Dan

My journey into activism started when I was about to turn 18 and be eligible to vote in 2015. I had always had strong opinions on what I thought should be the priority of a government should be; namely education, freedom and support for all residents of the country, the protection of the environment and promoting real equality for everyone. The more research I did the more I felt disillusioned and before I was even able to vote felt like it wouldn’t make a difference. We were too far gone. Topics like Fracking, Refugees, increases to Tuition fees, the privatisation of the NHS and cuts to education concerned me greatly and I would research them, get upset and rail impotently online about the subjects to no avail. And I wasn’t the only one; the voting turnout in young people was less than a third of our real number. So many people my age felt and feel powerless in their own democracy.

Then one day I decided that I was going to do my part to fight Austerity measures actively. I joined a community called the Student Assembly and started campaigning. I started to meet more people and hear different opinions and, whether I agreed or disagreed, my engagement within the discourse taught me how to better discuss the problems of society and critique my own ideology.

In short, my understanding of power changed as I came to realise that in a democracy the real power is in the hands of the people if we would just be wiling to exercise it. If our politicians do not seem to represent us we must represent ourselves on the street because when we all shout together we cannot be ignored.

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“Fight the power? Man, we are the power!” - The King Blues