The question is, how can real parents, with real babies, know when the baby is hungry? Or when the baby is too warm or too cold. Throughout my observations, I have to conclude that millennials voters are way different from older generations. You can believe it or not, but I think this to be true.

If teens would pretend to be parents for 24hours, would they understand and begin to comprehend? Similarly, if community leaders and politicians would subject themselves to sleeping outside for one cold, probably wet, night to fully understand the challenges of homelessness would they comprehend and at least begin to sympathize?

Walking in somebody else’s shoes, even for a short while, exposes us to the everyday reality of others. Get me right; my point is that until that reality is your reality, the background song never really kicks in. However, I am not oblivious to the fact that there are some realities of people’s existence that are too far of a stretch from someone else’s reality to accept the every-minute-of-every-day immensity truly.

For instance, the blind man has learned how to navigate his world best, but you, who is reading this now, cannot begin to comprehend. I believe that politicians are likewise deaf to the collective experience of being an ordinary rural student. More specifically, being a civilian in a country governed by greedy, incompetent and inconsiderate politicians who hold power over them.

I hope to shed some light on the blind spot when trying to understand the gaping divide between the realities of politics. The reality of moving and living in the world as a voter is only understood by a politician when he truly accepts our background even when he/ she is not personally responsible for it. All politicians could give us an assist by accepting the uncomfortable fact that they are oblivious to certain realities of voters that make our very existence quite different than theirs.

Sometimes the music is so low that we don’t hear it. Suddenly, something small happens, and it picks up. At such points, we go from peaceful silence to the blasting of screaming hooligan rock. This is why a mildly ignorant comment by a politician may get what seems like an oversized reaction. We hate when this happens because now we have to deal with whatever comes next.

The politician has no grasp of what goes through the voter’s mind when they question the degree of caution that they must exercise before casting their vote, this straightforward thing. I would also like to believe that men are likewise deaf to the collective experience of women. More specifically, being a woman in a place dominated by men who hold power over them.

Voters must consider the vague but real possibility of falling victim to a politician’s campaign lies and then his behaviour every single day. You may not know, but some of the questions that run through the voters’ mind (voters can add more in the comments below):
Is he going to hurt us?
Is he going to take advantage of us after elections?
What did that statement mean?
What will they do to us if we don’t vote for him?

I am not overstating this. All voters, white, black, rich, and weak all experience this. Imagine telling a parent to stop thinking about the wellbeing of their baby. But what if the parent does not seem to care. Imagine that.

The volume might change, but not the lyrics.