On the cusp of adulthood and guns blazing about voting and groceries

In 29 days, I will be an adult. 18 with a terrible ID photo and a valid passport in case I decide to enter The Amazing Race. I won't because university registration is pretty early next year and apparently Wits and UP like having a response promptly after results come out. I'm also trying to book my learners so I can have valid reason for wanting a car.

I'm unemployed and registered to vote in the upcoming elections next year. I turn 18 at the end of the month and this prospect has been a topic that I've surrounded with excitement. I'll be able to drink, go to clubs and drive and all kinds of wonderful things. 

Haha I joke, I have strict parents. It'll be water and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for me (I'll go on my scooter. But not the Vespa kind). On a serious note though, this voting thing. The class of 2013 is a huge class, so a lot of 18 year olds will be able to vote next year for whatever party they see fit. 

Sadly, many will not be instagramming their #InkedThumb next year and a lot will post Facebook statuses about how "cool" they feel because they don't contribute to the system by voting. Of these non-voters, a large portion will be the first to complain about the state of the country. This is where I get annoyed with the Department of Education for not putting the importance of voting into the Life Orientation syllabus. Thanks to the DoE I can advise my friend on how to deal with stress and creativity but my friend does not know that she should be at a voting station next year.

 I'm not getting into the politics of it all but I do believe that apathy is a choice. Those who blatantly say "Meh I don't care, I won't vote. It doesn't matter" are the people I have a real problem with. The leaders have their own issues but they have the media and Twitter activists to keep them in check. It's the people my age that bother me, the Freedom babies and Tender Toddlers(here it isn't referring to their softness)who proclaim loudly that this country is going to the dogs and they don't give a damn. 

To me the greatest evil is NOT the man on the street stabbing another, oh no. The evil ones are those who watch and do nothing. If you have a problem with how the way things are run, don't get on your soapbox and moan and moan. Vote for somebody, anybody, who can make a change to whatever you're unhappy with. If you see something that isn't kosher, go out of your way to make it right. Have some humanity dammit! 

Of course you don't care about etolls and that wretched Secrecy Bill now but in 5 years you will care. In 5 years you'll start to wonder where your tax money is REALLY going to and why MP's are getting mega houses when their salaries can't possibly finance it. In 10 years, you may have kids and wonder why the level of education is so mediocre and why some settlement in the rural areas still has a school without chairs, desks or teachers. 

Or not. In 10 years some, actually MANY, of you will probably still be apathetic and you'll still be telling your kids and friends and anyone who will listen that there is a "Them" and an "Us". You'll be people who leave backward comments on News24 (if you even read news) and spouting nonsense about how everything is about race and that it defines you. It doesn't. Lets move past the racial typecasting now because you just look idiotic when you use them to strengthen whatever argument you're making. Judge people by their actions not the level of melanin in their skin. 

If you were born here, in this glorious land of boerewors, bunnychow, babotie, braais and bhontshisi then you are the product of a few centuries of brave industrious people who came here and settled on the shores of the Mother City. You are a testament that peace can triumph over many decades of hate and separation. You are part of the "We". Every action you make has a ripple effect. It doesn't need to be a huge splash or a wave that bring attention for a short time.  Little drops, little actions all add up. It's the little drops of rain that make up the flood. It's the tiny grains of sand that make the mountain. 

Please vote, people died so you could have that right. I beseech you. Make an informed choice. Your vote is a secret so it's just between you and the ballot. Vote for yourself, for your future. You don't have to shove the political party of your choice down people's throats but try to discuss things more. There are people in the world who can't vote. Even today. Think about that for a second. It doesn't matter who you choose to vote for, but vote. You're a generation with access to the Internet. Google the suffrage, South Africa has the longest entry on the Wikipedia page. Do some reading on the corruption in parliament or the whistleblowers who are being silenced. You have nothing to lose by trying to open your mind. You don't have to have a degree or be a brainiac to have an informed opinion about why it's your DUTY to vote. 

Also, there was an MP called Sylvia Lucas who spent 50k on her groceries using the tax money saying," How would we have eaten if we didn't use tax payers money?". Here's the link to the Mail&Guardian article : http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-16-00-n-cape-premier-defends-r50k-fast-food-bill. This annoys me, I'd like to have her voted out at some point. I'm sorry but if I have to pay for my Cherry smoothie, hidden centre cupcakes and speckled eggs at Woolies, then everyone should be paying for their own stuff. Go to Checkers if Woolies is too high end but don't use tax dollars( Tax rand doesn't have the same effect). 

If all else fails, I'm going to start trending #IVotedToday when the elections come. Peer pressure is a thing, it works. I mean have you SEEN how many people are not wearing pants on the Internet? I'm using the information LO gave me for something useful. Vote or peer pressure will give you FOMO(fear of missing out) next year.