Australia, your time starts now

Federal election called this morning for the 21st of August. 
Now, usually this wouldn't bother me. I'd be excited for the showdown, be hoping Abbott wouldn't get in, and just exist in my bubble. But this year is different. I'm 18, which means I have to vote.

Australia, as pleased as I am that I finally get to do this, I'm questioning your judgment. Nevertheless we persevere.

So this is interesting. I already know which way I'm going to vote, but I have no idea about the intricacies of voting. I've been told many a time, but this is mainly about "You should vote for this party" to which my internal reaction is, "You should probably not talk any more, because I stopped listening as soon as you said Tony Abbott." This starting anger about parties aside, I'm more concerned about the technicalities of how it works. There's a ballot, that's the extent of my knowledge. Perhaps a pen, too.

There's something that I think would be useful in schools. Where was the learning about political parties, something that's needed now when we get to adulthood, when we're allowed to decide what this country needs? As English-nerdy as I am, I could have skipped a couple of poetry lessons for this. We had this class in year 7 til year 10, called Pastoral Care. Not sure if there was an outline for this, but all we did was talk and watch movies.
Surely something like politics could have been more useful?
And before we get into the "politics is controversial" topic, we did Studies of Religion and there were no wars started. 


Just a small musing before I wander into the city, but one I think necessary. It'd be a good thing to consider, and one that I want to look into more - just to discover more about parties and their policies.

Happy voting in a month's time!