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Politics


 Lack of political knowledge


 Anytime you think of politics, you think old and boring; this is the concept of many young people when it comes to politics. There seems to be such a gap in political knowledge and interest with in the state of The Republic of South Africa. The youth who should be the biggest players in the political sphere of South Africa have chosen to take a back seat.

 The lack of interest vs. the lack of Knowledge.


 I find this to be a very interesting topic. There are many young people who are given the opportunity to educate themselves politically, but the lack of interest is one of the biggest reason that the country is in the state that it is in right now. When we look at the leaders of the  ANCYL we are introduced to people who have taken the name of the SA youth and misinterpreted it, they have no understanding of the new age freedom, that we as the youth have had the privilege of enjoying. I am not looking at the demographics at this point; I am looking at the idea of freedom and the rights and the opportunity that have been opened up to many young black South African youngsters. We have a youth league that represent teenager and young adults who are far older than they should be, representing a youth that has grown up post-apartheid. The reason we find these people in the positions they are in,  is because no one who understands the youth of today is willing to stand up and fight for those possessions. The ANC has dissolves the leadership of the ANDYL because of the lack of there leadership. Now who will run for these possessions, if the youth that is meant to be there is not standing up for these positions, we face a similar problem again.
 Some might argue the fact that I mentioned freedom and questions of the youth who are unable to go to school and or those who do not have food to eat at home or even those who have no homes, how are they free?  Those would be a very valid question when talking about the freedom of the youth. My answer is simple, those who have the privilege to experience freedom in all these areas of their lives, it is up to them to make sure that they become politically enlightened that there voting does not go to waist, they need to make sure they get involved in the affairs of the country, because asking these questions will bring no solution when there is no action on the part of those asking. It should be an obligation to help those who have not felt the fullness of their freedom.

Looking at lack of political knowledge, this can become a very heated debate. I am one of those who believe that our government withholds information from the public and the is lack of transparency. With all of this happening with in the government of the country it is near impossible to fully educate the country on the political statues of the state and the SABC and media being highly censored by the government it makes it even more difficult to fully make the public aware. The majority of the county is below the poverty line and therefore it makes it  easy for the government to create a sense of need within the state. Where the people feel as though they need the government to provide and take care of them. This is because with holding back education (even though the government puts on a front that they are working to educate the people, that is not the case, proof is in the state of our education system) gives them power over the majority. Unlike lack of interest; lack of knowledge is the fault of those who hold the knowledge and to do not share it with the public.

Politics is not a game only for the old in fact, it is more for this generation who understand the importance of education and the importance of being governed by people who understand the science of economy, of safety, of international affair. We cannot preach education, when we are led by uneducated leadership.

  The youth and the country as a whole do not understand the power of democracy and the power of their citizenship and that all goes back to the lack of knowledge.

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