The old vote

Yesterday, the UK voted to exit the European Union with a 52% majority win. A few friends and I we're keeping tabs on the whole situation, since we're all either headed or already studying in the UK. After being broken down, the demographics showed a few things, one of which was that most of the people who voted leave were from the older generation, and the younger generation voted mostly to stay. 

This fact riled up a few people, and all around social media, people were stating that the old should not vote simply because they have less time to deal with the outcomes. I mean, okay, this makes sense, on average an older person will die sooner so why should they be allowed to vote and make a big impact on something they might not even be alive to witness duhh. But on this opinion, I'd have to disagree. The old should be allowed to vote, and their votes should hold as equal a weightage as anyone else.

Democracy at its core is what it is due to one thing, the opportunity for every person to have a say. It is the one system that truly gives minority groups a chance at equal significance by means of an equal vote.  The moment people choose to disregard a section of society as 'less equal' or 'less deserving of a say', democracy starts to crumble. If we allow a louder group of society to shun another then ultimately, that just leads to an unequal community on the slippery slopes of becoming an aristocratic society. But more than that, the older generation need to be able to vote because even if the duration may be less, the consequence of a vote will ultimately affect them, and at a time in life when they have little ability to do much about it. Think about it, political change will directly affect pension plans, healthcare benefits, accessibility to public facilities, empathy to those who are weak, the list goes on. The argument that the young have to deal with it longer can easily be refuted with the fact that at least you can do something about it, while the old have little energy, ability and avenue to do anything much less lead a reformation. 

We also cannot assume that our grievances matter more than anybody else's. People vote primarily for a change that would help them, and we cannot discount issues that arise from people of a separate ideology from us as less. The old vote voted in the way that they did due to legitimate concerns, job prospects, uncontrolled immigration, etc. Personally, I don't know if exiting the EU is the best answer to such problems, but hey, if they saw it as a problem, we cannot dismiss it as being nothing. Emotionally too, we cannot assume that old people feel less about changes than the youth will. These people are after all citizens who have spent longer contributing to the nation. Just because they don't have twitter to voice it out on, it does not mean they feel any less angry/sad/dissapointed when things don't go their way.

The fairness in democracy means that things may not always go as expected or as wanted, but it is the responsibility of every person to make the best out of every decision. For those who are planning on going to the UK to study, or are already there,  click here to read an article that sums up nicely what Brexit means to you. From the view of someone who had hoped the UK would stay, I think it doesn't sound too bad, maybe just less trips around Europe. 

What we can learn from the Brexit issue is that your right and power in a democracy is your vote, and if you do not use it, you will have to bear the weight of knowing that you may have just let the nation take the course you did not want it to. In an extremely small split decision (52% leave, 48% stay), the voter turnout was 72%, with reportedly only 40% of youths aged 18-24 who actually voted. So no matter how many tweets you tweet, make sure you get yourself to the ballot box, cause thats where it all matters. Use your vote guys, it will matter!

Hope you readers don't mind a rather serious post today. And for my readers from the UK, I hope you find a way to come to terms with the referendum. 

Happy Saturday to all.

Love,

Mira