Before you roll your eyes, just hear me out on this one. As a college student, I know it can be particularly difficult to care about much else besides how many naps you can take during the day and whether or not The Bachelor is on tonight. We need to give ourselves more credit, though. As college students, we are already among the brightest and the most privileged population in the global community simply for getting a higher education. Actually taking advantage of this opportunity to think, learn, and use our power for the greater good is key to a functioning, successful future for our generation. The point is, we can actually make a difference just by paying attention, and knowing about politics will benefit us in the long run. Yes, even us college kids, with our mountains of dirty laundry and uncombed hair. Here are my eight reasons why you really should care about politics.
1. To start, you just sound smarter in any situation if you know what's going on in the Supreme Court or about the candidates running in the upcoming election.
And just in general, isn't it fun to bring up stuff in conversation that makes other people feel uninformed and makes you look devilishly intelligent? You know it is.
2. If no one participated in our government (voting, forming interest groups, writing bills), we would essentially have no government.
And I don't think you'd enjoy a life in Hobbes' state of nature...(look it up).
3. As college students, many economic and educational topics that are discussed at the federal and local level directly pertain to us.
You can bet we understand the student living situation better than a politician will, another reason to get involved. Additionally, most issues are more complex and intricate than they seem, and you don't want to sound like you're just arguing for something because you affiliate with a certain party, an unfortunately common occurrence.
5. Politics affect some portion of our lives every day.
Whether it's the tax on your groceries, horrible road conditions (MADD legislation, look it up), legality of police behavior, and so on, wouldn't it be better to know a little more about what's going on politically if these policies are going to have a say in so many parts of our normal activities?
6. We can seriously make a difference.
Our generation is tech-savvy and legislatively progressive--we are already making great strides, fighting for what we believe in and doing so in a way that is effective and far-reaching. Us college students are at a prime age to connect with others older and younger than we are to get them to understand the topics that are important and need to be changed. I, for one, think that's pretty cool and extremely important.
7. Voting is something that is so important.
But, no offense, I would rather you not vote until you can make an informed decision. This shouldn't be a deterrence from voting, but instead a motivation to learn about candidates and potential bills in order to be an effective voter. There are some crazy people in this country who definitely vote, and so it would be great if more informed people could take responsibility and learn to cast an educated, well researched vote.
8. If all else fails, just remember that if you don't do it, someone else will.
If you don't join an interest group for something you're passionate about or if you don't vote for a candidate that will really make a difference, someone else will still be voting for the opposing candidate or creating a group against your beliefs. If you don't play your part, someone else will always be acting in their own favor, and as Alfred from Batman (The Dark Knight Rises, duh) says, "some men just want to watch the world burn." Don't let the world burn. Open your computer. Pull up CNN or MSNBC or anything and just start somewhere. I promise, it will be worth it in the end.
