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Young voters can be the change Guyana needs

Oct 16, 2011 Letters

 

 

Dear Editor,
Recently I watched a video of an Alliance for Change (AFC) rally in Region 10 where Mr. Nigel Hughes delivered a moving message, in which he appealed to young people to change their nonchalant attitude towards voting. He made it very clear, that not only is it their democratic right to vote but it is also their duty in honor of their ancestors who gave so much for this right  to which they now appear indifferent.
He said: “Your sisters and grandmothers and grandfathers have given their blood, unpaid, for the day when you have the right, and privilege to walk into the box and vote without picking up arms. And for you to dishonor them by saying you don’t know if you’re going to vote, is the ultimate sign of disgrace, not only to yourself, but your people and the country.”
I encourage the AFC to take this message nationwide and continue to encourage youth to become engaged in the electoral process and vote in Election 2011. There is a sickening ignorance that prevails in some youth with regard to their attitude towards politics. Recently I observed friends crossing swords on Facebook regarding their differing attitudes towards politics and voting and could not help but feel sorry for the unenlightened. Why would young people in Guyana in 2011 refuse to get registered and vote so that they could play a meaningful part in their future and the future of this nation is petrifying, as it is imprudent.
Politics, at its best, is a vehicle for good, for change, and for hope. It is very easy and understandable for young Guyanese to brush aside the upcoming general elections as more of the same old rhetoric, but that sort of cynicism does not engineer political change or result in nation building. Cynicism towards politics is dangerous because it creeps into your daily lexicon, it mingles with bitterness, and you begrudgingly accept the state of affairs because “that’s just the way it is.”
Guyanese youth might not all be actively involved in politics. Some of you may not even like politicians. But you are all political agents, and will always have more power as citizens when unified for a cause.
In Guyana today, the electorate is comprised 70 percent youth. As Guyana’s present and future, you need to detoxify your minds. Most of you have breathed in the political air in Guyana polluted by corruption and a host of other impurities. Be the change Guyana needs and make that difference. The struggle for independence began over 50 years ago by a group of young Guyanese determined to bring about political change in Guyana. Today the struggle for political change continues. Young Guyanese must make a special commitment to vote in Election 2011.
Richard Francois

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