With our nation’s ever changing political climate, one must ask: How are young people reacting to this?
The first three weeks of January 2021 was consequential for US Politics. There was the event at The Capitol Building on Wednesday the 6th, the second impeachment of 45th President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday the 13th, and the inauguration of 46th President Joseph R Biden on Wednesday the 20th. Not to mention that both the Senate and the House of Representatives are majority members of the Democratic Party.
As polling draws close in times of election, many outlets claim that it is important for young people to get out and vote. Though, many question why it is that young people are always encouraged to vote. What comes to mind when students are asked about their thoughts on US Politics?
“I am excited about [Biden’s Presidency],” said student Annica Honsaker. “Although, I am definitely prepared to hold Biden to that same amount of accountability [that was held to Trump].”
“I don’t know how [Trump] wasn’t evicted from office,” said student Grace Flat. “Pence would have at least had some dignity. I mean, I don’t like the guy, but I feel like he would have not said stupid things as much.”
“I have conflicted feelings about [the event at the Capital],” said student Cody Karuza. “On one hand, I think that it’s okay for people to exercise their rights to talk back against the government. On the other hand, I don’t feel as though [the actions they took] were entirely justified.”
“My main thing is that [the event at the Capital] is going to eventually lead to legislation issues,” said student Noah Rauser. “I feel that [these issues] are going to cause further restrictions later on because of the things that happened at the Capital. The whole thing was about protecting our rights and exercising our right to protest against the government, but I feel that it’s going to lead to more legislation that effectively dilutes that more in the future.”
Youth, college students particularly, are important to the political process. According to Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), 52-55% of people aged 18-29 voted in the 2020 election, which is about 30 million people. With Biden receiving 82 million votes and Trump receiving 74 million, this shows that the youth vote alone equaled between 37% and 41% of the votes to each candidate.
Politics as a whole is an incredibly touchy subject, no matter the age group. While those much older will always have their say about how ‘young people should stay out of politics because they don’t know what they’re talking about,’ it’s clear to see that young people have opinions that, much like those of the older generation, vary. When it comes to opinions of politics, much hasn’t changed from generation-to-generation.