We Do Not Xactly Care About The Government Essays - Demographics

We Do Not Xactly Care About the Government What is the point of the government? This is a question I often ask myself. I am a member of Generation X, or so I've been labeled since I was born in 1981. I have been labeled as lazy, irresponsible, and apathetic. One of those words applies to me right now, and that is my apathy toward the government. At this time in my life it does not matter what happens in the government, it will continue to run without my input. Perhaps our indifference toward the government is one of the many problems with my generation. There are many reasons why young people do not vote, or get involved in political actions. They range from apathy to just plain not having enough time. One of the larger reasons is that most candidates are much older then those 18-25. Generation X has lead a different life style since birth then those of older generations. We like different music, different movies, there is not much we have in common. Generation X has grown up in a world of money and quickly changing technology. In order to be the President of the United States of America, one must be thirty-five years old. Automatically that is at least a ten-year age difference between the two groups. There is an ever growing generation gap between candidates and youthful voters. In the case of the 1996 Presidential election, Bob Dole was in his seventies, my grandfather is not even seventy. Bob Dole and many other candidates in recent and past years have had trouble relating to Generation X and vice versa. Another reason why Xers are turning away from the government is lack of political education. The last of the Generation Xers will be entering college in the 2000-2001 school year, to most of us college is much more important then politics. I know if I had the option of watching a presidential debate or studying, I would opt for the studying. At this point in my life getting good grades is a lot more important then knowing what is going on in the political world. College students also feel isolated from the outside world. Sure one can watch the news, but it is not the same as at home. At home many parents watch the 5:30 news when they get home from work. However, if it was up to a Generation Xer to pick what to watch at 5:30, it would probably be MTV or VH1. Parents are also more likely then a college student to buy the newspaper every day. The lifestyles of Generation Xers do not allow for everyday exposure to politics. The few students who take the time to get involved in politics and educate themselves, are faced with yet another problem. Students find many major political candidates have paid little, if any, attention to the issues that affect young people the most. Maybe these older candidates do not think kids can make a difference in political elections, but they are wrong. Elections have been won or lost due to the support of younger voters. In 1992, 50% of registered voters under the age of 30 turned out to vote. In that election, Bill Clinton received fifty percent of the less than 30 votes (Bush received thirty percent, Perot twenty percent). Clinton's twenty percent margin of victory in the young persons vote was his largest in any age group and may have very well put him in the White House. The biggest issues which affect younger voters are those issues that deal directly with them such as money. Most college students are concerned with some sort of financial aid such as student loans, tax cuts, social security, minimum wage and Federal Pell Grants. Other issues which interest young people are birth control, AIDS, and helping out the environment. If a political candidate would show the littlest interest in young voters, they could very easily gain their support and perhaps their vote. For example, Bill Clinton stopped at many colleges and talked about issues concerning college students. He attacked Bob Doles lack of support for Federal Pell Grants. Therefore, Clinton easily gained the support of many college students. Generation X