There are few topics that could be considered more controversial than politics. Just the mention of the word can incite an immediate frenzy as some passionately argue their positions, while many others will shy away from the conversation to avoid confrontation. Although I believe that avoiding confrontation helps to perpetuate many of the problems in this country, worse still is the sin of apathy.
I hear my peers say far too often, "I don't really care about politics." In this day and age, there are vast numbers of individuals that simply do not concern themselves with American political affairs. Just this past June, Pew Research Center conducted a survey on political interest among the millennial generation, and found that young adults today have a significantly lower interest in politics than older generations. The rising generation is proving itself to be uninformed about the country's affairs and disinterested in its well-being. I assert that these individuals do not comprehend what participation in politics actually means, nor its implications for their future and the futures of their neighbors, and they do not understand the power each citizen has in the United States' political arena.
The first step to solving any problem is acknowledging it and understanding what it is. So many millennials do not know what politics really are, what they really mean for themselves and their fellow citizens. After cutting through all the muck, politics can simply be understood as the overarching conversation about how to solve the nation's problems and who should have to power to do so. In a country plagued by so many varied issues, politics are unimaginably important. Poverty, lack of jobs and job security, a crumbling infrastructure, skyrocketing college tuition, social injustice, discrimination, inequality, and an overheating planet are just a few examples. And those are only the tip of the iceberg, as many of these issues have underlying causes deeply rooted in our society and culture. Engaging in the conversation shows that you actually care about these problems and want to see them taken on. Ignoring politics means ignoring these issues, and ignoring these issues allows them to fester and worsen, leaving the country in a worse state for ourselves and our posterity.
Even if an individual is honestly concerned about tackling the nation's problems to ensure a brighter future, they often feel powerless in today's political climate. This is not unreasonable; politics have been a game where only the wealthiest players can participate for almost the entirety of human history. Even in the United States, a democratic republic, elections are bought and sold by businessmen, corporations, and special interest groups with their own selfish agendas. These behemoths have control over the major media outlets, controlling the information that reaches your ears and greatly influencing the political opinions of the public. They essentially dominate our supposedly "democratic" elections. The individual voter is powerless against such conspiracies, right? But the millennial generation does have one power that these corporations do not, a relatively new and game-changing tool that can overturn power to buy the news to manipulate public opinion. And that power is, surprisingly, free social media.
That's right -- Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube give the common citizen power to fight back and ensure fairer elections. What does it matter if the Koch brothers assert their influence through outlets like Fox News if most millennials obtain their information from Facebook anyway? Social media cannot be bought by wealthy special interest groups, it is a network of communication among everyone. The average American can spread their ideas just as effectively through social media as a pundit can on a televised interview. This turns the tables, and as social media's popularity continues to soar, the common people's messages will become louder and louder each day. A single post by a random nobody can go viral in a matter of minutes, spreading political messages like wildfire. Groups of like-minded individuals can congregate and support new candidates that align with their favored ideologies, forming enormous crowds of support that cannot be silenced. On social media, everyone has the power to become politically active, and everyone can make a difference. Your post could possibly inspire your aunt to vote for one particular party, and maybe she can convince her friend to follow suit, and so on.
The advent of social media gives the new generation a unique power to change the political landscape in this country forever. It is crucial to take responsibility and use that power to get involved in politics. We have the potential to change the future for the benefit of everyone, not just the wealthy that are used to playing this game by themselves. There are new players in the lineup, and the upcoming 2016 election is going to be unlike anything this country has seen before.
