My first step into Citizenship

Last Sunday (July 7th) was a very important day for me. I can probably even say it was some kind of a birthday: My citizenship-birthday! (Don't laugh! I even celebrate my drivers-license-birthday...) Although I'm allready 20 years old, and supposed to be a "full citizen" since my 18th, this was the first time I really had to ACT as a citizen. I had to vote. Or better: I was allowed to vote. I had to wait two years to finally get my political voice, but this year I do not only get to test it with a little whisper. I allready have to scream! Because this year I will vote three times. In Germany we even talk of 2009 as the "Super- Election- Year". (Btw I find this very American, but that would be another post...)

The first election 2009 was on Sunday: The European vote. I made my cross for the European Parliament. To me it was absolutely clear that I would go and vote. Not only because it was my first time and I couldn't wait for it (yes, I really found it exciting! Everything was so... top secret) and not because I study politics and all my teachers told me to go, but also because I see it as natural to use my RIGHT to vote. Therefore I was really shocked, when I saw the rates of participation in the election: The EU average lay by only 43.01% turnout. That's a negative record! Germany is only little higher than the average (43.3%), in the United Kingdom even less people participated (only 34.27%). (For more information on the results of the election 2009 I can recommend this website to you)

I asked myself: Can we really call this democracy when only a minority of citizens takes the chance to participate in political developments?! How can we actually live democracy, if we have to force people to take part in it? (See Belgium: There they had a turnout of 90.39% - because they have compulsory voting. Belgians are actually punished when they don't vote!)
The problem of the EU and especially the European Parliament is its image. Most of the people living in Europe don't even know, what the European Parliament does. There is this myth that its only task is to set useless regulations like a guideline for the curve of a banana (which is only partly true). Also "Europe" itself is something very difficult to grab. There is nothing like a European identity. E.g. in contrast to the United States, Europe is very diverse. We don't see ourselfs as Europeans, but we are German, Italian, French, Polish, Danish, Spanish etc. The German-Turkish educationist Sanem Kleff who is the head of the europeanwide project "School without racism" claims that Europe lacks something like a "corporate identity". Many people cannot or do not want to identify with Europe. Hence they don't see the point in voting a European Parliament. It's not easy to see what the EU is doing for me since it is nothing like my country. People tend to believe that the EU does lots of things for the others (for example its new members in the east), but not for us. Almost nobody gets that there should be no others. That Europe is us.

Only few people see the importance of an institution like the EU or even its sense. Therefore they don't feel responsible towards it. But in my eyes, voting is always important. It's not only a right, but also a duty for all citizens - no matter if we talk about German or European.