Being 20 in 2012

Can you remember being 20?

When I first started to write this article my title was being 20 in 2012. My usual turn around for an article is one week; this article has taken me a staggering two months. My thoughts constantly changed which lead to a lot of editing. I write for a lot for various different publications and when writing I write about things that make me feel both inspired and passionate.

When I sat down I knew I wanted to give a young person’s perspective on the world. The truth is, I didn’t feel equipped to paint an accurate and representative picture of the world. I knew what it was like to be 20 but I felt like I could have known more about what that means in 2012.
My creative process for this article took me on a rather wild Journey, Something I was not expecting. I wanted to write about being 20 in 2012 but instead I began a journey of  research and self discovery. I delved deeper into myself and the world surrounding me challenging my deepest ingrained beliefs.
I have always had a very real understanding of the world around me. I consider us as a collective entity, as planet not as a country or nation.

The world is a lot of things, and I always knew the world was corrupt. That money makes the world go around and that it’s every man and woman for themselves. I’ve known that the colour of your skin can determine your opportunities in life, that your gender identity can determine how much respect you are shown. Or your sexual orientation can determine if you have the right to life in some extreme cases.
I think at the present moment in time the world is undergoing a shift in consciousness, people are waking up and realising it’s time to change. It’s easy to forget that in every single era of history things were different. We as people have never been so tuned in but so unwilling to do anything about it. Are we missing the bigger picture? The bigger picture is that things can change. In every era in history change had to happen for us to get to now. How is it that we live in a democratic society but our governments’ do what’s in the interest of the few at the peril of the many?

Flowing through every issue either directly or indirectly is money. How would we cope without money?  Why has it become the lifeblood of today’s society? Are we being held at knifepoint by an invisible force that essentially was created by us in the first place? Sadly we have been conditioned into a rat race where everyone is trying to get ahead of everyone else regardless of morals. 

Society tells us that we have made it when we have a penthouse apartment and all the material possessions we want at our disposal. What society should tell us is that we have made it if we make history in trying to change the world, that we leave behind a legacy in helping others who are less fortunate that ourselves. Ironically those less fortunate than ourselves probably wouldn’t be if money wasn’t the driver behind the wheel of this crazy train we call life.

Why should I work hard and do something that I don’t care about just so I can be happy. For me happiness is a journey it is not a destination. I want to work with an NGO and naturally I want to help people. I have no bloodthirsty desire to worship the corporate world. I will not Bow to the Dow so to speak.  
What if I told you 3 billion people are living in absolute poverty?  Does it make sense that some people are allowed to have more than others? Could you live on £1 per day? Why should those 3 billion people? At what point do we stop ignoring this? We have been tackling global poverty for years and the gap between the rich and the poor is only widening.

It’s okay to admit that we may have it wrong. It’s okay for us to try something new. What’s not ok is, to simply sit back and say that scientist will come up with more energy or governments will solve the world economic crisis.

Don’t be a bystander in the revolution, don’t leave it up to politicians. Get up, stand up and speak up.

Ciarán Weir

@CiaranWeir
Ciaranweir91@gmail.com

Do we take the right to vote for granted?

In the UK it could be said that we certainly take the right to vote for granted. Some of us don’t vote and aren’t even on the electoral register because we don’t care or simply can’t be bothered. Although in the rest of the world voting for women can sometimes be forbidden, for example in Saudi Arabia women are dependent on their husbands and male counter parts; they can’t vote or stand for election. So without this political representation it’s difficult for women to get things done about serious issues like rape, divorce honour killings and also forced marriages.


Even in some countries where women can vote they can still be faced with intimidation or be harmed for doing so. The Taliban in 2009 threatened to cut off women’s ink stained fingers if they went to the poll in 2009. They faced suicide bombers and being killed in a free fall of terror, if a bomb was suspected. In Zimbabwe women who voted in against the country’s dictator Robert Mugabe in 2008 were beaten and raped by his followers.


It’s so easy to take our voting rights for grated here, even though less than 100 years ago women couldn’t vote in the UK. Many made huge sacrifices and fought for the right to vote at the polls. Things changed in 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst formed the suffragettes. The suffragettes had the passionate aim of having the right to vote, finally getting what they wanted in 1928, which was long overdue. Throughout their struggle they were imprisoned for wanting to be equal to men. Emily Davison a suffragette activist was even killed when she walked in front of the king’s horse.


Today voting gives us the chance to vote on things that matter. Be it the price of alcohol, human rights or farming policies. The problem I think in the country is that people can’t be bothered. Some people I’ve been speaking to lately think that it’s a bitching match between “two sides”. Another told me she won’t be voting because she thinks it’s a joke. Another young person told me he won’t vote because he doesn’t understand what’s going on. To be honest I don’t follow northern Irish politics, but I know which party stands for what I want. I don’t follow Northern Irish politics as I too think it’s a joke, and echoes the era from which so many have moved on from and are trying to move on from, but are held back by so few.


Some people aren’t voting for change, they’re voting with the sense of collectivism. To show they belong to whichever side. I think if voting is done right you’re party could even change every year depending on what they’re aiming to change. In an ideal world I would like fresh minded liberal people to take over the running of the country, people who are not bias or bigoted. Maybe that way we would get something done and overcome the years of petty politics.






Don’t take your vote for granted may 6th; check out these websites below if you haven’t a clue who you’re voting for. They’re simple and easy to use.


Find out what your local MP/MLA stands for etc:


http://www.votematch.org.uk/


http://www.voteforpolicies.org/