Two phenomena could change the federal political landscape in BC – one would come from strategic voting where voters choose not to elect someone rather than supporting their favourite party. If this tactic is widespread it could deny Mr. Harper a majority, which in my view is an excellent thing to do.

There could be another phenomenon resulting in a tectonic shift of BC politics – the young may actually get out and vote.

How long and how often have we, ahem, older voters bemoaned the absence of more youthful voters?

I have often observed that youth will travel halfway across the continent to protest but won’t cross the street to vote.

It’s certainly true that my generation has not distinguished itself but if we’re to blame for doing things wrong surely the young have the responsibility to make things right. Most generations have failed to make the world peaceful and prosperous but that doesn’t absolve the next generation of its obligation, if only in self interest, to make things better.

Two ends of the policy spectrum should be of much interest young voters they flock to the polls; Education is one of them. University fees are just one of the areas of concern. Young people will soon have children of their own and will have an even tougher time than we did in managing daycare, controlling rising costs at all levels and ensuring that the education their children is to the standards they would wish. It’s an irony of the times that those who need the most help are the ones in their 20s and 30s who make the least. They face, to say the least, an uncertain financial outlook and, perhaps the worse difficulty of all – what are the jobs going to be and how can they best prepare themselves?

The Liberals and Tories have done little to make youth feel wanted while the much friendlier NDP seems, on the federal level at least, unable to win. Young people tend to be visionaries more than practical and this is the very reason they are so badly needed. Since recorded history youth have tended to be idealists, which makes it difficult to join parties where policy is driven by old (mostly) men who see life in more static terms, worried more by the problems of their own remaining days. It’s this old/young split that creates a sense of futility in the young, keeping them away from the polls where they could change things.

The years to come will be interesting and fraught with huge changes in the way we behave as a people and as a country, in terms of changing universal behaviour, and what the young can do as they pass through life and rise to its many challenges.

Young people must also wrestle with the truth – our method of governance is not what in fact happens. They become adults believing that Canada is a parliamentary democracy where MPs have some power, whereas power is almost entirely exercised in the Prime Minister’s office. As they slowly become aware that they have been misinformed they become cynical and disinterested in getting involved in a game where the “fix” is in right from the start.

However much they might wish it were not so, it is so and there is only one solution – youth must force the issue by getting involved.

There is a cause where the younger citizens can make a difference both on the ground and in the voting booth – the environment, in the broadest sense of that word. I speak of grossly intrusive highways, fish farms destroying our wild salmon, private power which BC Hydro must buy even though they have no use for it and which results in horrific and permanent damage to our rivers, bankrupting itself in the bargain.

Our young generations can start public protesting as comrades with a lot of older citizens and voting for a party that pledges to change things.

The wheel may be crooked but, alas, it’s the only game in town, meaning we all must work towards more involvement of people of every age group; but while we may all fight as hard as we can, the war cannot be won without the young.

Video of recent Youth “Vote Mob” at UBC: