I have heard all sorts of statistics this past year regarding the significance of millennial voters in the upcoming election. Apparently, only half of the available millennial voters make it to the voting booths and I think I know the reason why:

The current mascots for the two major political parties are outdated and banal. Political parties shouldn’t focus on their candidate if they wish to win over young voters, they should change their mascot.

We don’t need a tangible figure to represent ourselves. We only need a symbol, so let’s not settle for mediocrity. Our political views aren’t as concrete as they once were; our mascot should reflect that. One animal may not suffice to encapsulate an entire party’s realm of viewpoints. That’s why I suggest these two Greek mythological creatures: the chimera and the griffin.

It’s a tough choice for which is better and we could make a case for either one, similar to the way political affiliation is subjective.

A chimera is a beast that has a lion’s head and body with a goat's head sprouted out its back and a tail with a snake’s head at the end. It’s also said to breathe fire, so that’s fun. On the other hand, a griffin has the head and wings of an eagle with the hind of a lion. Both are incredibly massive and awe-striking.

These creatures represent strength, power, a tidbit of magnificence and a whole lot of awesomeness. We can make all sorts of connections to meanings behind the body compositions, but my point is not to argue which party displays particular attributes. After all, the elephant and donkey are interchangeable as is.

It’s cool to know the history behind these mascots, but the political parties during the time of their creation are not the parties of today. Millennial voters need something fresh to excite their interest either to begin or continue their political participation. Donkeys and elephants don’t have the appeal that they once did because these they are domesticated and used for entertainment. We want something grand and magnificent.

How did we get stuck with the ones today?

We have Thomas Nast, a cartoonist from the 19th century, to thank for much of the origin of the donkey and elephant mascots. A magazine, Harper’s Weekly, published Nast’s work where he frequently used the donkey and elephant as symbols for both parties in his political cartoons.

However, Nast can’t be credited for the entire conception of the Democratic Donkey and Republican Elephant.

Andrew Jackson’s opponents insulted the eventual president when they labeled him a jackass. What’s funny is that Jackson’s campaign did what any politician would do: they spun the insult into a positive. Jackson’s campaign reversed its meaning by adopting the strength and stubbornness of the animal as characteristics of their candidate and these characteristics were fused between the mascot and political party later.

As for the elephant, a newspaper in 1864 called Father Abraham frequently illustrated an elephant raising a banner after Union victories. “Seeing the elephant” became a slang phrase for engaging in battle during the Civil War, which solidified the elephant’s place as a symbol of victory within the Republican Party.

Now, more than ever, we need mascots that will instill the same pride and strength that the old ones did so that they inspire us to take pride in our voice in our nation’s politics. We need mascots that inspire us in the same manner a sports team might. Since when did political affiliations have to be shuttered away? Whatever party we choose, we should be able to don it.

We need mascots that fit the demographic of our country and generation, today. As multifaceted as our political positions are, shouldn’t the mascots be just the same?