How Do You Explain Politics to a 22 YO?

[Zardnaar]

Election here in a couple of months. Anyway my cousin is 22 years old and I think she's voting Greens and likes the idea of a flat rate student allowance and student youth leader debates. She's a student wants to be a vet.

But she doesn't really know what terms like liberal, conservative, left, right, progressive, liberal mean or if we refer to the Republicans as GoP.

Best I can explain it is imagine the Democrats in USA split into 4 parties they map to XYZ equivalents parties here + Te Pati Maori. And the right is generally pro business/farmer pro corporate tax cuts lefts more pro social policies and working class.

FiL is a labour voter who thinks they're doomed, cousin thinks the Greens are going to do gangbusters, I'm voting labour and think they'll squeak in, wife's green or labour voter is gonna vote labour out of no great enthusiasm and has similar opinion to me as to who wins (polls are neck and neck).

Cousins pro lgbtq rights, doesn't like Trump wants "free money" (everyone does ubi, tax cut, student debt relief, bigger student allowances etc) and that's about it.

Doesn't bother me who she votes for she's an adult can make her own decisions.

 

[GenMarshall]

I'm in my 40s and I'm basically starting from scratch with politics (Other than staunchly anti-communist, Pro Union, and reasonable tax rates that doesn't put me in the low-class).

 

[Arwon]

Knows what policies they want and supports the party who aligns with them? Sounds like they're already sorted

 

[Hygro]

I think by 14 I was explaining politics to everyone else.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

First off, it sounds like she knows what she wants already, if your Greens are the party that support and have promised the things she wants.

Next, though, you should explain to her that the labels in your country may not mean the same thing as those labels in other countries, or they may not have an equivalent.

I still have to explain to current conservative supporters here that the CPC (Conservative Party of Canada) is just the Reform Party with a new name, hoping we've all forgotten what happened 20 years ago with the backroom deals and betrayals that led to the extinction of the federal Progressive Conservative party.

I also have to explain that the UCP (United Conservative Party) that is currently ruining my province (that's not a typo) is not the legitimate successor to the now-extinct provincial Progressive Conservative party. It's just a bizarre hybrid of a provincial version of the federal CPC/Reform Party, the old Social Credit (right-wing but with added religious bigotry), and whatever other extreme right-wing crap they can find to throw in. Our premier LOVES DeSantis and aspires to be like him. She insists she wants Alberta to have its own police force, its own pension plan, total control over natural resources and to hell with environmental concerns (her environment minister doesn't even have protecting the environment in her mandate letter), but still demands federal funding when she wants it while insulting Trudeau in her little videos and radio shows.

It's so frustrating to have a premier who's emotionally about... whatever age children are before they realize it's not all about them.

In the meantime, some of her followers are demanding she do what they say or they'll get rid of her the same way they got rid of the previous premier, Jason Kenney. Some of them really, REALLY want Alberta to separate from Canada.

Explaining that we need access to the ocean for international shipping and that would be a problem because this province is landlocked just goes sailing over their heads. BC may or may not cooperate (they're the quickest route to the Pacific). The nitwit I was arguing this with on FB last night then prattled on about the Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and "south".

Saskatchewan is also landlocked. Manitoba's only ocean access is Hudson Bay, which is largely frozen in winter in that region - it's considered sub-Arctic. Polar bears live there. The Territories' (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) ocean access is the Arctic Ocean. I can has lots of icebreakers? We still do need those even though climate change is wreaking havoc up there, with it being clear of ice at times of the year when it shouldn't be.

"South" means access to the Pacific would depend on cooperation from Montana and Washington. Since the Americans rarely give a damn what Canada needs, this is not something I would count on happening.

Some people just don't know how to read a map, evidently.


So tell your cousin about this and tell her don't be stupid like the conservatives in Alberta, Canada. They mostly vote on ideology and never about practicalities or anything for the good of the marginalized population.

 

[Narz]

Does she want you to explain them to her. Politics is for entertainment purposes only mostly. Unless it's going to be your career it doesn't actually benefit your life much to understand it.

 

[Zardnaar]

Does she want you to explain them to her. Politics is for entertainment purposes only mostly. Unless it's going to be your career it doesn't actually benefit your life much to understand it.

It's more that we were talking about stuff and she didn't understand some of the words used or what they're about.

She knows what she likes and what appeals to here. As Valka said we di kind of say if National wins here they're not like GoP in USA. They're more hard core neo libs than hard core reactionaries.

 

[bene_legionary]

I've heard it been described like everyone to the right of Bernie Sanders may as well be members of NZ First/ACT party. Maybe not that useful a comparison, though.

Personally I think anyone who considers voting NZ First and ACT is a bit of a nut (not strictly because of policy... some history to do with Winston Peters).

It was pretty funny (and scary) when ACT got high enough in the popularity rankings that they looked like the new National a couple years ago, hahaha.

 

[Zardnaar]

I've heard it been described like everyone to the right of Bernie Sanders may as well be members of NZ First/ACT party. Maybe not that useful a comparison, though.

Personally I think anyone who considers voting NZ First and ACT is a bit of a nut (not strictly because of policy... some history to do with Winston Peters).

It was pretty funny (and scary) when ACT got high enough in the popularity rankings that they looked like the new National a couple years ago, hahaha.

I'm old enough to remember when ACT reliably got 5-7% before falling to 0.5%.

They've lurched right now and appealing to the looney fringe thankfully they're mostly siphoning votes off Bational and aren't completely looney tools.

20 years ago ACT/National/Labour/Greens were basically factions of the Democrats.
Individual members of National or ACT coukd be mapped into the GoP but overall not really.

 

[JollyRoger]

The closest I get to explaining politics to a 22 year old is letting a 22 year old guy know that half my age plus 7 is a ceiling and not a floor and if he just patient, the apple of his eye will eventually age out of my target range.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Does she want you to explain them to her. Politics is for entertainment purposes only mostly. Unless it's going to be your career it doesn't actually benefit your life much to understand it.

There are times when it's critical to understand some things about politics.

 

[amadeus]

How would I define American politics to a New Zealander? Or, how would I put NZ politics in American language? I‘d do neither, the example posted is unclear as to what it is you seem to want to do, and even less clear why.

In any case, I wouldn’t want to hear my cousin wax on about foreign politics, or domestic politics in foreign terms.

For fun, here is how Japanese wikipedia describes the ruling LDP here:

中道右派 - 右派 center-right/right
保守主義 conservative
（国民保守主義) national conservative
（社会保守主義) social conservative
（財政保守主義) fiscal conservative
（伝統保守主義) traditional conservative
包括政党 big tent
ナショナリズム nationalist
自由主義 liberal
憲法改正 constitutional reformist
経済的自由主義 laissez-faire economic
反共主義 anti-communist

That concludes today’s Japanese lesson.

 

[choxorn]

Does she want you to explain them to her. Politics is for entertainment purposes only mostly. Unless it's going to be your career it doesn't actually benefit your life much to understand it.

The only reason it wouldn't benefit your life to understand it is if literally every political point of debate between the various sides that could get elected in your country has no impact on you.

 

[Zardnaar]

How would I define American politics to a New Zealander? Or, how would I put NZ politics in American language? I‘d do neither, the example posted is unclear as to what it is you seem to want to do, and even less clear why.

In any case, I wouldn’t want to hear my cousin wax on about foreign politics, or domestic politics in foreign terms.

For fun, here is how Japanese wikipedia describes the ruling LDP here:

中道右派 - 右派 center-right/right
保守主義 conservative
（国民保守主義) national conservative
（社会保守主義) social conservative
（財政保守主義) fiscal conservative
（伝統保守主義) traditional conservative
包括政党 big tent
ナショナリズム nationalist
自由主義 liberal
憲法改正 constitutional reformist
経済的自由主義 laissez-faire economic
反共主義 anti-communist

That concludes today’s Japanese lesson.

She asked what certain phrases meant. She doesn't know what neo liberalism means. Communist, bourgeoisie etc.

 

[Hygro]

The closest I get to explaining politics to a 22 year old is letting a 22 year old guy know that half my age plus 7 is a ceiling and not a floor and if he just patient, the apple of his eye will eventually age out of my target range.

JollyRoger did you turn into one of those billboard accident lawyers?

 

[Narz]

There are times when it's critical to understand some things about politics.

It's good to know your rights when a cop pulls you over

The only reason it wouldn't benefit your life to understand it is if literally every political point of debate between the various sides that could get elected in your country has no impact on you.

It all has an impact on everyone but my vote doesn't matter. Local politics could be useful to engage with

Most people treat politics like a hobby when that energy would be better served into their personal relationships

 

[Valka D'Ur]

It's good to know your rights when a cop pulls you over


It all has an impact on everyone but my vote doesn't matter. Local politics could be useful to engage with

Most people treat politics like a hobby when that energy would be better served into their personal relationships

I spend part of every day on several FB political pages related to the provincial government here. This is due to having a pack of sociopaths running things. It's important to know what BS they're pulling, as they're only too willing to attack and screw over those who are least equipped to defend themselves.

 

[Narz]

Yeah leaders been doing that every since humans formed large enough groups beyond the point where they could be held accountable by those they led

 

[E.man]

She asked what certain phrases meant. She doesn't know what neo liberalism means. Communist, bourgeoisie etc.

She can look them up somewhere like finding out about anything else.

 

[Zardnaar]

She can look them up somewhere like finding out about anything else.

She's not tgat interested