If you’re like me then you’re heart sinks at the sight of politicians and canvassers making their way up your driveway. You know that the next few miniutes of your life will be time that you will never get back. And they always manage to arrive right a crucial point in the match. Or they land just when you’re at the point of fixing something that you’ve been cursing for the previous two hours.
You can hide behind the couch, turn off all the lights and pretend to be in Spain but they know. They have a second sense these canvassers and they know the tricks so they stand their ground and intimidate you into opening the door.
So now it looks as if we’re heading into another election. This means that canvassers armed to the teeth with leaflets, pamphlets and enough facts, figures and statistics to bamboozle Vincent Browne, will be heading our way.
I’ve been considering some defensive measures that I might use. I had thought of somehow connecting the bell to the main electricity supply and electrocute anyone pressing it. But if I wasn’t fully alert and one of my neighbours called round then that could get a bit messy.
I thought about digging a huge pit inside the gate and lining it with pointed sticks but I had to quash that idea because it would cause me problems getting my car in and out of the driveway. Dropping pots of boiling tar or large boulders from the roof was another option but then I’d probably ruin the carpet on the stairs getting that stuff up to the attic.
You’re probably wondering what the big deal is about talking to a few canvassers. Well the answer is that I just don’t get anything out of it. I find it tedious listening to insincere waffle. The guys in power will tell you about all their wonderful achievements and how lucky we will be should they return to power. Ask them about what they didn’t do and they will tell you that they didn’t realise how bad things were until they got into power and saw the books. But now they are in a better position to fix everything in the next term.
Then the opposition guys will tell you that everything the government did was completely wrong and if they were to get their hands on the power they would solve everything. You could point out at this stage that everything they did the last time they were in power was just as bad, but then they’ll say that they made mistakes then but they’re a different party now and they’re much wiser.
The independent people then will tell you whatever you want to hear and they can dance to any tune. While the single issue guys are primarily interested in whatever their gripe is, water, pylons, pot-holes, badgers or cruelty to rats and they can’t understand why you don’t get as excited about these things as they do.
But whatever you are told on the doorstep will all be forgotten once the election is over and that’s why I don’t want to waste my time listening to any of it. I don’t believe them and if that’s how I feel then how are they hoping to engage with the youth of the country?
There was a suggestion at some stage that there would be some reform to Ireland’s electoral system, including online voter registration and automatic registration for young people as soon as they turn eighteen. But getting them to register is one thing, getting them to turn out on polling day is a different issue. The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) have said that a survey found 30% of those aged 18-25 were not registered to vote in the last local and European elections.
It’s interesting to note that over half the young people who didn’t vote said their reason for not voting was not lack of interest but they blamed work commitments or else they simply just forgot. It’s not only the young people in Ireland who don’t turn out to vote, European politics has a similar problem.
The Washington Post pointed out that the marriage equality referendum in Ireland produced an exceptionally high level of turnout at 60.5 percent, when the average turnout at referenda here is just over 50 percent. On polling day, Facebook and Twitter reported in real time as tens of thousands took to the site to record their participation and their vote choice. Increased participation by young voters was one of the most notable aspects of the referendum.
It would seem that social media has a huge role to play in politics. The marriage equality referendum was a single issue that the majority of young people understood and had an opinion on one way or the other. It is generally accepted that most young people don’t buy newspapers or watch the news or current affairs on television and they are far more likely to be informed through social media.
So I have a suggestion that may suit everyone. It’s time to mobilise the youth and get them interested in politics. Let the politicians get their act together and start engaging with our young people through Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and whatever else is out there. As for me, don’t bother calling to my front door, just send me an email or a text. Think of all the leaflets, energy and shoe leather that would save. And I wouldn’t have to live in constant fear in the lead up to the election.