This past weekend, Washington and Lee University hosted its 26th Mock Convention.
The Washington and Lee Mock Convention is a well-known tradition. Though we cannot claim to be the longest student-run mock convention in the country, we do hold the title of being the most accurate. The mock convention held is for whichever political party is not currently in presidential power, so this year was Republican. Our track record with predicting Republican nominees is pretty laudable -- we haven't been wrong since 1948. As such, many of us are torn between whether we actually want to keep our accuracy streak or if we want America to prove us wrong and not elect Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.
To be sure, the Republican race has been crazy and full of surprise candidates. Many people still believe it's anyone's for the taking, and that predicting the outcome is next to impossible. However, Mock Con has so far gotten the New Hampshire prediction right with Donald Trump as the front-runner, so now we just have to wait until July to know the final results.
Although this year was a Republican Mock Con, I still went to the speakers and participated as a liberal because I think the only chance America has to really become great again is if politicians on both sides start crossing party lines and having open, civil discourse again. As Kristen Anderson pointed out, there are things we have in common -- we just seem to frame them with different contexts. For example, she talked about Obama's legislation that repealed outdated regulations and allowed sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter to come into being. She said that this was a conservative effort because it was allowing individuals to do whatever they wanted with their own money. No matter the classification, as a millennial, I think things like this and Uber are great.
Throughout Mock Con, the speakers often came back to reference the amazing level of political involvement and civic engagement that Washington and Lee students have. They praised us for being aware of current events and caring about the country's future, despite the stereotypes of the apathetic "millennial generation." Being at Mock Con was exciting and powerful because it really drove home how important it is for young people to take their part in maintaining America's democracy by using their vote to influence our country's future.
Given the current nature of politics, it is easy to understand why young people have given up on the government -- and why they feel like their voice, and their votes, don't count. But, they do -- because as Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky said, sometimes, the somebody you're waiting for, to do something, is you. As citizens, we all share the responsibility and obligation of being somewhat informed about the issues facing the country and taking a stance on them. Even if you don't care about many of the issues or you think that the government is doing too many things wrong, as a citizen you should do something more than just complain: you should actually go vote. That's how change starts.
Otherwise, when Donald Trump becomes president, you won't have anyone to blame but yourself (and your friends who also didn't bother to vote).
If you haven't registered to vote yet, I'd highly encourage using TurboVote, because they make the whole process quick and painless. They can also help college students register for absentee ballots.
