Another election cycle, another spiraling narrative about the persistently fickle youth vote, another misleading piece that mischaracterizes an entire generation before a single poll opens. We're not as shallow as the now infamous New York Times piece on the youth vote would allow you to believe were are.
We're nuanced. Poll after poll indicates that the vast majority of us aren't overtly partisan -- yet we care about issues and in that department, we're progressive. The Pew poll referenced in the times shows barely any statistical change in party affiliation. Moreover, the very same poll shows that regardless of party affiliation young people are strongly progressive on the issues. From the poll:
The political leanings of this youngest group of voters may be linked to their outlook on politics and society. Analysis of long-term political values finds that Millennials are far more liberal in a number of areas than are older Americans. This is reflected in Millennials' views on contemporary policy issues as well, from their widespread belief that gays should be allowed to openly serve in the military to their reservations over the use of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and their continued preference for a more expansive role for government.
Moreover, Millennials are far more likely than older people to describe themselves as liberals. In the fourth quarter of 2009, as many Millennial voters identified themselves as liberals (29%) as conservatives (28%), while 40% said they are moderates. In every other age group, far more voters described their views as conservative than liberal. Among voters in Gen X, 38% described their political views as moderate and 38% said they were conservative; only 20% described themselves as liberal.
So that's that. There's certainly reason to be cynical. Our political process is broken and ridiculous. Only in Congress could a majority of votes ...not really count as a majority. We're weary. There are reasons to believe that our votes mattered in not only 2008 but in the years before it (after all, youth turnout has been increasing since 2000). Yet those reasons are often overshadowed by, say, the insincerity of politicians who claim to be standing up "for future generations" only to then vote against unemployment benefits for a generation facing 20% unemployment.
Yet, therein lies the beauty of midterm elections. Members of Congress may have the power to vote for or against legislation, but we have the power to vote for or against every one of them.
That mentality may not translate into political allegiances -- but that actually says more about the candidates than it does about young voters. What this article would suggest is that candidates, from both parties, would be wise to fight for our votes. The youth vote is always up for grabs, and contrary to what the New York Times might suggest, the youth vote isn't synonymous with "the college vote." We're not a monolith. We're a diverse generation that comes from different backgrounds, armed with different stories, still united in a shared belief that the issues matter.
What is true is that midterm elections often see a decrease in turnout from every demographic. What is true is that it's harder to turn out voters in an off year, and that it's hard to draw a correlation between those issues and the midterm elections. What is true is that youth organizations are acting accordingly -- finding new and creative ways to reach a wider audience and to go around.
It is the recognition of how challenging this cycle is that's inspired over 30 youth organizations and media partners to create http://www.voteagain2010.com
Check out the launch video for Vote Again 2010 here:
The media may continue to dismiss us as a legitimate voting cohort. Reporters may continue to insist that we're unreliable, fickle and superficial.
Well, I think they're wrong. I think we're powerful.
Fundamentally, while members of Congress may have the power to vote for or against legislation -- we have the power to vote for or against every one of them.
Why wouldn't we vote again?
Follow Sara Haile-Mariam on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sarahailemariam
Your generation is the largest in the nation- yes bigger than the Baby Boomers. Your elders are about to hand you a ticking time bomb.
While there are many good people who are Democrats - The Party is not about to solve the problems that our nation faces. They just want your vote- they are in league with the rich and powerful in this nation - just like the Republicans and they have no intention of solving the problems our nation confronts.
If you want a future for yourselves and possible children - you are going to have to reject both Parties and what they stand for... because they are not going to help solve your problems.
You are going to have to organize and build your own political party. Then you are going to have to dismantle what your parents generation has built politically in this nation. It is really your only hope.
Be brave and ignore pleas of Democrats to join their ranks - they are co-dependents who need your to help for them continue their addiction to selfishness, greed, and reckless behavior.
THEN they make us MAD
THEN WE VOTE
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/MOSQUE.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/laugh.jpg
THEN they make us MAD
THEN WE VOTE
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/thenwevote.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/Gulfthenwevote.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/MichelleThenWeVote.jpg
And then those people turn around and watch Glenn Beck. Hypocrisy much?
Man, that must be frustrating.
In the "electronic age" and amidst an environment where The Press is under pressure to provide primary if not exclusive coverage of everything now considered "newsworthy," am I really supposed to believe anyone between the ages of 15-25 has to wait for the evening news, the next newspaper, or the latest gossip edition to know what's happening in the world?
And don't think these young, still reasonably functional minds can't put 2 and 2 together several thousand times over. All those precursory images of the grown up world are more than adequate for figuring out just how much grown ups have screwed up the world. Not that any of these youngsters can't look further into a story or issue at their convenience--one needn't necessarily go to the library to gain knowledge.
I'm 49; I was born right after JFK took office, and I haven't much interest in all the stuff available to our youth via electronics. In my day we still had to make friends face to face, we still had to find a public phone and pull over to make a phone call, and we could not have conceived getting in trouble because our cell phone "talked" during class.
Youthful disinterest? Maybe. Youthful ignorance? Not any more.
All you had to do was:
Weaken labor laws.
Weaken pollution controls.
Weaken standards of elected leaders.
Weaken laws that kept banks from magically turning debt into assets.
Have abject racism dividing the nation, just as it needed to be brought to together to fight these threats.
Obviously I can't blame all of the people in the older generations, but clearly their majority either helped all this come to pass or did nothing to stop it.
I mean seriously you voted for Ronald Reagan. We would have been better off with Ronald MacDonald. "Put a smile on!"
Everybody is down on young people, but why? We are looking at the world with the last bit of our idealism fading away. It ain't a pretty place.
I know life is hard, but when your own government policies and businesses are against you, what do you suppose you do about it?
The same holds true for the young people, you simply cannot paint everyone with a wide brush.