Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Youth of the Nation
We live in a democratic society, but yet, some of us do not exercise our right given in the U.S. Constitution. The majority of individuals who do not use this privilege fall into the "youth vote." This category of voters consists of 18 - 29 year olds. There are, however, signs of a change. It is estimated that forty-percent of the demographic voted in the 2000 election and 49 percent in the 2004 election. Despite those rising numbers, the turnout was rather bleak when it came to the midterms. Twenty two percent and twenty five percent respectively. These elections are perhaps more important than the Presidential Elections because it votes in the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. Now turning to the 2008 election. An estimated 2 million more young people turned out to vote in the Presidential Election and 66 percent of the demographic went to President Obama. When you look at the numbers, the young people really sparked his election. I will end with this. I encourage all of you to vote and to instill the importance of voting to younger people in your life. Not only that, but how their own values come into play on election day. This is their America too!
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So the new presidential election campaigns will be on their way very soon here in this country, and I think it will be contentious campaign personally. I'm not really sure how we can motivate young people, or even people who feel entirely disenfranchised from the process to vote. I think a lot of people ask themselves this, wonder why get out of it? Often, we vote for somebody who promises to do something and then they turn around and they don't do it. I think this is where a lot of us lose heart. Look at our current president, Pres. Obama, is not been able to accomplish most of which he promised including getting us out of war. I think there's a lot of people who feel extremely disenchanted with his “hope” rhetoric that he used during the election. So the question becomes, how do we get those who feel so underrepresented to vote?
ReplyDeleteThis is a new generation, one that is far more interested in the future politics domestic and abroad. Since this new generation is a lot more educated, more of an emphasis has been placed in their hands to get out and exercise their right to speak and vote. The demographics of this country vary so much, and this political monster called democracy has cast a shadow of doubt in most. Who is trustworthy and how do we recover from years of damage that cannot be easily erased. President Obama brought a new charisma and young feel which appealed to a younger and wider demographic. In my opinion, it is a good thing that he was able to spark fire in the young to join in the vote. I do believe this trend will continue, regardless of whether or not all accomplishments and promises can be kept by President Obama. One can only do so much when years of mess is dropped into their lap. It takes time to address the mess and I beleive the new young voter will do just that by encourage others to vote.
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