The Issue
Most children and teenagers don’t care about politics or their right to vote, according to a survey we carried out with the government.
More than 400 of you voted in the poll on CBBC Newsround Online, to mark the fact that Citizenship’s now part of your national curriculum.
And the results were quite surprising.
· Only 22% of you wanted to learn about voting!
· Just 28% cared about local and national government.
· And only 27% of you said you would care if the right to vote was taken away.
—-BBC News. Newsround
On an average election year, less than 55% of the eligible public goes to the polls; 138 million Americans don’t cast a vote.
Mark Morford, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, diagnosed the problem more specifically, writing of the American public ‘… politics and news media is like some sort of impossibly dense morass, alien and strange and vaguely threatening… best ignored in hopes that it will… go away… It’s our unofficial motto… We Don’t Have to Care.’
Although this is undoubtedly disconcerting, students tend to be impervious to any associated guilt. We tell ourselves that without the ability to vote we have no obligation to the democratic process. We are wrong. In fact, this mentality will destroy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness if not confronted immediately by our culture. Much more worrying than the un-voting adults right now are the millions of graduating students who are politically passive and socially unaware.
There are many ways to be involved in the democratic system but unless we all contribute, that system will soon collapse. By accepting an apathetic role in our political arena, one is dishonoring the millions of men and women who died to uphold democracy and insulting the billions still in social and political bondage today. Bahram Maskanian, a writer for the Venus Project, an educational think tank that claims it seeks to ‘redesign our culture’ explains in one of her essays ‘The ruling opposing forces to human rights and liberty are hard at work to prevent true democracy from ever taking root… democracy requires the entire population’s constant participation.’
But how can we become involved? What can we do to perpetuate the paradigm of democracy without voting? Make no mistake, political activity is not a right in America today; it is a seriously undervalued responsibility.
Educating ourselves about current events is the most important step we can take to increase the successful function of our democracy. We must take it on as a habitual part of our daily life, like brushing our teeth or knotting our tie in the morning. Understanding current events enables us to form healthy opinions, experiment with different world perspectives, and ultimately leads to the social empowerment that changes policy and makes a difference in the world. Tracy Marks, a blogger who is affiliated with Tikkun Magazine, affirms this phenomenon and writes in an article concerning political apathy ‘A first step for many of us may be (to) educate ourselves politically, and feel empowered to express ourselves.’ Furthermore, if we do not educate ourselves on current events we become vulnerable and helpless. Without a comprehensive understanding of our leader’s ideas and actions, the decision makers of our world have no accountability with their followers; us. Gary Allen, executive editor of Enrichment Journal and national coordinator of the Ministerial Enrichment Office, writes concerning the leader-follower relationship, ‘It is wrong to assume that leaders are only accountable to their leaders. They are also accountable to those to whom they… serve…. Each age, cultural, ethnic, and social segment… has something to contribute.’ That includes us.
As we become more educated, our identity becomes more defined. We learn to teach ourselves what is important and what is worth sacrificing. This process continues for the rest of our lives. There are many ways to deepen our identities through political affiliations. These affiliations will provide grounding association with other like-minded people and will also give you more concrete ways to become invested in the future of our country.
Many people shy away from defining their political identity because they do not want to be a part of the Democrats or Republicans. There are hundreds of reasons for not liking the main parties. For example Malik Miah, a member of the fringe Solidarity Movement writes ‘I cannot vote for a Democrat or Republican candidate, as each party represents the policies of the ruling class.’ America seems to have an unfortunately limited two party system, but actually there are hundreds of different political parties, like the Solidarity Movement, that all play a crucial role in our democracy. Do not limit yourself to the Democrats or the Republicans; investigate third parties. A blogger named Dan on marco.org writes ‘Al Gore would have won the general election in 2000 if had had received 1% of the votes that Nader received. He would also have won the election if he had received votes from 0.05% of the people who didn’t bother to vote…. When somebody votes for a third party, the mainstream parties think, “Uh-oh. Somebody cares enough to vote but voted against us?… If you can rally 1% or 2% in crucial areas, you have a real chance of forcing the mainstream parties to court your vote in the next election…. ‘
Taking action is easier that it sounds. Becoming a participant in some sort of politically involved organization or grass roots social movement or maybe campaigning for a candidate are all great options. Even helping adults register to vote is incredibly important. But if joining the Green party or skipping school to punch your parents in at the polls isn’t your cup of tea, the best and most crucial thing that you can do?
Discuss the issues.
Thom Singer, a blogger from Austin Texas, writes ‘… most people we encounter are in the middle and… care about seeing changes… One cannot turn on the TV, computer, or pick up a newspaper… without being touched by the world of politics, thus it will be discussed… you need to be ready to discuss politics.’ The discussion of critical issues directly affects the outcome of every election. Even though you may not be able to vote, the people you are talking to might be. If you influence their views on any given issue then you are making a difference.
—Nathan Peereboom
May 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
great article dude, i heartily agree; you’re brilliant!
May 6th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
While it is true that the lack of interest by young people in the political process is a problem, blame can hardly be cast upon the apathetic youngsters themselves.
Many correctly perceive little difference between the two major political gangs in Washington. Though one argues that one ought to join a third party or other movement (I actually did myself) it is tough to justify the effort to many considering how futile it seems. Can you name a major third party victory in the last fifty years?
There is no clear solution to resolving this issue it the
Learning about and discussing the issues, as said in the article, are going to be key to protecting the future of the nation.
Nice job on the article and, I agree, young people need to be more involved!
May 12th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Dude, I don’t know what you’re even trying to say, bro. I can’t even vote yet – what am I gonna do? Am I going to vote? No. Why would I go try to vote, when I cannot even vote, neither can you! You see, when you get older, like me, you will realize that voting is lame. I would decide to vote if I would just get a sticker – cause thats cool – but I can’t vote! So there, no sticker, no vote (which I can’t do) duh! I think I have effectively deconstructed your argument. Thank you.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
ldgriff made some pretty solid points there, i will reconsider my entire political outlook; thanks for the advice–
May 17th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Children can vote?
May 20th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
No children can’t vote, but when they don’t become involved and at least familiar with the issues as children then they don’t suddenly turn 18 and magically become intrested. Its a habit that needs forming at an earlier stage.
-By the way nate, I liked the sarcasm there.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I also want to say that this is my opinion dont try and slay me for having it but, if the younger people and even college students did the research themselves instead of listening to their very liberal professors. I Think that more people would have supported john mccain over Mr. Obama.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Damm, I disagree with your claim that many students voted for Mr. Obama because their professors told them to do so. One thing that the Obama campaign stressed, correctly or incorrectly, was that John McCain was another one of Bush’s men that had been running Washington for the past 8 years. Because the economy was tanking and because Bush was running the country at the time and because McCain is apparently one of Bush’s men, McCain would therefore not be good at running the country. And the Obama campaign was successful in stressing this to the young voters, who are traditionally supporters of change/rebellion/etc/etc. But you are right in saying that many voters ill-informed voters voted for Obama, hence the incredibly large turnout of African-American voters. But the same goes for John McCain in that many ill-informed people voted for him. The sad thing is that this paradigm of ill-informed voters will never cease to exist. But either way, this argument is pretty far off the point of the essay. :p
May 29th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Ok, gubics, i agree with you until this comment:
“you are right in saying that many voters ill-informed voters voted for Obama, hence the incredibly large turnout of African-American voters…The sad thing is that this paradigm of ill-informed voters will never cease to exist.”
are african-american people inherently ‘ill-informed?’
please explain!
thanks
May 31st, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Gubics i hate to tell you this but John Mccain was not a bush man i actually didnt want him in office but next to obama he was the better choice in my opinion. And The professor at college didnt make them but being in the classroom with them shapes ur opinions and ideals because your spending allot of time with them. And You say that Obama can successfully run this country. That has yet to be determined. Let me know how successful he is when things like social security implode and we owe 14 trillion dollars that someone has to pay off. I hope im wrong but my common sense is telling me im on track. O and by the way Bush was know bad president. you can argue all you want but just look at this. The most famous people in history. Those who are remembered. Died hated or pist poor but were recognized for their achievements later. We need a forum instead of article comments lol.
Peace and take care,
Andrew Damm
May 31st, 2009 at 9:40 pm
ok- damm and gubics, i really don’t think we can peg one person for the whole American Dillema at this point. The expanse of our catastrophie has been growing since the vietnam war and it won’t be obama’s fault if he doesn’t fix everything (although that would be nice). Bush didn’t make all the bad decisions alone; his entire administration was a train wreck. And interestingly, Obama’s legacy won’t be defined solely by his own decisions. Social security has been crumbling for the last few decades; neither of the two men can be wholey responsible for that. Our budget problems are origanlly the bush administration’s fault but our current gov’t is definently adding to the numbers. Andrew, i admire your long sightedness (I hope your right) and gubics, i agree with you.
Keep talking
June 1st, 2009 at 10:26 pm
O this is not one administrations fault. It is a build up. But everyone seems to blame Bush for it cause that’s all the media did for 8 years. Its more than one persons faults. Hell its both parties fault. But i want to state that Obama owns car companys now. Okay correction the feds own car companies now. Talk about not what the founding fathers wanted? I dont want goverment owning production. We will owe 14 trillion and think about that. Here is my comparison: a trillion seconds is 32,000 years. Now times that by 14 and you’ll say ouch. Im not paying 2/3 of my income in taxes to get rid of that. Thats wrong. I disagree with Obama and the democratic party on many things but i agree on one thing: something must be done. But this change uve brought isnt the change i want. God save us and bless americ.
Take care,
Andrew Damm