“Don’t vote. … No, seriously, don’t vote. … This is one of the biggest financial disasters in American history. … Why would you vote?” This is a quote from the latest star-filled public service announcement encouraging 20-somethings and us college students to vote. It seems that during every election we are hit with a similar message from many sources.
While I appreciate these efforts and understand the significance of encouraging “young people” to vote, I can’t help but feel frustrated by the implication that our generation (the “DotNets”) is apathetic. I have friends tutoring students in low-income communities, helping teens and adults with developmental disorders, volunteering in New Orleans, and participating in community building efforts in Africa, India, Mexico and many other countries. We are far from apathetic, and we are extremely passionate about many powerful issues. In fact, I would dare to suggest we are as active as, if not more active, than our parents and grandparents when it comes to civic issues. So I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a study addressing this very statement in one of my political science classes.
In 2006, the Oxford University Press published a book called “A New Engagement?: Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen.”
The book’s authors divide public engagement into two categories: civic and political. They define civic engagement as participation in efforts that benefit the community but are separate from political activities such as voting and volunteering for political campaigns.
Through a series of surveys and studies, the authors were hoping to explain, among other things, why voter turnout was so low in the DotNet generation in previous election years. By looking at both civic and political activity, they discovered that we do not lack representation in the public space, but we have chosen to focus our public activism on civic efforts rather than politics.
This conclusion suggests that the accusation that our generation is apathetic and not engaged in public issues is unfair.
However, it does highlight one of our imperfections. As a generation, we are passionate, energized and innovative. Many of us will leave college to pursue entrepreneurial efforts or dedicate our time to community-driven efforts like Teach for America. If we pursue more traditional career paths we will likely look for opportunities to move our civic causes forward. But despite our unique energy and unprecedented level of education, we are lacking in one key area: political engagement. For some reason, we have failed to realize our power to ensure the government’s support of the issues we spend so much time backing.
I am sure we could come up with countless rationalizations for our unwillingness to participate in politics ““ after all, we came of age in an era where political sex scandals (i.e. John Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter) make headlines more than the threat of war (i.e. the Russian-Georgian conflict). But the truth is, by not voting and not communicating with our political leaders, we are letting ourselves and our many meaningful causes down.
While our government will always be limited in its capacity to help, it is the foundation on which our communities are built. If America is unhealthy, we will be significantly handicapped in our ability to pursue civic engagement. It scares me to think of how underfunded nonprofits will function in this time of economic instability, a period in which businesses and individuals are severely strapped for cash.
Regardless of our respective political affiliations, I think we can all agree that our country is facing extreme challenges ““ we read about them on an hourly basis, so I’ll save you the normal talking point.
A political earthquake needs to take place – so please, for the sake of our country and all the causes to which our friends are so loyally devoted, register to vote before Oct. 20, and vote on Nov. 4. This election is one we cannot afford to miss. Our government has the potential to be an amazing resource to us, but only if we are willing to ensure that our voices are heard.
Engelhardt is a fourth-year political science and international relations student.