The Kid Conundrum
I have had many Gen-Y’ers, millenials, young people question my involvement and passion in politics. A lot of young adults I know have told me that I need to stop worrying about it and just be a kid; pick up a beer, play some video games, go out to the bar, watch more Sportscenter, etc..
I have often thought about those people and what they have said, and why they think that way. Most believe that nothing will affect them in the sheltered world they live in at college or under their parents roof. It strikes me as a very odd way of thinking. Yes, as a kid there are many, many things that we do not have to worry about or take for granted; some of the perks of being a kid.
But, how do you tell someone who nearly everything they do is in some way is influenced by bureaucrats and elected officials (key word being elected, so it’s clearly our fault if we choose to act or not) in a far off distant place, with one succinct answer?
Although tough, I believe there are many ways to get across the importance of being informed. Unfortunately, our government has made it all to easy to come up with examples of why kids should be engaged in political discourse. If you aren’t affected by the government now you will be as you get older – I think this is the easiest and most obvious. I remember as young child asking my dad how young people ever became conservative after being indoctrinated with years of liberal bias all through out school? He replied, “don’t worry, Brandon, they all have to get older and start paying taxes”. But, even if you aren’t paying taxes yet you can bet your bottom dollar that your parents/family are affected by it everyday and that in turn affects you.
My brother is about to turn 16 years old at the end of this month and is already concerned about the price of gas. This is something all young folks – including adults – have to be weary of. A president – whom a vast majority of young kids voted in to office – has admittedly tried to bankrupt cheap energy and stop oil production (Keystone XL). Not only has that directly affected gas and energy prices but that increases the price of food as well. Something that kids and their families, again, must have in order to survive.
Kids traditionally love their sugary drinks, Michael Bloomberg has recently started putting restrictions on the size of your soft drink. I wonder how many kids know that? If I had a dollar for every time a saw a friend of mine or high school/college student with a soft drink in hand I would be personally funding Romney’s campaign. This is a case study in the over reaching of Big Government and something I know most young people can grasp the absurdity of.
These examples along with the severe effect that printing money and decreasing the value of the dollars in our hands all contribute to our decline. Whether you like it or not, the price of your beer and your soda and fast food are going to increase. These “political topics” affect you everyday whether you want to acknowledge it or not. That is why it is up to you to become informed and know who is representing you and what they believe. Many kids I know wont even begin to give politics the time of day and become the least bit informed because they say that hate the pointless arguing and bickering. Yet, they are the ones who will turn around and jump on the phone and argue with their family or significant other with ease.
It all comes down to informing yourself. Today around 50% of all college graduates are either unemployed or under employed. The two demographics that voted for Obama the most – kids and minorities – are the two groups hit the hardest by his policies. Sadly, a lot of them will stay uninformed and vote for him again.
If you aren’t informed you clearly aren’t going to like something because you have no idea whats going on. It’s like schoolwork: if you studied for the test you are going to welcome it. If you neglected to study you are going to be scared to death of it. These people on television arguing are the people who are determining the parameters of YOUR future. I suggest you take a certain interest in what is going on in the real world, and I don’t mean MTV’s ‘Real World’.