Every once in a while, I hear people around my urban, private, liberal-arts college campus say, "Honestly, I really just don't care about politics." This is usually followed by, "I'm an artist, why do I need to care about who the President is?" This notion makes me shudder.
Our generation is increasingly disenchanted with the way our government is run. From corrupt politicians, violations of what we believe to be our civil rights, and invasions of privacy, our nation revolves around issues such as these which are inarguably controversial. The majority of millennials are sick of seeing old, rich, white men with no sympathy for the middle and lower classes deciding the fate of our nation from the comfort of their D.C. town homes.
This disenchantment isn't a bad thing; it shows us that there is a problem with the system, forcing us to recognize that problem and make it easier to overcome. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will be the America that our generation strives to cultivate. In reality, that contemptible stereotype of the crotchety career politician is dying out, literally. And in 10-20 years, it's our generation that will be making the decisions that will change our country forever.
With that being said, it's scary to me that it takes a personal affront on our civil liberties to get us caring about the issues. The public reaction, especially in the millennial population, to the legalization of marriage equality by the Supreme Court is one of the most recent examples. Rightfully so, people normally apathetic to politics rose up to express their opinions about the ruling, and the beautiful expression of peoples' opinions made me long for that kind of impassioned response to other issues that our generation will face in decades to come. In addition to the critical civil rights issues and other debates that dominate headlines, our generation should be a lot more concerned about other issues that affect us just as harshly: things like financial stability, the job market, international relations and all the other "boring" topics that even the politically outspoken are dispassionate about.
College students should care about the job market they are going to be thrust into when they graduate, the crippling debt they could face in paying back their student loans, or the physical and financial injury the country could face if another world-wide conflict emerged. We should care, because much like in the fight for marriage equality, our generation is the catalyst of change for the future. And we can't solve anything if we can't educate ourselves and care about the issues, "boring" or otherwise. This is our burden to bear.
We have the opportunity to be the generation of world-changers, and to bring about that change by tackling all of the issues with the vigor and courage that we, as a generation, put into our everyday lives. The millennial generation is a generation of social revolutionaries, from technology to marriage equality. We need to make our mark in a political respect too, for countless other milestones are coming and we cannot sit by the wayside.
