The trend among the new generation in the US is to keep themselves away from politics. As a representative of the young generation, I am of the opinion that this will create far-reaching negative results at the national level. When a generation takes aloof from politics, the next generation is to face the problem of political impotency. From a personal level, I can say that my opinion is influenced a lot by this detachment from my peers. Moreover, I feel so sad that my friends are not even ready to discuss issues related to political issues.
The problem is with the society which expects the youth to act as old. Young people are trained to act like the old and their opinion on politics influence the younger generation. Most of the members of my generation do not have enough time to think seriously about politics. They are looking towards a bright successful future. Moreover, we learn from our experiences and mistakes. For example, September-11 can be considered as a wake-up call and there occurred a change in heart.
A generation, which was thought to be disinterested and disconnected from national politics, became active. But it must not be a momentary one and must be long-lasting. Alvin Powell points out: “Apathy, Warren said, is the wrong word to describe his generation’s attitude toward politics. Rather, he termed his peers’ attitude as cynical, the result of growing up in an era where bureaucracy is entrenched, money is paramount, and the line between campaigning and advertising is extremely blurry.” (Powell).
The opinion of Harvard undergraduate who conducted a survey with his friend Ganesh Sitaraman is of the opinion that the word apathy cannot describe the attitude of the young generation towards politics. Moreover, this attitude is to be termed as cynical because bureaucracy in the US is well-rooted and money is valued more than other values and there is only a slight difference between election campaigning and advertising.
From the community level, it can be seen that the lack of courage among the members of this generation inspired a lack of engagement and this is the most important drawback of my generation. America’s Youth | Young People Are Not Interested in Politics points out: “While a pitiful 49 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls in 1996, an even smaller number of young people voted: According to the U.S. Census, only 32 percent of eligible eighteen to twenty-four-year-olds exercised their right to vote.” (America’s Youth).
The younger generation in the US dislikes elections and voting. The voting rate or participation of eligible voters at the polls in 1996 is 49 percent, and the number of young people who voted in this poll is lesser than a foretold percentage. For example, the percentage of voters who used their right to vote between the ages of 18-24 is only 32 percent. This shows that the younger generation in U S likes to keep themselves away from the mainstream of politics.
But my generation likes voluntarism and related forms of public service. But their participation in political campaigning is low. This can be considered as the general sign of disengagement from society and civil duty. But it can be seen that the young generation is engaged in the community, non-profit, and charitable works. Texas Politics points out: “The UT Austin Texas Politics Poll was launched in July of 2008, marking a major step forward in the measurement of public opinion for Texas. Before the UT poll, Texas did not have a regularly occurring, non-partisan poll from which data are made available for public use.” (About The UT Austin).
The reason behind the origin of The UT Austin Texas Politics Poll, launched in 2008, was to measure public opinion. So this poll is the first poll in Texas to review the public opinion and the data are made available for all. So these sorts of innovative measures are to be appreciated and they can be used to identify the follies from the part of political parties. Moreover, it can identify the reason behind the dislike of youth towards the political parties in the US.
So, before concluding, it is to be stated that the young generation is away from politics, but they are not away from the mainstream of society. In one way or other, the members of my generation are closely attached to society and there is a ray of hope for the future.
Works Cited
About The UT Austin: Texas Politics Poll. Texas Politics. 2008. Web.
America’s Youth: Young People Are Not Interested in Politics. Enotes. 2008. Web.
Powell, Alwin. Undergrads Bring Visibility to Invisible Citizens. Harvard University Gazette. 2003. Web.