by Aishah M

Every time I travel on the trams to East Croydon, I always pass by two bright green billboards.What do they refer to? A change being made in Croydon. Those billboards have been in Croydon’s sight for over a year now. Now every time I pass by those billboards, I actually sigh in disappointment. It’s because I end up asking myself: where are these changes? Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not one of those armchair philosophers. I don’t sit in a leather armchair, bragging about what should be done, believing I have all the answers. Rather, I’m one of those frustrated individuals hoping someone might be able to grace some change within Croydon very soon. Like it or not, politicians have this power. Wait. Don’t stop reading this, if you think I’m gonna tell you who to vote for in the Croydon North Elections this Thursday (29th November). I can’t tell you who to vote for.

But this is a post on the subject of politics. Let’s imagine a see-saw that represents the dichotomies towards the responses to politics and politicians. One on side we have the pro-politics bunch and on the other we have the anti-politics bunch. Now, I can’t help but find myself in the middle. I don’t really see myself joining any side, but I still find myself moving up and down!

When I was younger,I remember someone once told me a joke. The joke was about politics. Now that probably didn’t come as much surprise for some of you! But listen to this joke, the question was: ‘what does politics mean?’, the answer was ‘poly= many’ and ‘tics= blood sucking creatures’! Okay, I admit it. That was a pretty nerdy joke, but the point is, it showed me when I was younger what many of us thought about politics. I’ve been those in the middle because in many cases I have found many politicians to be those Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde individuals. When I think of the idea of a just leader, I refer back to Socrates’ description of a good leader in The Republic. A good leader is not one who cares about himself, but rather the needs of others. That is what a good leader should be like. But today, it seems greed feeds the egos of a lot of politicians.

But at the end of the day, I can’t dispute with this fact: decisions politicians make inevitably affect me. That is what puts me in the middle again. Then I worry about those who don’t vote at all. Just think about this. If you hate politics in general, because you feel no change has ever been met, then why not vote? Since the person who will become elected will affect you at the end of the day! You won’t lose much. Also, if you feel you have some of the ideas to make some changes in your community, then why not arrange an appointment at the surgery with that politician? Remember, politicians aren’t telepathic. Worse comes to worse, you can always say you tried. That’s all we really can do, try.

Remember we all have a voice and we are entitled to our own political or no political opinion. I just hope many of us don’t lose faith in the political system by those Mr Hyde’s. What do I mean by ‘political system’ you might ask. I mean, a system that tries to raise our hopes of creating a difference within society.  I sincerely hope whoever gets elected as the MP of Croydon North, makes a positive difference to Croydon for its citizens.

Thank you for reading this.