NEED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN PUBLIC LIFE

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7278, 4 October 1933, Page 2

NEED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN PUBLIC LIFE

Tlie question lias been put to Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt, wife of tho United States President, as to whether it is worth while for young people to go into politics. In answering she said: “If it is a question of material advancement in the world, or of getting some position where they can make a living, my answer invariably is 'No.’ If it is a question of wanting to be a useful citizen and member of the community, emphatically tho answer should always be ‘Yes.’ We cannot expect good Government in a democracy unless the citizens of the democracy take a really active part in their government, and they should do it at as early an age as is practical. Tho first steps in politics are not particularly interesting, and should bo covered while people are young. I believe tbat if our young people can be encouraged to go into politics at an early ago their interest will grow as they grow older, and we will And them, little by little, taking on their responsibilities and gaining self-confidence with knowledge, instead of going to their first vote with a feeling of insecurity, not only as to the questions involved, but as to tho mere mechanical process of voting itself. If they belong to a politically-minded family i'n which they have heard public questions discussed, they probably feel as some of our children havo felt, that they do not wish to be bothered with politics, and they hope that politics is never going to be a part of tlicir lives as they themselves fashion them, but strange as it may seem this very subject which is so obnoxious to them seems to draw them in spite of themselves as they grow older. From a wide point of view it is well worth while to be in politics, and if a man or woman goes into it with a determination to start at tho bottom and understand both the good and the bad, know the mechanics of a political machine, and be practical as well as idealistic, I think much good can be done by any (young man or woman, and their political activities may prove to be valuable in connection with their work, whatever tha-t may be.’ 1