I revised like a mad man for my A Levels. I wasn’t spurred on by the thought of making my parents proud, doing myself justice or trying hard for the sake of it. I felt physically compelled to try my damndest so that I could leave school knowing whatever happened in my future, I’d tried my best to secure a decent life for myself.
Between going to gigs, getting tattooed and sampling Brighton’s pubs (I’m not a total nerd), I was pushing hard to learn every inch of A Level Politics at a desk in my bedroom beneath a poster from the punk band Crass. The poster was of Margaret Thatcher holding an egregiously large turd with the caption: “Birds put the turd in custard, but who put the sh*t in No10?”
When I felt demotivated, I’d look up at that poster and remember why I was trying hard. Because, in the words of Frank Turner, “Thatcher Fu*ked the kids”.
Talent going to waste
Through no fault of my generation’s making, our futures have been put on a depressing pathway towards zero-hour contracts, a burning planet and working till we die. I don’t believe that Britain is a meritocracy, but out of desperation I entertained the idea that working hard might get me somewhere.
All around me are brilliant young people with huge potential to offer, simply going to waste. One of my mates can’t even get a job in hospitality despite having an undergraduate and master’s degree in Psychology.
Branded the “anxious generation”, it seems little wonder Gen Z is riddled with mental health issues. We’re entering a life of little prospect, unaffordability, climate change and inequality.
Inequality at an all-time high
But it’s not that Britain has turned its back on young people by default. The issue is symptomatic of mainstream politicians’ refusal to act in any way that might disrupt profit making. We know global warming is going to destroy the planet, we know tons of young people are unemployed, we can see people dying in the English Channel and we can see wealth inequality is at an all-time high.
But nothing meaningful is being done about any of it. Instead they’re being used as tools to stir the pot and convince us our neighbours are the enemy.
The hope I have for the future is that people are inherently good. Humans have existed for hundreds and thousands of year, it seems strange we’d only lose the plot over the last 100 years or so. As a species we’ve always been acting like fools, it just seems things have ramped up a bit recently. I have a shred (and bear in mind it is literally a microscopic shred) of hope that we will pull through.
Talking to Tories and Reform voters, many of them don’t really understand what’s going on and definitely don’t embody the hateful attitudes they’re voting for.
As a country and planet we’re in a pretty deep hole, but it’s both strangely reassuring and laughable to see that the supporters of anti-progressive movements can be talked round by a man wearing a cape with a bin on his head.
On a day to day level I try not to think more than two years in advance. If I let the reality of what the future holds sink in then I’m sure I would be driven a little mad.
I’ll be trying my best to live a fun and enjoyable life, but I will not forget who is to blame for the state of the world.
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