Because of the Vietnam war protest movement, many of my generation experienced success in the political process early in life. As a generation, we didn't wait to be invited to be involved in politics. Young people were involved as politics was an activity capable of changing society. With many young people facing an uncertain future, the sophisticated political machines that drive today's politics seems to offer them little more than nightly TV soap opera of abuse between the parties and their leaders. It is therefore little wonder that many young people opt for the Simpsons and tune out of politics altogether.
Surveys suggest they have little time for TV current affairs.
Who would blame them, in the 2030s, as we baby boomers lie in our pink-painted old people's homes still listening to Deep Purple tapes through our headphones, if some generation Xers wouldn't be tempted to pull the plug rather than pay the massive aged care bill we are about to bequeath them. But the task of providing a youth lifestyle as opulent as it was 25 years ago is a generational debt. It's not simply just another issue in the March 2nd election campaign.