An election too close to call and an electorate too disenfranchised to care. One of the most important aspects about today will be the overall turn out, this will define whether people really care.

The malaise comes out in strange places. On Facebook there is a whole movement of people bemoaning that there are posts about politics and how it’s “boring” and “not what Facebook is for”. It may not be what Facebook was intended, which was to ensure that people could see all of the hot women on campus, but things rarely end up being used for their initial purpose.

What is concerning about that is that generally the people moaning are adults and also parents, a poor example for future generations. The reality is that people are ill informed and afraid, which is just where the parties want you. Stupid and frightened and too bored to find out. That way dreadful things can happen without you noticing. All that unpleasantness like wars for oil and humanitarian massacres, whilst we watch cats being cute.

Instead we have the tools to express ourselves and not be managed by the media and the political news cycles coerced by communications managers. We can spread the word of our views regardless of what they might be but clearly thinking is just too hard. It makes me sad, not just for my generation but for future ones.

By acting like Zombies, we are letting the political elite decide for us, and the less we care the less we are engaged and the harder it will be to recover. We end up getting the leaders we deserve, and right now the consensus seems to be that we do not have a great crop! Imagine if we raised the level of debate, even if it is about just the single issue that we cared about, this would mean that we would hold politicians more accountable inside and outside of the election cycle and they would have to raise their game, and actually provide answers.

Instead we have these ridiculous, stage managed debates, some appalling headlines in some of the gutter press, and we live off soundbites. So guess what, the politicians over simplify their messages and dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator, and its pretty low. This isn’t because we are not intelligent enough it is because its the only way to get our attention. If we are already working on the basis that our politicians cannot be trusted then why would we believe that their simplified messaging would be to our benefit.

Power is a terrifying thing, and those with it can rarely be trusted to wield it with good grace and a genuine concern for others. So why do we outsource it to people we do not trust. All it takes is for us to care and discuss, that way we improve our knowledge and ask the right questions.

It’s a little too late for this election, but don’t forget politics never really stops, and the next generation need educating to ask these questions, it is our responsibility to support that.

Today is a big day, make sure you do your bit, and act with your heart.