I am still feeling the afterglow from last night's Convocation ceremony and the lively conversations I enjoyed with our new students afterward. Their energy is as infectious as their passionate resolve to give their best here at Penn and beyond.
As one of the most hotly contested U.S. presidential elections in history draws closer, American democracy needs a shot of that Penn resolve. Political campaigns should stimulate a robust, mutually respectful debate over competing perspectives, culminating in heavy voter turnout.
This campaign has assumed an all-too-familiar pattern: wave upon wave of churlishly misleading attack ads; the repetition of bromides that are as electrifying as Muzak; an incessant Crossfire of extremist views, and an appalling display of disrespect for those who hold opposing views; an obsessive media focus on the horse race and predictions of disappointingly low voter turnout, particularly among 18 to 24 year olds.
With all the daunting challenges that this country is facing at home and abroad, our democracy needs more deliberation and thoughtful debate and less name-calling. We need a major shift of attention from the choices that the candidates made in their early '20s to the relevant issues that concern us all today: the economy, education, health care and foreign policy. And we need more engaged citizens who inform themselves of the issues and vote their informed preferences.
Nothing would make me prouder of being Penn's president than to see Penn students begin to turn the tide of recent history from impoverished polemics and political apathy to mutually respectful deliberation and active engagement.
There is no better place to begin pursuing political empowerment than a great university like Penn. In the weeks ahead, Penn students will have many opportunities to discuss the relevant issues and to register to vote. This is also a wonderful opportunity for students to cultivate deeper, more rewarding friendships with their peers, even those -- indeed, especially those -- with whom they passionately disagree.
Of course, any student is also free to dodge this teachable moment. But those who sit out the election will exercise in the negative the once hard-won right of every citizen to speak out publicly and to vote. Please beware that each act of political apathy and voluntary disenfranchisement compounds to produce regrettable consequences.
In theory, our elected officials represent all the people. In practice, they pay far closer attention to the needs and concerns of those groups who vote in large numbers.
This plea is more than political science for me. It also comes from personal experience. I had high school friends and classmates who were drafted to fight in Vietnam. They were old enough to fight and die in combat, but weren't old enough to vote for or against the leaders who sent them there.
My generation fought hard to extend the franchise to 18 to 20 year olds, and cheered when the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified in 1971. It pains me to see that precious right to vote squandered.
But I am a stubborn optimist. I know that it is within the power of Penn's extraordinary students to elevate the level of discourse to heights that would make our Founders proud, and to vote in proportions that will prove the possibility of increasing voter turnout significantly in these troubled times. And I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with our students as we rise to the challenge of uniting behind the glory of American democracy by responsibly exercising our constitutionally-given rights.
Amy Gutmann is the president of the University of Pennsylvania.
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