“I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!”  Young people have good reason to be concerned about America’s aging politicians and to question whether their mental acumen is what it used to be.  But we older folks, politicians or not, have good reason as well to be concerned about the political acumen of our young people, especially those who desire to become our future elected officials.  Why?  Because far too many of them have a microwave-mentality approach to life and all of its problems; and this includes politics and governance.

It appears that they want no part of the nitty-gritty down and dirty hard work of governance, they just want things to be right as they see life.  Nuances be damned; to young people, nuances seem to be nothing more than unnecessary huge speed bumps: “I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!”  “Why should we bother to vote”, they say.  With the way that things are going – even if we do vote, it’s probably not going to count anyway; and if it does count, it’s not going to make any difference.”

Most of the time most voting-age young people don’t even bother to vote.  Sure, when issues come to the fore that have a negative impact on “I want it all”, they tend to swing into action.  And when they do, many times, it is already too late for their “I want it all” derived initiative to have a preventative effect on the thing that they are objecting to.  It might determine how that thing is ultimately handled after it has been implemented or if it will be rescinded, but it will not have an opportunity to prevent it from occurring.  Yes, they are doing their civic duty but to me, this seems like a parttime approach to doing it.

Civic responsibility – which includes voting, is a fulltime thing; it should not be addressed on a parttime basis!  And if young people are going to complain about how poorly things are going for them politically then attribute that to the supposed fact that it is because these older politicians are not in tune with America’s young people who are America’s future, then they should do their civic duty fulltime.  They should keep abreast of what is going on in the world of governance and be proactive, not reactive, in addressing problems through their vote.

Any young voters who bitterly complain – as many are doing now, without doing these things are being, at best, unfair.  This kind of conduct brings to mind Senator Tom Cotton’s recent harsh criticism of the January 6 Committee.  During a public interview he criticized the Committee for its actions and how it is conducting its business and then in the same breath said that he had not watched any of the hearings!  If Senator Cotton’s criticism of this Committee sounds ludicrous to you under these circumstances, young people; it is because it is!

So, in light of that, how do you feel about someone who criticizes our “geriatric” political leaders and how they conduct America’s business when they themselves have not done their part to help provide these leaders with the tools that they need: tools that are vital to them to stop the Party that is trying to “Make America Great Again” by moving her backwards to the “good ole days?  The “good ole days” when women and Black people did not have the right to vote.  The “good ole days” when Black people could not attend the same schools that White people attended.  The “good ole days” when there was no Roe vs. Wade and no talk about abortions and abortion rights.  The “good ole days” when Black people could not marry White people.  The “good ole days” for who?!  From where I stand, it does not appear that young people are on board with the “good ole days.”

Did this get your hackles up, young people?  If it did, that’s good!  It’s good because I have not said all of this to denigrate young people or put young people down in any way.  On the contrary, I said it because I have no doubt that many of the so-called “geriatric” political leaders – by the way, whose shoulders you stand on, are thinking these things but are reluctant to say them because they are afraid that it might cost them your vote.  And even it they did summon the courage to say these things to you, because they are politicians, they would likely say them with such a political sugarcoating that it would amount to nothing more than the arcane language of politicians’ Pig Latin.  That way they could get their frustration with you off of their chests by giving you a piece of their mind without the fear of losing your vote.  Brilliant, right?!  The only problem is that politicians are the only people who truly understand this language and even those other people who only understand it in general, are few-and-far-between; and they are usually people who closely follow political issues.  But on the other hand, maybe that is exactly as it is meant to be; one just has to view it from a politician’s perspective.

The fact of the matter is that the world of governance desperately needs to be infused with young, fresh minds.  A large percentage of our elected officials, in general and in leadership positions, are older people.  Older politicians who need to willingly pass the torch on to young people.  But they can’t pass it to just any young people, they must pass it to prepared young people who are committed to fulfilling their civic responsibility on a fulltime basis: young people who are willing to get involved in the nitty-gritty, down and dirty hard work of governance.  If these so-called “geriatric” politicians do otherwise, it will be dereliction of duty.

So come on, young people; “don’t get mad: vote”.  These were the words of President Barack Obama.  And it is with those words that I implore all voting-age young people to rise and meet the challenge to defeat anyone who is trying to take America backwards to the “good ole days”, especially elected officials who are close in proximity to the levers of power and collectively have the ability to make the back to the “good ole days” happen: “good ole days” for who!  “Don’t get mad: Vote”!  With one of the two major political parties in America – specifically speaking, the Republican Party, pushing hard to destroy American democracy, your participation in America’s democratic process is essential.

So always remember, young person; whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all… unless you don’t use it!  Will you meet the challenge?

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line