A voice worth having

Last night I was doing my usual parousal of songs on You Tube when I found a rare (and incidentally very good) collaboration between two of my favourite singers, Mama Cass Elliot and John Denver, doing a version of his song 'Leaving on a jet plane.'

I love finding wee gems like this on You Tube but it was one of those clips with lots of talking before the song actually begins. Usually I ignore these interludes but when I heard the subject on which the two were speaking I was immediately drawn in.

It was from 1972 and the two were appearing on 'Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special.' I must admit I don't have extensive knowledge on American popular culture in the 1970's and so hadn't heard of the show. A quick glance on Wikipedia at the guests who appeared on the music showcase, indicates its popularity and searching You Tube for the artists who performed is worth a look for music lovers.

But back to the talking. As I said, the episode was aired in 1972 and both John and Mama Cass before beginning their duet, made appeals to the American public to register to vote. It was the usual spiel about having a voice and being heard etc. As I'm sure you'll know the election in 1972 they were referring to was the same election that Nixon's team snuck into Watergate - changing the face, and operation of elections in the U.S and the world over forever.

Although neither John nor Mama Cass said anything particularly new or interesting about the importance of registering to vote (and voting itself), it struck me that the message need not be original all the time. The sentiment is so important its gravity should be delivered through simplicity, i.e get your finger out and vote and if your not registered, do so!

The European election is on June 4th this year. Although the newspaper coverage thus far has centred on the divisions within unionism and the likelihood of Sinn Fein topping the poll, not much attention has been paid to voter apathy in Northern Ireland.

I'm not suggesting there is voter apathy here on the scale of mainland Britain - as mentioned before on this blog, the north, and indeed island of Ireland, is a highly politicised society, a fact borne out by our relatively high voter turnout.

My annoyance is specifically with young people in Northern Ireland who either don't vote or simply vote along tribal lines without much thought or inclination to know the manifesto pledges upon which a candidate forms his campaign.

It seems to me this is a subject that only comes to the fore near election time when its a slow news day. The fact it is not always highlighted in the mainstream media does not mean it is not an ongoing problem.

How many times have you heard a young person moan about paying so much tax, not being able to get a job or the obvious bug bear - student fees, and in the same breath saying they don't vote!

I was at a press conference at Stormont not so long ago. It was for young broadcast and newspaper journalism students to practice questioning and interviewing in such an environment in front of real-life MLAs (I resisted the temptation to get out my autograph book.)

Slowly but surely it descended into role reversal with the politicians asking the young people what they wanted to see happen in future and why they didn't vote. It was quite embarassing when someone in the audience said 'Theres just no-one exciting to vote for, politics is boring.' If this is what broadcasters and journalists of the future are saying, god knows who'll be out First Minister in a few years....

The European election is probably not the best election to try and persuade young voters that informed voting is not only easy but important. The fact that Europe has a huge bearing on every aspect of modern life in Ireland north and south is not easily translated when one looks at the bureaucracy and red tape that permeates operations in Brussels and Strasbourg. But it does have a bearing.

From the Common Agricultural Policy to the most basic health and safety legislation (exciting stuff I know) Europe calls the shots. Human Rights? That too. I'm sure Colin Duffy and his solicitor are glad to hear that.

With the current antagonism between member states on a global fiscal initiative to deal with the greedy bankers, its safe to assume the wrangling will produce ripples effecting our pockets in the near future too. For good or bad.

Northern Ireland is a tiny entity in the grand scheme that is the EU. We should count ourselves lucky to have three elected representatives - we're half the size of London. We should take advantage of this and get the best elected representatives we can voicing Northern Ireland's concerns at the heart of Europe.

Everyone knows the issues. It is now more important than ever to make sure our voice is heard in the democratic process and to inform ourselves on the people who are standing on a ticket proposing to help us within such a process.

Read their websites, watch their 5 minute political broadcasts when they start and make sure your making the right choice. They might not change the world but at the very least they are representing our interests.

And seriously do check out John and Mama Cass on You Tube - what voices...almost as powerful as ours.