Political Story, 3rd Draft

Alex

I spent my freshmen year at Bennington College, in Bennington Vermont. The school was aesthetically over-stimulating, speckled with New England clapboard houses, vermilion Adirondack chairs, and purposefully antiqued signs. The school, literally poised above the rest of the town, earned its title, in Forbes Magazine, as one of the United States’ most expensive colleges in 2007. In addition to its price tag, the college was known for its homogony, as it was said to have more species of birds on campus than minorities. This bucolic microcosm would be the backdrop of my experience in the 2008 Presidential Elections.

There was no doubt in my mind that the majority of Bennington’s student body would be checking the “Barack Obama” box during the voting season. The school, known for its indoor smoking dorms and clothing optional policies, lacked political diversity. At lunchtime on November 4th, 2008, I asked my table of six peers: “So, who voted?” I found this inquiry to be more humorous than it was an actual concern. My peers looked back at me with blank stares, each coming up with various excuses as to why their absentee ballot did not reach them. That night these same people shed their clothes, set off fireworks and ran off into Vermont’s misty plains in celebration of Obama’s victory. As my non-voting peers took two joints to the face instead of one, I asked myself: do they have the right to celebrate?

The mid term elections suggested a similar sense of apathy from the youth, but without any celebration. According to civicyouth.org, 20.9 % of Americans under the age of thirty voted in the midterm elections. With minimal input from the unengaged youth, the Republican party swept the House of Representatives. Republicans gained open senate seats in Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, Florida and Utah.

Steven Peterson, Professor of politics and public affairs at Penn State, is not shaken by these facts. “I’m not surprised by the lower youth turnout because people are more excited about the presidential elections,” He said “They follow it more, so there’s a greater political interest, so there’s a greater overall turnout vote.”

Professor David Plotke, chair of the committee on historical studies at the New School, argues that that the youth aren’t politically engaged at all. “Young people are usually less engaged by politics than older people, and it is not because they are disenchanted. They have not usually been involved much period.”

According to statemaster.com, the 1972 presidential elections accumulated a total of 50.3% of the youths vote. Over thirty years later, political analyst John William Cox reveals that 36% of young adults stated that it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for. Some youth have been disillusioned even prior to Obama’s candidacy. April, a 25-year-old accountant, and mother of one states: “I didn’t vote, because it dosen’t matter.”

Yet, my experience at Bennington does not suggest pure apathy, but more so though the illusion of left wing activism. Does the youth try to live up to the idea of young liberal activism, or is this a common misconception? Deva Woodley, assistant professor of Political Science at The New School for Social Research, argues that not all youth voters are righteously left wing. “Some generations are more progressive than others, those that came of age in World War II tend to vote democrat, though now they are mostly in their 80’s, and those that came of age in 80’s tend to vote republican. Political disposition gets set pretty early on and dosen’t seem to waver.”

It is no surprise then, that many are attempting to categorize Generation Y’s political demeanor. Some experts say that Generation Y’s disposition is largely shaped around their desire for instant gratification."I feel like everybody walks around with their cell phone and their laptops. We feel like we need everything immediately. So that's what we've become accustomed to," Erin Carroll, a student at LaSalle University told The Huffington Post in 2009. "We're the 'me-me-me' generation."

This desire has left many disappointed with Obama's presidency. “Everyone just expects Obama to go in there and fix things immediately,” Jesse, a 22-year-old intern from Los Angeles tells me “And when he can’t everyone is upset.”

In 2008 Obama ignited literal fireworks across the small campus that is Bennington College. Was Obama relying on the desire to ignite, rather than taking action? “I think it was the hype during the presidential elections a couple years ago that really got me to vote. Now, I don’t really see what it was all for,” says Michelle, a 23-year- old receptionist.

Media advocates politics more than it ever has before. Social media websites have additionally installed polling applications, engaging the 97% of youth that use these social networking websites. Additionally, stars such as Oprah, and Ben Affleck displayed an obvious allegiance to president Obama giving both his campaign, and political activism a star power

Rock The Vote, has been one of the major figureheads in this political niche. “There is still star power behind this election. It’s especially great to see things moving virally through social networks and online after celebs share them with their fans,” claims Maegan Carberry, communications director of Rock the Vote.

However, such star power can dominate and skew the youth’s vision of politics. Most recent “politician” turned reality television star, Sarah Palin explicitly displays her political agenda, through the form of reality television. Jessica Chaplin, a 24 year old from Cincinnati Ohio, did not vote in the mid term elections. Yet, when asked if she voted in the presidential election she stated: “Yes, because Sarah Palin would have ruined everyone’s lives.”

This is not to say that star power, was not driving force in the 1972 presidential election. The power however, was more representative of political vitality, than exploited political outlandishness.

Gary Meisel who is now an executive at Warner Brothers in Los Angeles, veered from the campus norm, of that era and was active in the 1972 Hubert Humphrey campaign, instead of supporting George McGovern as did most of his peers. “To the extent the youth do get involved, they are typically more left or right than in the middle, since those that get attracted at that age are generally caught up in the basis of an issue.”

Some youth, however, are not even engaged with the fundamentals of the midterm elections. Claiborne, a 20-year-old Starbucks barista, didn’t vote and admitted, “I didn’t even know who was running.”

If the youth vote is insubstantial, why should politicians target them in the first place? How can the youth celebrate or denounce a political victory if they are inactive? Perhaps the youth are becoming more and more alienated from the political sphere, not because politics is alienating them, but because they are extracting themselves from politics. For some, like analyst John William Cox, activity is the fundamental step: “No matter what youth consider themselves in terms of political party, we all must mobilize. Voting should be a sacrament in our national political religion.”