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Monday, December 12, 2022

MEDIA MONDAY / GENERATIONAL DEBATES AND PASS THE POTATOES, PLEASE


OBSERVATION ON AN OBSERVATION / By Thomas Shess, founder, PillartoPost.org
--The holiday multi-generational family dinners often spark debates between older and younger with the latter complaining over how woefully the older leadership in this country is out of touch with just about everything. This year (in time for the good china, silverware and extra cranberry sauce) I’ve prepared my defense gambit. 

The Conversation, a daily blog offering what it calls essays of academic vigor with journalistic flair, recently pointed out that in the most recent election there was a huge uptick in younger voters going to the polls. 

Ha! There you have it. One big reason there are so many “white hairs” in public office is because the youngsters in this country have traditionally ignored going to the polls. 

Therefore, newlywed complaints have fallen on (increasingly) deaf ears. Oldsters win the debate and most public offices by simply voting.

But that was the past. 

And, by heavens, this year at least, it seems Generation Pouty has got the idea. What a concept. There’s a reason why there are public campaigns to “Rock the vote” and “Get out the youth vote” says Abby Kiesa in theconversation.com. Most of the time, people aged 18 to 29 tend to not vote at all. In a turn of events, approximately 27% of young people voted during this year’s midterms, contributing to Democratic wins in some swing-state races. 

Only 1 in 4 young people voting might not seem like a lot. But it actually “marks a near-record for an age group that has historically participated at lower rates in midterm elections,” writes Kiesa, a youth civic engagement scholar at Tufts University, in today’s CLICK HERE story. 

Kiesa explains why engaging more young voters remains challenging – and what actually brings them out to the polls. “In 2022, young people continued to push for change on issues they consider personal, like climate change, gun violence and racial justice,” Kiesa explains.  Take time to click this story.  Be prepared to pass the yams and sharpen debate points.   Good things happen when we all participate in the national debate by simply voting.

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