They were held in the Bauman Auditorium here at George Fox. They were nearly all well delivered. Some were funny, others were touching; and in the interest of reporting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, some of them were not very good. But that's alright. It wasn't even too embarrassing if those on the stage goofed up. The audience was small and comprised mostly of the candidates' friends. The school was somewhere else, doing homework, drinking coffee, maybe loafing around with friends. This was Election Night at George Fox.
While I am aware that the political beliefs I hold do not align with the majority of college students, I am still going to write: college students should play as much of a role as they can in the political sphere of America. Yes, college students are young, and they are idealists and they don't know anything yet. But let's be honest, (as well as cruel and fatalistic) right here. Generations disappear. People get older, get less active and eventually die. What's going to happen if no one in college votes? If you're tracking with me, you've put it together. People in college are going to vote, eventually. Democracy doesn't happen when the population doesn't participate. If we are believers in democracy, we are believers in the power of voting, and if we are believers in voting, we believe everyone should vote. I postulate that, for most people, the college years are the best time to start voting.
There's an old saying, its origins are actually rather contested, that goes something along the line of "If you're not a socialist before 25, you have no heart. If you're a socialist after 25, you have no head." People change their opinions on things as they get older. Mental rigidity is a social work term that describes this phenomenon. As life continues to input ideas and experiences into the human mind, the human mind becomes less receptive to them. We become "mentally rigid." It's a good thing and a bad thing as well. But the idea of democracy is that through incorporating as many of the beliefs of a population as possible, a body can arrive at a course of action that best serves the common interest.
College is the gateway between childhood and adulthood. Most of us students are living on our own now. Even if your parents are paying for school, everyone knows that at college you have more freedom, and you are supposed to have more freedom. I am going to oversimplify a point for the sake of brevity. Kids aren't a part of the common interest because they are represented by their parents. In college though, we fall away from the influence of our parents. It is time for us to choose what's best for ourselves, and on a grander scale, it's time for us to help choose what's best for our nation.
So if you're a college student, I hope to see you at the next political event, even if it is as small as student body elections. If you're not a college student, I hope to see you trembling with fear at the thought of thousands of young idealists beginning to feel the weight of their political power and responsibility.
