The world of politics is vast and filled with intricacies that are so complex most of us will never truly comprehend them. With all of these complexities, a dangerous trend known as political neutrality has emerged which is essentially when an individual assumes a position in the realm of politics that is not only independent from alignment, but free from stances entirely. The issue is not being independent from party alignments, as there is no wrong in that, rather it is in the removal of oneself from politics entirely.
It is easy to dismiss the world of politics. Even more-so when you are a college or university student, just reaching the brink of adulthood. Ignorance is believed to be bliss however this unfortunately cannot become a reality. As easy as it is to forget about the political systems around us, we cannot simply choose to not be part of it. It lives within our education, jobs, communities, businesses… it is everywhere. The impact of a single vote can have monumental effects.
This is not to say that every one of us must become experts in the political field as that is extremely unrealistic and something that I, myself will never be. We do however have a duty to remain aware. Political neutrality implies that one is impartial to the effects that policies have on the lives of themselves and others. Yet, this is inherently false for the majority of people. We all have opinions. The only difference is in action versus inaction.
Current political climates are strikingly bleak. The homeless epidemic swells, the planet loses more of itself for the sake of industrial gain, women are being threatened with losing reproductive rights, Black communities are being targeted by police… the list goes on and on. These are issues that I would argue are nearly impossible to truly be impartial on. There is no place to stand in a neutral position when lives are the cost of inaction. Questions of morality will always align with our personal values. In order to truly be neutral, one must be devoid of values to guide their political beliefs. Since this is seldom the case, the title of political neutrality often masks completely differing attitudes.
There is one main avenue that political neutrality typically manifests itself into: choosing not to vote. Most often this comes from a place of feeling unsure or that one is uninformed on the subject they are dealing with. The solution to this is not to claim neutrality and leave it at that as this only leads to deeper divides within our political system. The true answer must be to further education ourselves as we hold a responsibility that can be easy to forget when the effects are not immediate.
Withholding a vote may just be the most dangerous course of action. In the most recent American election, nearly half of the population made the choice to not vote at all. The result of this is an uneven representation of the population that slips into favour of power politics, meaning the beneficiaries are often the ones who are already advanced by the system. Those who are marginalized will only be further oppressed.
Now is not the time to remain complacent. If we wish to establish any semblance of equality and peace amongst every unit of society, our actions must speak louder than words. The purpose of our democratic system is to allow for all voices to be heard and reflected in the governing of us all, and a system bound by notions of full participation is torn apart by political neutrality.
Take the time to educate yourself. You can change the trajectory of the future. A single vote may not appear to be much but it is in the culmination of calls for change that can disrupt the status quo and reshape the world.