Many young people in the modern US are completely ignorant of politics in general, and many aren't even interested in knowing. Many say that politics does not effect their life; that it is not pertinent to every day living. I would agree that as a young person, politics does not effect every aspect of ones life, but in some situations it quite easily can. Take, for example, the RIAA suits suing kazaa users. This is definetly political; knowledge of copyright law or first ammendment rights could have either kept defendents from being sued, or could have given them a better case in their own defense. Consider this as a reason to know politics and to take action regarding it:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
-Martin Niemoller
Niemoller was a protestant minister in Germany in the 1930s. He was arrested by Hitler's regime, and sent to a concentration camp. In this poem, he says essentially that maybe if someone had defended the jews, catholics,and communists, there may have been a resistance against the regime. If someone had cared, than maybe the most bloody war in history could have been averted or at least the axis could have had an internal problem as well as the problem of Britain and the US.
Many will use the excuse of saying their individual vote does not count, or that they cannot vote themselves. This is no excuse: in the 2000 election, the reason for the recounts was the closeness of the Florida votes. In Pittsburgh, a major city, a candidate has won by 43 votes. If you cannot vote, you can still influence others to vote, and to vote the way you want them to through defending your position validly and breaking down the opposition's policy. Those who cannot vote can still make a difference come election time through this means.
Another reason to become involved in the political process is that for a democracy to function properly, the PEOPLE must voice their opinions, not just the extreme fringe. If you do not vote, your opinion cannot be expressed, and you have no right to complain if a group you disagree with is elected, unless you disagree with all parties in existence. If the number of voters continues to decrease, eventually it will only be the fringe voters, and our republic will completely collapse into a monarchistic type of government. Now, unless you want to have a possibility of being ruled by generation after generation of Bushes or Clintons, i would advise anyone who will listen to vote as soon as they legally can.
I have issued a serious mandate to voters, but what about underaged people? Should we simply leave it to the voters because their negligence of their civic duty is what could bring about a monarchy? Or should we leave politics to adults simply because it isn't OUR civic duty? My answer to this is a resounding NO. As i have said early, anyone with well formed arguments can at least make an attempt to influence the political process. One can protest what one thinks is wrong, learn about the political process so one can form opinions, educate their peers, defend what one things is right, and many more things;all one needs is to actually care about your nation.