As I write this, we are in the closing stages of a General Election and what is particularly worrying is the degree of apathy, especially among young people. Many of them say that they don’t intend to vote. We have become so used to democracy in this country that it is hard to believe that universal adult suffrage is only 80 years old. But there is a growing trend to switch off from the political process. When South Africa went to the polls for the first time after the end of apartheid, there were queues days long, but in our country, the turn out for elections is consistently dropping. I believe this is frightening for democracy. 

Perhaps some of the blame can be attributed to the actions and antics of the politicians, although there’s far less sleaze and corruption in politics here than many other countries. Maybe our general prosperity and nigh full employment, coupled with the prevailing climate of indifference to official institutions, affects our appetite for political debate. So, provided our living standards continue to rise, our children are educated and our elderly relatives receive adequate health care, it doesn’t matter which lot are in. 

In some countries, you are required to vote and incur penalties if you don’t. The element of compulsion is alien to the British mind set. So how can we encourage people to participate in democracy? I believe that one of the problems in our society is a perception that voting will make very little real difference to our lives. In part, this is true. We belong to a global economy and our governments, like most other governments, do not have much control of circumstances beyond our shores. However, there are considerable areas of our lives that governments have the power to influence for better, for worse. If we opt out of the democratic system, then there are those who will seize power for themselves. 

What disturbs me is the absence of altruism among the major political parties. Their focus is how much better off we’d be, if they had the reigns of power. Yet from a Christian perspective, I would want to argue that the moral standing of a government does not simply depend on its managing of the economy, although that is very important, but on how it protects and supports the weak and vulnerable members of our society. Sometimes we need to give up our personal advantage to ensure that the less powerful are protected from the greed and exploitation or indifference of the strong. I personally deplore the way in which certain groups such as asylum seekers have become political footballs. However, despite the imperfections of our political parties, we need to support the democratic process by challenging the politicians so that issues of social justice are kept to the fore and by exercising our votes. We have no right to complain if we won’t participate and if we don’t vote. 

What is more we must encourage others to vote rather than succumbing to apathetic indifference. After all, people have given their lives in order to vote. Democracy is not the only possible political system, but it provides better safeguards than most against the abuse of power provided people care enough to register their vote. 

Don Dowling

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