The Yutes

I heard this story on the way into work this morning and it reminded of a blog I wrote four years ago during the last election. The story was part of a series on the different voting blocks and today's story was about the youth vote. Of course the big question of the story was will the yutes actually vote. As a high school history teacher getting the yutes involved politically is a primary goal and I have been frustrated not so much with the yutes but by how much the system didn't understand why yutes weren't voting and why they were so disengaged.

The phrase 'b.s.' meter came up in one of the interviews and I think it is very appropriate. Yutes are onto the politicos and all they hear is B.S. In addition, unlike us non-yutes (yes I realized while listening that sadly I'm no longer in the yute demo....) who feel that showing up and pulling the lever counts as being involved (maybe writing a check or two) the yutes want authentic, tangible and direct involvement. The problem is that few of the politicos actually trusted them. Well this election cycle, that does seem to be changing. Both Obama and Clinton have well structured organizations for involvement of the yutes.

One last note. I have been stunned by the frenzy of excitement amongst students about this election. The day after the Iowa caucuses, my students were abuzz about Obama's victory and the visceral feel was akin to what I've noticed after some big TV event. The difference was that instead of talking about who got snubbed or what a bad singer so and so is, they were actually talking about policy and I heard them dialoguing about the differences between Clinton's ideas and Obama's ideas. After the New Hampshire primary the mood was somber and I have to admit I was a bit worried that a Clinton nomination might lead youth voters to feel snubbed again. However as the race has continued the policy discussions have continued and I believe that the youth vote will make their voice heard this election. They are ready to be involved and are just waiting for the call.

Anyway here's what I wrote last time we had this discussion and I think a lot of the ideas still apply.

Posted on May 3, 2004
Young Voters Sought After Again, Still Noone Listening

I can still remember the first Rock the Vote shows on MTV back during the '92 election. I had mixed emotions. I was seventeen and wouldn't be old enough to vote in the presidential election, so part of me didn't care. And I also thought it over-the-top pandering. The other half of me, thought that it was way cool that there was so much attention being given to youth. Finally, I remember thinking, young voters matter, and maybe the national discussion will be about something other than prescription drug benefits.

However things didn't turn out that way. Issues like Social Security and health care dominated politics in the 90's and the youth vote actually shrunk. Don't get me wrong those are issues that are important to all ages, but it's hard to get excited about Social Security when you're 19.

As a result Rock the Vote is back and so are a number of other youth-oriented campaigns, all with one purpose: get out the vote.

All are also predicated on the notion that this year's presidential election is going to be close.

All this is good, I guess. I have to admit the ironic, pessimistic side of me sees some of these campaigns as extremely exploitive and condescending. For example, the Republicans are rolling an 18-Wheeler with X-boxxes and plasma screen TV's to college campuses across the country. I mean come on, the same trick has been used for everything from Mtn. Dew to Tony's Pizza.

On the one hand (again) I'm revolted, but if it works and they get people to sign up to vote, does it then become a good thing?

Maybe.

I think there is a huge misconception about why young-adults don't vote. The overriding assumption is that either they are too apathetic to care or that the message isn't being brought to them in 'their language.' Which explains why organizations bring out the TV's and the video games, the old carrot and stick approach, because they think this is the language of youth.

However, just because some one signs up to vote doesn't mean they will. What percentage of registered voters actually votes anyway?

I think the real problem is that the youth of this country are relegated to a second-class citizenship. They are viewed as either apathetic consumers or used as a token display of the nice things that so-and-so politician has done for youth.

As a teacher, I work with young people everyday and as a whole, young people do not strike me as more or less apathetic than any other age group. They do not strike me as more or less engaged in the issues of our time. I know that there are many days where I would rather sit on the couch and pop in a DVD than go to a teach-in or work on a campaign. In fact, on a daily basis, I'm impressed with how hard most teenagers and young adults work and how much they care about the world around them. I'm also impressed with how they think about the world, and given the chance talk about it. (Please note that I hate making generalizations and talking about a whole group of people like some sort of misunderstood species, but it seems necessary to get to my point, which I'm coming to quickly, I promise:)

The key to engagement (not the married kind) is to talk with people.

It's simple, but time consuming, which is why people in politics don't do it in large numbers.

Instead, our youth are either ignored (how many stories on prescription drug benefits can one person read or watch anyway?) or they are given a glitzy-star studded, 'the more you know' spiel from some hack on MTV. There's no dialogue, no sense that what our youth have to say is important.

If politicians and pundits are really concerned about getting youth involved in our civic life it will require more than an x-box or a concert. What will it take?

Here's a couple of ideas:
- Instead of focus groups, how about community outreach groups in every county across the country. Consider it the Peace Corps of our time. Fully fund groups that actively recruit youth (check out Young Life for how to do this), educate them on the issues and then (here's the key) give them a chance to do something about it. That's right, connect them with programs or create opportunities for these groups to put their new knowledge into action. People, regardless of age, need to direct the energy and flow of ideas that accompanies new knowledge.

- Instead of having the token youth appear at the convention or Young Republicans, build youth outreach into every plank of the party platforms. The assumption is that youth don't care about the issues (which is true, but why don't they care about them should be the question) and need their own seperate slate of issues (this leads to the second-class treatment I was talking about.) I think the real problem lies in that the way the issues are presented to the youth.

- Finally, lower the voting age to 16. 16-year olds pay taxes if they work, isn't this a form of taxation without representation? The other benefit, is that, as students are talking about civic issues in school, they'll be coming into the voting age and be able to act (remember what I said about the connection between knowledge and action.) You could also register students at school (how easy would that be) and use a day or two (hopefully more) before each election to educate on the issues and candidates.

I've said way too much and I'm sorry, but I do have one more thing to say, and it's that I think the voter apathy is exactly what the people in power want. The less engaged our citizens are in the politics of our nation, the less likely we are to interfere with their plans.