Youth Politics

I remember having a conversation months ago with someone on politics in general. I don’t remember the exact topic, but it had to do with current events, and eventually also Iraq. In any case, she was mentioning how her parents knew a certain Republican official, and that if he ran for president, her parents would vote for him. And so would she. Naturally, I ask her why. And she can’t tell me.

We start to discuss other issues. I bring out all sorts of reasons as to why the Iraq war has nothing to do with terrorism in and of itself. She can’t counter any of my arguments, as she has no arguments of her own to make. Does this mean she believes in the Iraq war due to false misconceptions and a blind backing of her family? Of course. I’m not saying don’t support your family on issues. But come on, even I would want a reason as to why my family thinks a certain way, and if I have to defend that reasoning, I would definitely want to be prepared for it.

I can’t stand ignorance. There are people all over the United States who vote for the red candidate just because he’s republican or the blue candidate just because he or she (let’s face it, when I see a woman running for president on the republican ticket, I’ll correct the other side’s pronoun) is a democrat. Even if you yourself belong to a particular party, that does not mean you can opt out of knowing why you’re voting for that particular side. Yes, belonging to a party and voting for that party’s candidate means you are voting for a certain set of values the party always brings with it. But, not all candidates are alike. No one can ever convince me of that. Politics does not produce robots (although some politicians do seem that way). I had better get a clear answer to why you support or do not support a particular candidate, or I do not want you voting.

That brings me to another complaint of mine, not voting. Some who are ignorant choose not to vote. My solution? Read up and vote. Don’t just stay ignorant. You have no right to complain about the current state of affairs in America if you never vote. You’ve basically forfeited your opinion when you do, and you have left your fate in the hands of the rest of the American public. I, for one, could never do that. Quite simply I don’t trust anyone else in making the correct decision. I could never give up that kind of control. There are those of you who say it’s pointless anyway, and that your vote doesn’t really matter. Well, let’s see what happens if 200 million people in America choose not to vote on election day. Let’s see how much our opinions really don’t matter…

Not voting also happens with those who are incredibly opinionated. I’m talking about my generation of course. Those who talk the talk on college campuses and don’t actually take their opinions to the polls. This I feel is incredibly hypocritical. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not allowed to have any sort of opinion at all if you let America decide its fate for itself. It’s like complaining about a current state of affairs and not doing anything about it. It’s like complaining that your house is messy and yet you do not bother to clean it. It’s like… well I’ll stop there. I think everyone gets the point.

So here are some of my suggestions. If you don’t know anything about what’s going on at all in American politics, learn. Don’t spew out some crap that it’s not important or pointless, because that’s only true with that sort of mindset. If you don’t vote, vote. If you have any sort of opinion at all, learn what the other side has to say about the issue, make up your mind, and then go to the polls. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear any complaining, and I certainly don’t want to hear what you think, because if you don’t think it’s important enough of an opinion to vote on it, then neither do I.

The youth voters have a lot to bring onto the table, and we could have just as big a voice as any other age group in America. The politics of today will affect us for years and years to come, isn’t it about time we do something about it?