Ready To Rock The Vote

By Max Riebman

Strange as it may seem after the 2000 election fiasco, youth voter turnout is expected to be much higher than it has been in the recent past. Yet some might ask why young people would even consider voting after the 2000 election. Many would say that their vote could not possibly affect the outcome of the election. "There are certainly a lot of young people who feel disenfranchised after 2000...who feel that “the system is really all messed up," says Scott Beale, an inspired 29-year-old progressive Democrat and Georgetown University graduate.

"It could have been the reaction of young people to see the 2000 election and say, screw it, the system is messed up, our vote doesn't count and we are not going to get involved. But I think over the last three or four years, the youth response has been, yes, the system has flaws but we're not going to sit by and let these mistakes corrupt the whole process."

Beale, who is co-author of The Millennial Manifesto along with 22-year-old Abeer Aballa, an Egyptian American and proud republican, contend that our generation (those born between 1976 and 1996) is unlike any generation that America has ever seen before. While Beale admits that there have been other politically aware and civic-minded generations that have preceded ours, the Millennials, when studied closely, are inherently different from all other American generations.

Grassroots youth organizations have erupted throughout the country. College democrats and republicans have increased their activities to include their new young members. Young people are running for public office at a rate unseen since the 1960's, when the popular backlash to the Vietnam War encouraged many young people to seek office to effect change.

Still, how is the political awareness and activism of the Millenials any different from say that of the Baby Boomers? "What is different about millennial activism and Boomer activism, and there are a lot of common similarities, is distrust in government." Beale says, "Baby Boomers were dealing with Vietnam, they were dealing with Watergate and a lot of political scandal. Millennials have a strong trust in government. Our activism tends to be from within rather than fighting against it."

Another distinction that sets Millennial activism apart is the fact that it is more pervasive in lower socio-economic groups. It can be found in white, suburban, middle class communities as well as in poorer Black and Hispanic urban communities. "Sitting around and complaining about everything, doesn't get you anywhere," Abdalla said. "I think the Millennials believe that you have to get up a community effort and make things happen. Change can happen, a revolution is possible through youth. That's very evident given the fact that young people have already caused significant change in their communities."

Millenials are also not indigenous to the United States. With freedom of information, new and open ideals will be shared around the world. Beale concedes that while "There are huge battles to be fought on the horizon and they are not easy battles to be fought or won," it's likely that the Millennials will successfully effect political change for the better and will continue to strive towards ending poverty and achieving world peace.