At a glance, it seems easy to dismiss Generation X as apathetic: in 1972 half of all 18- to 24-year-olds voted; in 1996 only one third did. For all our creativity and enterprise, too many of us look at the ballot box and say, “Whatever.” But Generation X does care deeply about our country. We volunteer and join local organizations in greater numbers than the famously idealistic boomers did in their youth. There are even scores of nonvoters who boycott irresponsibly made products and lend a hand at soup kitchens. So why doesn’t that activism translate into faith in the democratic process? One college student, who pays his tuition with cafeteria work, gave me a persuasive answer. “I care about that stuff,” he told me. “But it seems like it doesn’t matter because only people with a lot of money and power really have a say in what happens.”
Young Americans–myself included–feel that the flaws of modern politics, particularly the influence of money and the difficulty of obtaining objective information, push us to take refuge in ironic detachment. Political leaders should understand young people’s nonparticipation as a strong message in itself: the system needs to be cleansed of special- interest money and made more accessible to the grass roots of Young America. But while the flaws in the system are certainly to blame, our crisis of faith in self-government runs even deeper, exacerbated by today’s political culture. It is generally fashionable to take a cynical approach to political participation. And those who shape the debate sometimes seem to think that the way to reach young people is to dumb things down, add a sprinkling of celebrity cachet, and focus on gossip and spin. But this approach deeply underestimates today’s youth. We can handle the truth.
Obviously, I’m for Gore. And I’d happily talk your ear off telling you why. But I also applaud those Bush supporters who are reaching out to young voters. In fact, one of the pleasures of the campaign trail has been the occasional spirited debate with diehard Republicans. It’s heartening to find young people who care about issues, even if we don’t see eye to eye. I hope that as November nears more people will jump off the sidelines and into the political fray.
Don’t be one of those people who complain about politics but do nothing to change it. This is the year that our generation should raise our voices about what we want to see in our America. Gen-Xers are a more potent force for change than most of us realize. We are actually the largest potential voting bloc–bigger than the boomers by 10 million! Keep in mind, the next time you are tempted to get cynical, sit back, or step down: that “future” politicians always invoke? It’s your life–and mine–they’re talking about.
