Apathy Sucks


Articles Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine Other Authors Contact Us! Letter to the Editor Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine	Apathy Sucks Jesus Jones and Arthur Dent The November 5th election is coming up, but hey…who cares? Yawn. Not only do we not know who's running for office or what propositions are on the ballot, we aren't even interested in finding out. "E"? That's a drug, right? "City Council"? There are a lot of signs posted around town supporting various candidates, but we have no idea who they are. Nor do we care. After all, why should we? Voting never really changes anything, does it? In fact, it does. In fact, no matter who you are, people have literally died for your right to vote, and yet here we sit, pissing it all away because we can't be bothered to participate in our God-given right to engage in the democratic processes of this nation. We wrap ourselves in patriotism and the flag, and yet we pass on the one thing that separates this nation from so many: it's a DEMOCRACY. Everyone over the age of 18 who is a legal, non-felonious citizen has the right to vote, regardless of race, creed, religion, or sex, and yet whole segments of our population "opt-out" of the process. Know who abstains the most often? OUR GENERATION. It's a disgrace. Consider these numbers for a minute. In 1998, 43.6% of all people ages 18-24 had bothered to spend 5 measly minutes filling out a voter registration form. That means that over half of all young people couldn't even muster up the energy to fill out a POSTCARD and drop it in the mail. Heck, you don't even need to put a stamp on the damn form. On top of THAT, only 42.4% of those who did fill out the form cared enough about a major election to spend the 8 minutes that it takes to vote. That means that only 18.5% of the total voting population ages 18-24 counted in the election. That's less than ONE IN FIVE who voted, less than one in five who counted. You don't even have to leave the house to vote, people, and yet only 1 in 5 bothered. Now compare this to our grandparents in the 65 and over group. An astronomical 79% of the registered grey-haired contingent voted. Furthermore, if you compare sheer number of voters in the two age groups, only 4.2 million young people voted, compared to 19.2 million elderly! They out-voted us by nearly FIVE to ONE! This clearly means that we, who have to live with the decisions elected officials make a lot longer than they do, are having the needs and interests of the senior citizen sect inflicted upon us and our bank accounts. What's wrong with that, though? Why should I care where my tax money goes (or will go once I start paying taxes)? Simple: the people you elect and the propositions you pass create laws that affect our lifestyles, our wallets, and even our bodies. The ballot measures potentially passed next month will absolutely and directly affect our lives. For example, Measure E allows the construction of some 315 housing units in the quarry, and, if passed, that means anyone attempting to pass through the Vallemar area heading north in the morning or south in the evening is going to find massive traffic. Proposition 47 deals with selling bonds to provide money to schools for building purposes, so if it passes, Terra Nova could get a brand-new building in the back of campus instead of the ramshackle portables we have now. Senior citizens' views on these measures differ from the views of those of us in the 18-24 demographic. Senior citizens don't generally have to commute, so why does it matter to them if there's traffic in Vallemar? And while you and I might think renovating schools is a worth-while cause, most older people don't have kids in school, so why do they care if we remain packed in like sardines in buildings that are falling apart? They don't. WE have the power to decide on these measures, but we DON'T use that power! Instead, we leave the decision-making to those who don't represent our needs. Even those who aren't yet 18 can influence their parents and grandparents, but we DON'T. We'd rather sit back and let the world happen to us, than take control. That's ridiculous and a damned shame. One of the major criticisms of the propositions and the politicians who endorse them is that they don't directly address issues we 14-24 year olds care about. OF COURSE THEY DON'T! We don't even vote when we're old enough to! They don't campaign to us because we're a waste of their time and money-we don't show up at the polls! If we did show up, they'd have to listen because their pathetic little political lives would depend on winning OUR consent. The fact of the matter is that we are currently not the demographic that decides elections. We, in fact, make up a grand total of 5% of total US votes cast. Five percent. That's not a number - that's an embarrassment. In 1966, Vernon Dahmer, Sr., was burned alive by the Ku Klux Klan for registering African-Americans to vote. Now he's rolling in his grave because we've taken what he died for and ignored it. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested, indicted, and fined a great deal of money for daring, as a woman, to cast a vote. Now young women give up that right in droves. This is just wrong, people, and it's high time we did something about it. Five percent of young people voting is not enough to make or break an election. However, if we spent 10 minutes a couple of times a year and voted, we'd actually make a significant difference, and politicians would start catering to our needs. Instead of hearing about Medicare, prescription drugs, and new tests we'll have to take, we'd hear about extending curfews, improving school facilities, lowering the drinking/gambling ages, and perhaps even legalizing drugs, depending on OUR support. The politicians would find out what was important to us, and they'd support it. Politicians aren't known for being ethical; their primary concern is getting elected. If we vote, they'll have no choice but to listen! Remember - those politicians who can send you off to war at 18 are the same ones who say you're not old enough to have some champagne at graduation. Sometimes we forget the extent to which laws really do affect our teenage lives. For example, it was the politicians our grandparents elected who decided that 16-year olds aren't responsible enough to drive with their friends for the first 6 months that they hold their licenses. It was our lovely elected officials who decided that the SAT9s and CA Standards tests weren't enough, that we needed the Exit Exam, too. And it's our elected officials who will decide such issues as whether teens will need parental consent to receive abortions. Our parents and grandparents like these laws. Do we? If the answer is "no," then it is OUR RESPONSIBLITY and OUR DUTY to do something about it! What can we do? We can get off of our collective asses when we turn 18, register to vote, and then VOTE. We can talk to our parents and grandparents about how we think they should vote. If they're not registered, we can even pick up the silly little postcard at the post office and tell 'em to register. It's not that hard to have an impact! It's so easy to register, it's scary. If you have internet access, visit www.rockthevote.org No 'net? Call 1-800-345-VOTE and get a form mailed to you. No phone? Go to the post office or the DMV. There is no excuse! Like Vernon Dahmer said, "If you don't vote, you don't count." Side note: The man who ordered Dahmer's murder, Samuel Bowers, was convicted of the crime…32 years after the murder was committed. The wheels of justice sometimes turn very slowly. You have the power to speed them up. Works Cited "Ex-leader of Klan Convicted of Murder." Stop-the-Hate.org. 21 Oct. 2002. http://stop-the-hate.org/dahmer.html. "Voter Registration and Turnout in the 1998 General Election." Federal Election Commission. 13 Oct. 2002. http://www.fec.gov/pages/98demog/98demog.htm Wheeler, Marjorie Spruill. "The History of the Suffrage Movement." PBS Online. 21 Oct. 2002. http://www.pbs.org/onewoman/suffrage.html	Archive Back Issues Why? 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Jesus Jones and Arthur Dent

The November 5th election is coming up, but hey…who cares? Yawn. Not only do we not know who's running for office or what propositions are on the ballot, we aren't even interested in finding out. "E"? That's a drug, right? "City Council"? There are a lot of signs posted around town supporting various candidates, but we have no idea who they are. Nor do we care. After all, why should we? Voting never really changes anything, does it?

In fact, it does. In fact, no matter who you are, people have literally died for your right to vote, and yet here we sit, pissing it all away because we can't be bothered to participate in our God-given right to engage in the democratic processes of this nation. We wrap ourselves in patriotism and the flag, and yet we pass on the one thing that separates this nation from so many: it's a DEMOCRACY. Everyone over the age of 18 who is a legal, non-felonious citizen has the right to vote, regardless of race, creed, religion, or sex, and yet whole segments of our population "opt-out" of the process. Know who abstains the most often? OUR GENERATION. It's a disgrace.

Consider these numbers for a minute. In 1998, 43.6% of all people ages 18-24 had bothered to spend 5 measly minutes filling out a voter registration form. That means that over half of all young people couldn't even muster up the energy to fill out a POSTCARD and drop it in the mail. Heck, you don't even need to put a stamp on the damn form. On top of THAT, only 42.4% of those who did fill out the form cared enough about a major election to spend the 8 minutes that it takes to vote. That means that only 18.5% of the total voting population ages 18-24 counted in the election. That's less than ONE IN FIVE who voted, less than one in five who counted. You don't even have to leave the house to vote, people, and yet only 1 in 5 bothered. Now compare this to our grandparents in the 65 and over group. An astronomical 79% of the registered grey-haired contingent voted. Furthermore, if you compare sheer number of voters in the two age groups, only 4.2 million young people voted, compared to 19.2 million elderly! They out-voted us by nearly FIVE to ONE! This clearly means that we, who have to live with the decisions elected officials make a lot longer than they do, are having the needs and interests of the senior citizen sect inflicted upon us and our bank accounts. What's wrong with that, though? Why should I care where my tax money goes (or will go once I start paying taxes)? Simple: the people you elect and the propositions you pass create laws that affect our lifestyles, our wallets, and even our bodies. The ballot measures potentially passed next month will absolutely and directly affect our lives. For example, Measure E allows the construction of some 315 housing units in the quarry, and, if passed, that means anyone attempting to pass through the Vallemar area heading north in the morning or south in the evening is going to find massive traffic. Proposition 47 deals with selling bonds to provide money to schools for building purposes, so if it passes, Terra Nova could get a brand-new building in the back of campus instead of the ramshackle portables we have now. Senior citizens' views on these measures differ from the views of those of us in the 18-24 demographic. Senior citizens don't generally have to commute, so why does it matter to them if there's traffic in Vallemar? And while you and I might think renovating schools is a worth-while cause, most older people don't have kids in school, so why do they care if we remain packed in like sardines in buildings that are falling apart? They don't. WE have the power to decide on these measures, but we DON'T use that power! Instead, we leave the decision-making to those who don't represent our needs. Even those who aren't yet 18 can influence their parents and grandparents, but we DON'T. We'd rather sit back and let the world happen to us, than take control. That's ridiculous and a damned shame.

One of the major criticisms of the propositions and the politicians who endorse them is that they don't directly address issues we 14-24 year olds care about. OF COURSE THEY DON'T! We don't even vote when we're old enough to! They don't campaign to us because we're a waste of their time and money-we don't show up at the polls! If we did show up, they'd have to listen because their pathetic little political lives would depend on winning OUR consent. The fact of the matter is that we are currently not the demographic that decides elections. We, in fact, make up a grand total of 5% of total US votes cast. Five percent. That's not a number - that's an embarrassment. In 1966, Vernon Dahmer, Sr., was burned alive by the Ku Klux Klan for registering African-Americans to vote. Now he's rolling in his grave because we've taken what he died for and ignored it. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested, indicted, and fined a great deal of money for daring, as a woman, to cast a vote. Now young women give up that right in droves. This is just wrong, people, and it's high time we did something about it.

Five percent of young people voting is not enough to make or break an election. However, if we spent 10 minutes a couple of times a year and voted, we'd actually make a significant difference, and politicians would start catering to our needs. Instead of hearing about Medicare, prescription drugs, and new tests we'll have to take, we'd hear about extending curfews, improving school facilities, lowering the drinking/gambling ages, and perhaps even legalizing drugs, depending on OUR support. The politicians would find out what was important to us, and they'd support it. Politicians aren't known for being ethical; their primary concern is getting elected. If we vote, they'll have no choice but to listen! Remember - those politicians who can send you off to war at 18 are the same ones who say you're not old enough to have some champagne at graduation.

Sometimes we forget the extent to which laws really do affect our teenage lives. For example, it was the politicians our grandparents elected who decided that 16-year olds aren't responsible enough to drive with their friends for the first 6 months that they hold their licenses. It was our lovely elected officials who decided that the SAT9s and CA Standards tests weren't enough, that we needed the Exit Exam, too. And it's our elected officials who will decide such issues as whether teens will need parental consent to receive abortions. Our parents and grandparents like these laws. Do we? If the answer is "no," then it is OUR RESPONSIBLITY and OUR DUTY to do something about it! What can we do? We can get off of our collective asses when we turn 18, register to vote, and then VOTE. We can talk to our parents and grandparents about how we think they should vote. If they're not registered, we can even pick up the silly little postcard at the post office and tell 'em to register. It's not that hard to have an impact!

It's so easy to register, it's scary. If you have internet access, visit www.rockthevote.org No 'net? Call 1-800-345-VOTE and get a form mailed to you. No phone? Go to the post office or the DMV. There is no excuse! Like Vernon Dahmer said, "If you don't vote, you don't count."

Side note: The man who ordered Dahmer's murder, Samuel Bowers, was convicted of the crime…32 years after the murder was committed. The wheels of justice sometimes turn very slowly. You have the power to speed them up.

Works Cited
"Ex-leader of Klan Convicted of Murder." Stop-the-Hate.org. 21 Oct. 2002. http://stop-the-hate.org/dahmer.html.

"Voter Registration and Turnout in the 1998 General Election." Federal Election Commission. 13 Oct. 2002. http://www.fec.gov/pages/98demog/98demog.htm

Wheeler, Marjorie Spruill. "The History of the Suffrage Movement." PBS Online. 21 Oct. 2002. http://www.pbs.org/onewoman/suffrage.html