People just don't seem to care about politics in society today. We loathe the posturing and we hate the games played by politicians, and we avoid any political discussion. But we as a nation are in the process of electing our next commander in chief, and this is a decision that nobody, especially college students, should take lightly. Here's why.
1. This election revolves around you and me
The main issues of this election all revolve around our generation. From student debt and tuition reform to illegal immigration and the workforce, and onto Social Security reform, many of the major problems facing this country are problems that you and I will have to address, with our work and our wallets. If these are all issues that we will have to pay to solve, we should have some input on the solutions that we will be enacting.
2. Your vote matters
The youth vote is now almost twenty percent of the total electoral vote. In 2012, if the voting age started at 30, Governor Mitt Romney would be the current President of the United States. Your vote matters, and it matters more than anybody else's. You need to look no further than the incessant attempts by candidates to appeal to millennial voters.
3. This is a historical election
This election will be a historical one. We have the ability to elect the first female president in Hillary Clinton, the first Hispanic president in either Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz, the first president who was elected against his party's wishes in Donald Trump, or the first Socialist president in Bernie Sanders. This is the election you will be telling future generations about. Why not tell them who you voted for?
4. You get the government you deserve.
At the end of the day, you get what you vote for. If you vote for Bernie Sanders for president, then you deserve the results of the decisions of President Bernie Sanders. If you vote for Donald Trump, you deserve to deal with the decisions made by President Donald Trump. But most importantly, if you don't vote, you don't deserve to complain about a government that you had the option to choose but didn't because you'd rather stay home and watch Netflix.
So get out and vote. Do your research, know who you side with, and make your voice heard. It's your country.
