I'm going to admit something right off the bat: I'm a politics junkie. Throughout the day, I devour reports and commentaries on what leaders of cities and nations and propped-up regimes are trying to communicate to their followers and enemies.

I need my fix quite regularly. When the newswires get slow, I can usually cruise on over to the state-sponsored media site of North Korea. It never gets boring, as they spew venom at the U.S. or Japan, their two sworn enemies. They call Americans 'œcowboys'? and 'œcowards,'? and the Japanese 'œgangsters'? and 'œthieves.'? Most times these stories, with their flamboyant translations, ease my addiction.

But nothing quite hits the sweet spot of a politics junkie like an election does. Sadly, not everyone is so intensely interested in campaigns and policy as I am. In fact, less than one in four Canadians under the age of 25 go to the voting booth on election day. In the 2000 federal election, only 61.2 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballot, the worst turnout in Canadian history.

Why won't youth vote? Most studies say a 'œlack of interest and knowledge.'? So Elections Canada has launched a campaign of TV and magazine ads to encourage us to visit the ballot booths. But using tax money to buy media space that tries to convince us to vote is a non-starter. I don't think it's the government's obligation to get us out to vote. Once of the greatest strengths of democracy is the freedom of choice. The people responsible for the low youth turnout are the federal parties and the young voters themselves.The Liberals and Conservatives do varying degrees of youth outreach. But most of their campaign promises directed at young people are about lowering student loans. The Liberals have a text messaging network operating where their 'œYoung Liberals'? can share concerns directly with Prime Minister Paul Martin. They are even trotting out Bono as some kind of prop (note to Martin organizers: Bono attracts the over-35 crowd these days, and you don't want U2 fans on your side 'cuz they'll come back to haunt you some day, somehow).

The NDP and the Green Party take the youth vote much more seriously and address other youthful concerns like the environment, proportional representation, AIDS, and the Iraq war. These two parties seem like natural places for the youth vote to gravitate towards, yet a recent Ipsos-Reid poll found that 50per cent of people under 25 will vote for the Liberals. To counter this trend, 27 of the 308 NDP's candidates are under the age of 26.

But tossing youth a few election-time promises is not nearly enough. The main problem youth have with politics is that they don't believe their vote makes a difference. Politicians are seen as liars and power-hungry old farts who are only in public office to further the interest of their buddies. Politicians need to dispel this notion, and attract honest and selfless people into public office.

On the other side of the responsibility coin are the youth. It pains me to read quotes from potential young voters, like these from a recent Toronto Star article: Silvia, age 23, says, 'œI could probably force myself to read the papers, but I just can't get myself interested in current events.'? Or Shirley-Anne, age 20: 'œI just don't see the point. It's all about single moms and dental and welfare and stuff I don't care about.'?

You know what? You should fucking care. The government collects GST, PST, and money off your income to spend on things like machine guns, steak dinners and corporate subsidies.Young people, no matter which side of the political spectrum they're from, should give some thought as to what kind of country they want to live in: one where a bunch of politicians, elected by a small percentage of voters and influenced by campaign donations, make decisions about your health care, security, and future?

If you do care about voting and participating in democracy, take the time to email your friends and encourage them to vote. Send them links to the policy of each party. If you feel comfortable enough to endorse a candidate, tell friends or family in your riding. And if all else fails, you can register a non-vote by either checking off all the candidates names on the voting card, or by telling the election official that you'd like to spoil your ballot. Those votes are counted and listed in election results.

If you want assholes and bloodsuckers to run this country, then stay home on June 28th. If you want to make a difference, cast a vote that represents your opinions.

You get what you vote for.

BY M@B