Mark Rodney, Contributor 
Young people in Jamaica are numerous and might be up for grabs, politically. They are looking to Government to provide opportunities to acquire the skills and resources they need to succeed in life. - Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer
" No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death."
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
A NEW generation has come of age in Jamaica and politicians ignore us at their own peril.
We are the generation that has thus far shown ourselves to be disdainful of politics, cynical about political parties and more likely than other age group to support leaders and candidates not considered to be part of the status quo.
When the full group is of voting age, we are expected to be very significant in number and will wield a level of political influence that could be troubling for those who continue to chose the politically-unwise path of writing us off.
Both parties have over the years chosen to communicate the same old message to all voters. But, young voters have a different set of concerns than our elders.
CONCERNED ABOUT EDUCATION
Young voters are concerned about education. This is consistently one of our top interests. We support more funding and smaller class sizes for early-childhood. We are also having a difficult time paying for college, whether that means a bachelors degree from the university or a diploma from a community or teacher's college.
The need to work while in school and the later burden of paying off student loans put an enormous financial strain on the many young people whose parents can't foot the full or, sometimes, even a portion of the bill. Today's high tuition, the less-than-generous government and private sector loan policies, and the limited budget allocations for higher education can only exacerbate this situation.
There is a populist, progressive agenda that could reflect young people's core values and priorities and indeed, lend us some vision. It would call on government to actively provide opportunities for people to acquire the skills and resources they need to succeed in life. It would not, however, encourage dependence on government, but instead offer the means for self-improvement and self-reliance. Such a platform would call for individuals to take personal responsibility for their behaviour, government to protect our natural resources and create the appropriate policies and framework for success.
But there is also a more conservative agenda that could possibly win over this new generation. This platform would invoke personal responsibility in economic matters. It would emphasise what government takes away from individuals (tax dollars, for instance) and the role markets might play in solving our problems. Those among us who are conservatives simply have to be mindful of the diversity and social liberalism of this new generation, and though they are in a conundrum as to where our support may go, we are not by a long shot beyond their reach.
A MORE OPTIMISTIC
AND OPEN VIEW
For the moment, the new generation along with our other so-called discommitted friends has certainly stopped the national slide into what could be a one-party state, and offer a more optimistic and open view of the future. But, politically, we remain very much up for grabs and adrift from the political culture that offers stale political leadership and old ways of talking about politics. In a country split 50-50 politically, the side that successfully speaks to this generation (political rhetoric aside) may well be the side that wins. As Governor Arnold Schwarznegger of California once repeated, "In order for the people to win, politics as usual must lose."
Mark J. Rodney is
president of Youth
Alliance for Reconstruction and Development
(YARD). Email him at
yardjamaica@hotmail.com.
