Jeff Millman: Apathetic youth shun the polls

Another election has passed us by, and it has altered the whole composition of our government in Washington. Apparently that's a big deal, but we don't care. Everybody knows young people don't care about politics. We care about P. Diddy, we care to pierce our belly button, we care about our History test.

We don't care about politics because the politicians don't inspire us. And they need to because the issues don't inspire us.

In their youth, our parents were aroused by Robert Kennedy's relentless call for social justice. Today, our leaders impassively call for campaign money. This election makes clear that Camelot is dead.

Did Maryland gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend carry the mantle of her martyred father? No. She didn't reach for profound causes; she picked issues of marginal disagreement, quibbled on who can better split the difference between liberal and conservative, played it safe. There are thousands of politicians like Kathleen, but rarely one like Robert.

True, it's the many little issues, that added together, make a big difference in our lives. But we can't see that yet. First, we should be swept up in the excitement of political movement to discover the process and the point of participation. Then, we can make some progress on the margins. But it must start with idealism.

In response to idealism, older people tell us to grow up. They're right; our outlook will change once we are parents and have to confront abysmal public schools or when we retire and want a Social Security check, or when we have to budget for drugs to lower our blood pressure. Then we'll care, they say.

But we still won't vote because our generation is committed to apathy. As today's youths age, more of us may vote, but not as much as our parents did at a comparable age. They voted less then their parents did at a comparable age. Our political beliefs and habits stay with us throughout our lives.

Our generation has seen public service tarnished. If you turned on the television in the past weeks, you may have concluded that every candidate is wrong on nearly everything. You may also have noticed that he is also a bad person. Politicians are increasingly crossing ethical boundaries. They show less connection with average citizens and less concern for their conscience. The parties are nothing more than investment banks, doing anything to protect its assets and find special interest investors. Winning elections these days has little to do with a winning vision.

Our generation doesn't understand the huge role government plays in our lives. We're increasingly independent and especially mobile. We don't feel entitled to things, but just expect them to be there. It's hard to understand that the cars we drive have been crash-tested, have been forced to include air-bags by the government. It's hard to realize that we could be working for the government someday.

Worse than our not believing in government is the government not believing in us. America should know we can be the next "greatest generation." When the brave soldiers of World War II were in the bread lines of the 1930s, their elders gave up on them too. Our elders have not only given up on us, but they haven't given us a chance.

Instead of ignoring us, the government should rely on us. In response to Sept. 11, give us something to do. Have us ration our consumption of fossil fuels. Have us learn Arabic in schools. Have us join the Peace Corps. In response to election irregularities, have us be poll workers. In response to recession, have us be government workers. In response to poverty, have us be feeders. In response to failing schools, have us be teachers or mentors. Don't subcontract our duty to specialists. Don't professionalize patriotism.

Governor-elect Ed Rendell told students on campus last week, "if the 18 to 33 group voted at the same percentages as 65 and up, they could dominate the elections." But there's no shame in squandering our chance to dominate elections for stale, spineless candidates who can't stand us and won't stand for us.

Jeff Millman is a senior Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major from Los Angeles, Calif.

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