') are Baby Boomers.
3. The Baby Boom actually votes, so it is a match made in heaven so long as Baby Boomers suspend their ability to think as the election approaches.
4. The mainstream media and Cons know this and will keep the cycle going until either the Cons, mainstream media or Canadian democracy collapse completely (or all of the above). 'Endorsements' will continue to push the Con agenda and brush aside accusations of fraud, corruption, influence peddling and other crimes committed by the Cons to stay in power.
5. Young voters generally are not 'reachable' and quantifiable when it comes to mainstream media, polling or other statistical analysis because, again, they don't buy in to these options, leaving their actions 'hard to comprehend'.
6. Con platforms will be a web of lies designed to convince Boomers that they are their friends and that they will take care of the them as they enter retirement years.
These are EXACTLY the reasons why young voters have to get out, move the country in a new direction and demand change because it's young voters who will inherit the mess that the Cons, Baby Boomers and mainstream media are creating.
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