Check out this op ed from Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post. As young voters it is now your responsibility to take charge of your own future. What do you think about the author's ideas?
Friday, October 24, 2008
A Call to Action
Check out this op ed from Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post. As young voters it is now your responsibility to take charge of your own future. What do you think about the author's ideas?
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71 comments:
This is true... the candidates expect young voters to vote for them merely by projecting a young or enthusiastic image... not by appealing to our interests.
This brings to light an additional issue that many, MANY young people are only focused by their short term issues. Never mind that the candidates will screw up your financial future in order to support some old people. The fact that one seems "cooler" than the other seems to be enough to sway the vote of many people, despite the candidate's plans.
Therefore, it is important to fully analyze the *policies* of the candidate, not merely image.
2nd
Politicians' images have definitely blinded voters, especially younger ones, of their policies and stances on issues. The bandwagon for the "hip" candidate seems to grow larger and larger, especially given the massive advertising campaigns put forth by current political candidates and their parties. Given the astoundingly low participation rates of American voters, each vote counts that much more, creating a dangerous scenario if the voter is an ill informed sheep, duped by the media.
Unfortunately, politicians try to mislead the average American with promises that sound good but will be unfulfilled or have negative effects.
However, because we have unlimited wants, we have to find a compromise between helping the elderly and saving money for the young. Many would think it immoral if the federal programs did not provide enough to the elderly because they need money for medical services. Still, it's true that many of the retired are still capable of working.
It comes down to whether the young want to retire earlier or later. For whatever measures they vote for the elderly, they will endure when it's their time.
I think that its a shame that young voters go for a candidate based solely on their image and not on the candidate's beliefs. And if some people do know some of the candidate's beliefs, they don't know enough about them or don't see where they will lead to in the future. Those kids should be more observant.
elections are always the lesser of two evils. nothing new there.
i think a big problem is that a lot of America's youth has already decided who they will vote for without really looking at each candidate's platform. youth are like sheep. they go with the flow when it comes to politics. so many people don't even know the issues yet they are so certain that their candidate is better.
image means nothing. george washington looked like a good president, right? wrong. he stole millions of dollars from the government for personal spending. obama is being carried on sheer image in my opinion. he lacks substance.
also, with the youth, it's always going to be unbalanced. I've heard people say that "if you aren't liberal when you are young, you don't have a heart, but if you aren't conservative when you're old, you don't have a brain." Well, I'd rather be heartless than brainless, so yeah. Guess who I'm supporting.
I kind of disagree with his ideas, I believe there are some ignorant young people who are basing their decision on image, but I believe there are still a lot of educated young people who have look at each candidate and have decided which one is better for our future.
The vote really is up to them, this election depends on our future more than anything
I think that the candidates expect first-time voters to vote for them by making it seem like the candidate is all for young issues. Voters should vote on the candidate's beliefs rather than their image and what others think. There are just some that will never learn and continue to base their decision on image rather than beliefs.
-Tracy Kwong
I think as young people we are gullible and do believe what we see instead of takin gthe time out to actually analyze what is going on around us. Bottom line, there is never a perfect presidential candidate, there will always be that one policy that you may not like or agree with. McCain and Obama have their faults but that's why we have to pay attention and try not to give into the bias around us.
Well, in this blog, youth are sterotyped as an uninformed, innocent, and naive herd of sheep. Although this may be true for some, there are many young individuals that are very well informed that speak their minds about politics. But, the sad fact is that the majority of youth that actually talk about politics just parrot what they hear on television. So the media is voting for the youth, not the youth themselves.
This article is pointing out the ignorance of the young voter who is voting for the candidate who doesnt care about the older citizens and trying to squeeze more money for the woking people and trying to increase reitrment age and trim down benefits. Which is true to certain extent because that fact is not actually being pointed out or questioned to the candidates in detail so far. And also every politicians changes the topics and bend their explaination to some other topic that they are good at, which is concern of the people like the financial crisis that the economy is facing at present. Thus this article is asking for us to cry out and ask for a direct response from the candidate, which will help us to take decision.
The candidates have stereotyped young voters into americans that follow the band wagon. They think they the youth goes for what is new and hip, but they forget to notice that we can be educated on the issues. The candidates should focus more on the issues at hand rather than trying to build up their image. Just because we are young, doesn't mean we are ignorant of politics.
Oh well. The current members of the AARP who politicians are catering to will die. I just hope that some of the new members of the retired work force remember what they spent on social security compared to what our generation will pay.The recent econmic crisis has significantly damaged the Baby Boomer's retirement plans. It will be our generation that has to make up for the costs.
I am not surprised the younger voters are more for Obama and the older ones are for McCain. Alot of people seem to just vote for someone that is appealing to them appearance wise. And it really bugs me how the older adults believe us teenagers/young adults could really care less about politics when we really do. Especially since the we decide who will run our country, and keep the economy stable so we can retire with money and not have to keep working until we're dead.
I agree with Samuelson in that our present generation need to enlighten ourselves and dig deeper in understanding and clarifying what voting is all about, and demand for ourselves justice in governmental policies and organizations which ignore the voice of the youth. I know many teens are pretty knowledgeable in the presidential race and the candidates' various policies, but yet many still have yet to hop off the bandwagon.
It is true what Maggie said about "not all of us are ignorant of politics" but there are SO many that are. One of the candidates definatly knows how to use his charisma and saying what sounds good and "happy" to get people to lean in his direction. If we told someone that a "certain" candidate had changed his policies and asked if they still support him, many people would still say yes because of his image and the influence he now has over the younger generation. Not only young voters but every voter should be doing their own research on the candidates and on political issues and decide for themselves what they believe, and then from there choose who they support. Not just see the "cool shirts" that people people wear and what everyone else seems to be voting for.
A bunch of adolescents do base their votes on images, unaware of the candidate's political stances. However, you should credit to the small percent that are do know candidate's platforms. It is sad that people base opinions and views so much on solely appearances. Young people should not be so naive and believe all that they hear. They should look at the whole picture and evaluate everything before making crucial decisions that will later on effect them.
I dont think that just because we are young doesnt mean we dont follow debates and actually pay attention to the election. The article makes it seem like we only vote on the cool guy at the time. The guy who will benefit us the most. This is only true in some cases. I think that their are some young adults who want to vote on the person they think will make a good president and not just because he's cool.
Young voters have been persuaded to vote for a candidate mainly because of their image rather than beliefs. If they payed more attention to policies and the actions each candidate is willing pursue when elected, then i think there would be a dramatic change in the polls. I really hope the right candidate wins because this is our country's future..not a popularity contest..
This is absolutely right. Those who are elderly and have been pouring into the system for years should be able to reap the benefits of their labor, not illegal immigrants or welfare recipients. Those who have WORKED not those who have received should be given more support. And yes the American youth is a bit out of tune with the country and politics so it is disappointing that only 33 percent of us have actually spent the time to research out our choice. We don’t need hope, just good honest hard working citizens.
Politicians apparently think we are all blundering idiots and will vote for the "cool guy". Sure there are some voters like that, but a small percentage of voters. Most people in our age range (18-21) can distinctively tell you policies that the candidate they want to win has they agree with.
I think in today's society, image is very important. Especially for the Nation's youngest voters, and candidates use that towards their advantage to get more votes. By projecting themselves as modern and hip, they create an image that is more appealing towards the younger generation. Candidates obviously know that the majority of the younger age group probobly do not focus their attention to more important issues involving the cadidates policies and beliefs.
Samuelson appears to have a bias against young voters, which slants the article a bit. As young voters, those between age 18 and 30 typically DO follow debates and they DO know what is going on, and they are not just a school of fish that just follows the food.
Despite the fact that politicians typically do make a bunch of promises that they can't all fulfill, generally the more popular and trustworthy candidate can gain the support of young voters as well. Obama is promising change, that seems effective, and explains how he will do it, whereas McCain simply attacks Obama, but does not say what he will do himself half of the time. It seems we see more of Palin than we do McCain.
Young voters are indeed observant for the most part, albeit some might indeed vote for candidates b/c they are handsome or b/c of some other radical nonsense...
Honestly, I feel that lota of people are just voting either just to vote or because of other reasons.. and it is true most people do not even know the facts and what they are voting for. I feel that these politicians have a very slick way of avoiding most of the questions being asked. So it's not mostly becaus ethe citizens are not doing they're part in knowing the facts, it's also these candidates are avoiding the real question.
Honestly, I feel that lota of people are just voting either just to vote or because of other reasons.. and it is true most people do not even know the facts and what they are voting for. I feel that these politicians have a very slick way of avoiding most of the questions being asked. So it's not mostly becaus ethe citizens are not doing they're part in knowing the facts, it's also these candidates are avoiding the real question.
Although I agree with Samuelson somewhat, I don't fully agree. While there are quite a few young voters out there that follow the bandwagon when choosing a candidate to support, there are just as many young voters out there that know what the candidate the supports stand for and agrees with his platform. But the same could be said for the elderly, they're probably more inclined to vote conventionally than to vote for change. Personally, I think there are just as many gullible people on both sides of the spectrum.
I think young people should vote, but they should make sure they're making an educated vote and not deciding based on what their parents say is right, but what THEY feel is right. They also should not vote based on petty issues that have no real importance on the leadership abilities of a candidate (e.g. the fact that Palin has an autistic child). I'm personally not voting because I haven't paid enough attention to make an educated vote.
I agree with Samee. Too many young people are drawn in by looks when they really haven't looked into the issues at all. we're all doing ourselves a huge deservice when we pick a candidate based on image alone. the author was right to say that young people need to get angry and actually educate themselves.
I find the base premise of the article severely offensive. The writer is functioning under the assumption that younger votes are uniformed which is not universally true.
The other aspects of the article, specifically the references to AARP seem rather irrelevant to the interests of younger people. The time lapse between our present age and the point in time when we the AARP issues affect us personally seem so great that actions or policies of today will likely not affect us because there will be several more presidental policies in the interim.
hhj
Yes i do agree that the youthful population plays a major role in this presidential election. Additionaly, far more young people are actually getting out and casting there vote than ever in the past. Yet, the candidates disregard the issues that are of concern to these younger people. They are far more focused on the older generation, yet the young population will soon be the new future, and therefore they are concerned about how this future will play out. They want to live in a safe world, with good health benefits, and so on. I believe the key to winning is by reaching out to the youth.
I think there is a delicate balance of truth and insult in this article. Sure, some teenagers vote blindly. But what's to say some adults don't? Just because we're young doesn't mean we're stupid. I think people from every age group are guilty for voting for the best "image". It's unfair to single us out just because they're older.
The bottom line is, that it's politics. Politicians tell their intended audience what they want to hear, even if it means making false promises to win the election. The congenial image and appeal to short term interests created leads to a bandwagon effect that makes ill informed decisions, greatly affected by the media. "Change," a keyword to rouse the bandwagon
Unfortunately, many young people these days actually ARE swayed by the image of a "hip and cool" candidate. Not a lot of young Americans actually know the issues at hand, or they know the issues, but just assume that one candidate's stand entails EVERYTHING they want, while the other says nothing worth any sort of merit.
The author makes some excellent points. We ARE being exploited by the older generation, even though we may not feel the strain of it until we have to start buying houses and groceries and paying for our kids' clarinet lessons. I think that's our problem. Right now, we're too busy thinking about other things. The little things that directly surround us: relationships, friendships, huge research projects that we've known about for months but still haven't started even though it's due in two weeks and if we fail our mothers are going to kill us. We're too busy focusing on details instead of the big picture and how our actions now will effect our lifestyle in the future. It certainly is time we started caring a little bit more, otherwise we're going to pay for it later.
I agree with the author that young voters are gullible, however, it isn't just the young voter; it is the voter who isn't fully informed. Without evaluating what the candidate's stance is on issues you deem important, why are you voting for them? Because of a key phrase repeated in every speech? Their image? Because they are leading in the polls? If you don't take the time to figure out which candidate has your interests in mind, others will choose for you.
First of all, I think it is kind of absurd that this author is telling the young readers they don’t care about the current elections. How does this guy know how I feel? However, I do see where he is coming from. SOME young voters tend to disregard important policies and issues and jump on whatever bandwagon everyone else is on. And these FEW should fully interpret each candidates beliefs, obviously, but come on. What a bold statement...
I thoroughly disagreed with his statement that the youth have to get angry because of their innocence and gullibility. I think the author seriously underestimates how much the youth pay attention to politics. There may be people who vote solely on image or the candidate of their political party of choice, but there are millions who have noticed the gaps presented by the speeches, and they just have to choose the best one from all the pandering.
I believe that the youth's voice in the political campaign is a big part of who will win the election. I don't agree with the articles critisim on the young people. The younger people actually do listen to what the candidates actually have to offer. Many more young people are voting these days and actually want things to change. So you can't count out the young voice.
Sad, yet true. Unfortunately, most young voters do tend to vote for the one who seems to be the cooler of the two. Most inexperienced voters don't necessarily think about policies. They look at the outer image of the candidate--whoever seems to be more charismatic is the better one. But most of the time, they are not portrayed in a true light, as the facts are skewed by the views of the media. What may seem to be reworded to sound beneficial to society may not always be what it seems. We need to stop being spoon-fed information and actually analyze the situation as did this author.
The image of canidates has provided a mirage to many voters. Many voters vote on a man just because of his race or if they appear to be cooler looking. Frankly a canidate should be chosen on his policies and if younger voters are to immature to realize this then the voting age should be risen. There needs to be thoiught of helping the country as a whole, not just helping yourself. To many voters have lost sight of this
i agree that young voters need to base their opinions on actual facts for the better good. they need to better understand the basis of politics and make smart decisions. basinng votes on image has led us astray in the past.
I agree. It is rather shameful that young voters tend to only choose who seems to be the "coolest" candidate. That's not what our democratic system in this country is about. It makes me almost wish the voting age were raised until we at least have had the oppurtunity to achieve some sort of higher education and maturity. That is not to say that every young voter is going solely off what candidate is the most enthuisiastic or appealing on the surface. I know plently of people who have researched the candidates and made their decision based off of that research. But it's kind of frustrating when the candidate who is the most firey or the best speaker is taken to be the right choice based off of that. Alas, that is politics. It seems politicians are less concerned with what they are actually saying and more preoccupied with making what little they have to say sound good. Boo.
Obama and McCain are both great canidates, but also have weakneses. Unfortunately, SOME young voters base their vote off of looks and appeal. Those voters (not all young) need to thouroghly research both canidate and choose which best fits their own beliefs
I know that in voting this year, I probably should have been more informed about the candidates. I voted based on who impressed me more speaking...In debates canditates don't even answer the questions being asked anyways
In every campaign, politicians only want one thing. Your vote. They use every trick in the book to get your vote. They say they're gonna lower taxes or say they're gonna pass some bill that will make things better. Politicians think about the positive and not the negative. They focus on what they can do about the issues they want to fix and not the issues you want to fix.
It is unfortunate, but true, that young people, generally speaking, are all together uninterested in the true idea of politics. However since the new hip thing to do is "VOTE or DIE" (I mean it must be cool, Paris Hilton and P. Diddy are doing it) young people are drawn to the *idea* of voting but lack the conviction necessary to make an informed decision.
There are some younger people who go to cast their votes who present educated, logical reasons for who they are voting for. However, I agree that probably the majority of these younger people... do not. They cast a vote based on appearance, based on age, or based on what someone else is doing. It's ridiculous that this is the system they allowed to pick who leads our country.
If you watch the debates, read the articles, pay attention to the speeches.. you start to pick some things out. And especially after a discussion in class, you start to realize things the candidates say to play you. To trick you into voting for them. Everyone should pay more attention and become more well informed before they choose a candidate.
It is sad but true that candidates use young voters for their own benefit and most of the time, we do not even realize it. But this is not entirely to blame on the politicians because they do not address the correct issues, but that we as the youth of the nation do not take action to get what we deserve from our candidates. People from all age groups need to be more and more connected and on the same page, because that is the only way this country will grow in the future.
Young people need to vote and participate in the government. however, they have a responsibility to look into their candidates and make decisions that take into account what their parents, educators, and community believe without letting those factors dictate their decisions. what make me angry is when kids don't vote. what makes me even more angry is when they don't make the effort to make sure that what they choose to vote for aligns with their moral decision and do it blindly.
I agree that the youth should get angry at the politicians because they "beat around the bush" with everything and never give a strait answer. EVER!! Politicians realize that the young people in this country are a huge part of the population and try and appeal to us. Yes, it is true that most young voters do not research about the candidates but that does not mean that we are all ignorant(especially all of us in Mr. Pye's class ;) )
Candidates tries to pull votes from young voters by projecting a new and supposedly more acceptable image by the people who are just about to enter the political voting pool. Because of the lack of depth that younger people have, they are blinded by the fancy little things the candidates do to lure them into voting for the candidates. Unlike the experienced voters, who reserch eachg candidate, young people choose base on who ever shows the more stuff. Politicians utilizes this to get votes from younger people
Sounds right teens voting on the image that they see. Who really honestly think that majority of teenagers would really folow the election like older people would.Honestly,I think that if you asked 100 teens what each canidate stood for i say about 15% would probably know.Thats just my own honest opinion....
SJOLANDRA PAUL
This is an election where the young canidates have been influenced to pay attention to. I think the reason for most of theat is the history that lies behind this election with both candidates. they focus mainly on whats in (oh this looks cool so let me pay attention). Instead of focusing on the major issues that have arised in our country. Yes both candidates should be focused on there campaign and not so much on the image part.
political campaigning is good.but the fact is that most americans, especially younger ones, are blinded by their popularity, rather than being exposed to who they really are and what their stances are on the several issues that affect their future too. but as far as politicians are concerned they know that if they can get the attention of younger generation through their media and advertisements, then they can get a huge difference in amount of supporters they have. younger genereation mostly look at the candidates outer appearence.
Chosing a candidate is like chosing a girlfriend to me because they never seem to care for my interests or ever really like me at all; in most cases the one i chose never works out. Politicians will lie and get away with it as long as it there is a majority to buy it, the problem with this is that our majority vote comes from dumb people. Luckily this election had a good turn out but it was still decided ignorantly by racist lower class men.
when you become of age to vote, i feel it is a responsibility everyone should take. as a young voter,yes it is our responsibility too-though we are on the VERY young side. it is because having a president for 4 years of 8 can make a big impact on what till happen until we are 22 or nearly 30.
Its all about votes, politicians don't really tell you the truth of anything really because they don't want to lose your vote. in reality you don't really know the candidate you are voting for. All the young can do is make sure to vote and make sure that their opinion is heard. Obama seen to have listen to the young people but like a said before you don't really know who you are voting for.
I agree that we are expected to do this for the elderly. In some ways this is wrong but i have to say some of the elderly or much of are out grandmothers and grandfathers or great grands so as long as i know it is to their benifit and i have the funds i would be more than happy to pay it. Though i dont think it should be all our responsibilities because we still have lives to lead and a family to take care of!!
It really did seem like this year's election was more of a popularity contest than a political choice. President-elect Obama pulled out the big guns early on, and basically became a celebrity. His celebrity endorsers (Oprah, Caroline Kennedy, ect.) just drew more attention to his name. Everyone in the country, and all over the world for that matter, knew his name but a majority of them couldn't tell you anything about his political views.
What was depressing was reading a fashion magazine shortly before the election and seeing an entire spread dedicated to "Obama support" fashion. Talk about propoganda. Even walking through the hallways of Elkins on election day I saw tons of kids with Obama on their shirts. But I'd bet money that very few of the kids endorsing Obama knew anything about his political views. Frankly, it kind of disgusted me. People are tricked so easily these days and if they had only taken the time to educate themselves, they might have actually discovered that their beloved candidate's political views completely clash with their own. I'm not saying that Obama's political stance is incorrect, I'm just saying....
Well I guess this warning has gone down the tube. I don't want to say its "too late" and we're stuck just waiting to see what Obama's going to do for us, or to us, for the next four years. Already we're in fear of his new Tax policy- something very odd for a Democrat to enforce. Hopefully our futures will seem brighter with this next president and not so dim as it has been the past eight years.
Ashley Abraham
I think that the fact that young people vote based on image is sad. Not only that, but they "Folliw the flow" of what they think society is doing voting wise. They should be more aware of the important issues, because if they make the wrong choice based on image, it will be a looong four years!
Bailey McMath
i dont think much is needed to be said for this one, the author is obviously a bit agitated himself, over years wrongdoing maybe, i dont know. Im tired of hearing about the baby boomers, theyre here, their kids are, and now their grandkids so people need to get over it, the world is not big enough for a species of unlimited wants and never will be. The fact is, we're young, we can work, let the old people rest and die im sure this cycle is one of the many that will continue to roll under the overwhelming population of idiots. No president or picket is really going to change that
I agree that it is not fair that the elderly's benifits to be cut all of a sudden just because they are the 'baby boomers' they didnt choose for their parents to have them. I'm not really sure about this one. I don't want to have to pay for them either. I will have to do some more research .
i see this all the time when people shout out their favorite canidate in the hallway or the cafetaeria and most of the time you can ask them why they like that canidate and they can only respond with something stupid like "they are the best" or something like that and have no real knowledge at all about anything in the election, these are the people who scare me when they will be able to vote in upcoming elections.
Candidates would want to have a good image to young people. Young voters might not be as wise, and easier to be convinced. Often not looking at the long term effects.
I never thought about the problem like this. It is true though when you think about it, Obama states that to get our country out of the recession, he wants to spend more money, around a trillion dollars worth and the problem is where he's going to get the money from. He going to get it from us by taxes and a debt like that just doesnt go away in a couple years.
i also think that young people are more prone to biased opinions than older people. We are more willing to believe what we here on the radio or from friends and do not really take the time to go and research the candidates and their views on our own. I think the politicians know this and take our votes for advantage
I believe that the youth's voice in the political campaign is a big part of who will win the election. I don't agree with the articles critisim on the young people. The younger people actually do listen to what the candidates actually have to offer. Many more young people are voting these days and actually want things to change. So you can't count out the young voice.
I think that its a shame that young voters go for a candidate based solely on their image and not on the candidate's beliefs. And if some people do know some of the candidate's beliefs, they don't know enough about them or don't see where they will lead to in the future. Those kids should be more observant.
I think that its a shame that young voters go for a candidate based solely on their image and not on the candidate's beliefs. And if some people do know some of the candidate's beliefs, they don't know enough about them or don't see where they will lead to in the future. Those kids should be more observant.
I do not believe that this is true. The youth is a big part of this country, and there are many young people who pay attention to politics and politicians. We too have a voice and should be able to share it without people critizing us.
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