Political opinions are often cast in two camps: left wing or right wing, Labour or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, Nationalist or Loyalist. Discourse is oversimplified: Boomers vs. Gen Z, Ethnicity A vs. Ethnicity B, Religion A vs. Religion B. Yet, there is an equally prevalent third group: the apolitical. The apolitical can come in many forms.
Firstly, we have those who are simply âuninterestedâ and fit into the apolitical category by default. They donât particularly care who is being voted into office or what legislation has just been overturned. They find politics tedious, something that does not affect their day-to-day life. They yawn at debates and roll their eyes at protests. Itâs so boring, they say, why should it matter to me?
Secondly, we have those who could be called apolitical: they believe all sides are equally bad. Why should I speak out in favour of one, they say, when all options suck. Neither, they say. Neither! and therefore no one. This apolitical position often means they wonât mind. They are happy settling for nothing. More and more candidates appearânew ideas for a better system, a better framework. Yeah, but they all still suck, though, they say. Iâm not going to bother with it.
Thirdly, we have those who need to do more research. Sorry, I donât feel comfortable speaking about this topic; I need to do more research, they say. They fear being on the âwrong sideâ. A classic phobia of the apolitical. Theyâll avoid voicing any opinions and skirt around the subject in circles. Theyâll shrug and scratch their head, looking off to the side, saying Yeah, I donât know anything about that, sorry mate.
How lucky, I say, to be able to be apolitical. To be bored, dismissive, or on the fence. To live your daily life scrolling past news sites and switching the radio channel. To have yourself at the forefront of the world. What a privilege to be able to stay silent and face no repercussions. The truth is, your silence, which you take as being apolitical, is more political than you think. Your silence, your vow of apoliticism, will perhaps speak louder than any words will. Your silence, harmless to yourself, may be deadly to others. To exist in a society is to exist in union with others, not in parallel.
For the majority of the world, staying silent is a vow of self-condemnation. Not caring about politics is akin to wearing a blindfold and walking into a busy highway. For others, blindfolds are forced upon them. They are silenced, packed quietly away. Those people on the street, holding signs and waving flags, shutting down factories and roads, are more often than not doing it for those who are unable to. They are lending their voices to those who cannot be heard. Â
As college students, we have a whole lifetime ahead of us. Our future quality of life, that of ours and our loved ones, can be determined by the politics of today. In an age where I can sit at my laptop and write this, and you can scroll on your phone and read it, ignorance is no longer an excuse. We have access to millions of encyclopedias at the touch of a screen. We have never been as informed as we are currently. There is no topic in the world, no crevice of the earth left untouched by politics. Society, economics, agriculture, religion, culture, gender, healthcare, and entertainment. All domains of life are engaged one way or another in the political engine of the world. It touches everyone. Some can feel it was a gentle caress of the neck, or a whisper of wind across their cheeks. For others, it is akin to an earthquake beneath their feet, or the violent gust of a storm across their back.
In this article, I aim to reach those who have believed that staying silent is for the best, who may be afraid of ostracism or have been unaware of the impact of their silence on others. I am not here to tell you who to support. I will not tell you who to vote for or who to endorse. I only ask you to speak. To use your voice for those who are voiceless. To work on a better future for others and the generations to come. I ask you to listen, to listen to those who beg to be heard and to uplift their voices. I ask you to read. I invite you to read and explore the world beyond the confines of your life. Most importantly, I ask you to debate and argue. Because in the end, to argue is to care, and to care is to change.