Why should you care about the presidential race?— the cat Limberbutt McCubbins is not a viable candidate.
Here’s a quick vocabulary lesson:
Blasé: adjective. Unimpressed or indifferent to something due to overexposure.
Millennial: noun. Person who is unimpressed or indifferent to something due to overexposure.
Of course the last one isn’t true… but doesn’t it seem like it could be? I get it, every 90s teen drama featured the cool kid with his apathetic demeanor and cold indifference to the rest of the world. For some reason, numbing ourselves to our surroundings seems like the popular thing to do.
But you know what’s not cool: an uninformed generation that abandons its right to help determine the leadership of the country, all for a chance to emulate Daniel Desario.
As of right now, 22 people have announced their candidacy. That means there are 22 politically competent individuals with the desire to lead the United States, and most young people could care less. The cat Limberbutt McCubbins is fully registered through the FEC to run for the 2015 democratic bid…
Although the cat may be cute, he is not a credible presidential candidate. It is offensive. It is not cheeky or adorable, it mocks all the work put forth to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to express themselves politically.
Generation Y, we are embarrassing ourselves.
I have heard a few arguments from my 20-something peers about why they don’t care about the presidential race, and most of them stem from the ideas “we’ve seen this before” and “all politicians are exactly the same.” Forgive me, but those sound like ill-thought-out opinions.
What’s interesting about those statements is that we definitely have not seen this all before. We have a woman running, a socialist campaigning, a businessman bolstering, and a whole slew of very unique candidates to look at. To say that this is “the usual” would be a dramatic oversight.
The next president will be in office for at least four years, maybe eight. I could potentially be 28 years old before I see a different president in office. In those eight years, welfare could be reformed, healthcare could be universalized, and women’s rights may be greatly advanced. Every single one of these things will affect me in more ways that I can imagine. I need to care about this election.
As millennials, we are responsible for the future of the country. We can either choose to ignore it, or we can embrace our rights as citizens and educate ourselves, educate our peers and vote. If you don’t vote, then how can you complain about the outcome?
In 2012, only 57.5% of the population participated in the presidential election. The United States is ranked 120 on a list of 169 countries for voter turnout. That is pretty apathetic for “America the Brave.”
A Pew Research study suggests that this year, Generation Y will surpass the baby boomers as the nation’s largest living generational group. There are roughly 83 million millennials in the United States.
That is a lot of voices. To think that 83 million votes will not matter is absurd. Imagine what would happen if every eligible millennial decided that their vote mattered. We don’t have to believe the same thing, but we should all believe in something. Take honor in the fact that we are responsible for choosing the best leader for this country.
Despite the plague of indifference sweeping Generation Y, I believe it is important to exercise my right to check a box on a sheet of cardstock paper. Why? Because we are the future. Call it a cliché.
