2008 Woodie Awards
Voter disengagement leaves pressing issues unadressed
Pattie Barry
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Soap Box
It becomes routine to say it every election year: "Get involved!" "Rock the vote!" "Use your voice!" You might hear one such phrase, pause for a second, plan on it, but then ultimately when election day comes, you have class, then work and then homework and never really make it to the polls because, "Hey, I know a lot of other people that vote like me and so my vote doesn't really matter."
You'll read this and it might cross your mind when it comes to the party caucuses in Maine in early February. However, when it does cross your mind, I ask you, one 20-something to another, please consider the following:
It is more important in this election than ever before for the younger generation to express its voice.
I'm not saying that it hasn't always been important. I am saying that this election is the most important election yet. Too many decisions about our economy and our environment have been put off for too long by our previous leaders, and we are losing options fast. If we don't choose a leader that takes action to make change now, we might not have a choice in 2012.
We need leadership that has a plan to face what now appears to be an imminent recession. We need someone who is going to address the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the culture of debt in this country. We need someone who is going to put a stop to predatory lending and rein in inflation.
We need leadership that will help the more than 47 million uninsured citizens in this country. We need someone who is going to stop and question why the U.S. is the only developed country in the world that allows pharmaceutical companies to advertise drugs - which they have done to the point that they are spending more on advertising than on research and development.
We need leadership that understands that citizens' privacy and civil liberties are pivotal to the protecting the security and integrity of our homeland, because the actions this administration have taken in the name of "security" and "freedom" have so distorted the true definition of those words that they become practically Orwellian.
You'll read this and it might cross your mind when it comes to the party caucuses in Maine in early February. However, when it does cross your mind, I ask you, one 20-something to another, please consider the following:
It is more important in this election than ever before for the younger generation to express its voice.
I'm not saying that it hasn't always been important. I am saying that this election is the most important election yet. Too many decisions about our economy and our environment have been put off for too long by our previous leaders, and we are losing options fast. If we don't choose a leader that takes action to make change now, we might not have a choice in 2012.
We need leadership that has a plan to face what now appears to be an imminent recession. We need someone who is going to address the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the culture of debt in this country. We need someone who is going to put a stop to predatory lending and rein in inflation.
We need leadership that will help the more than 47 million uninsured citizens in this country. We need someone who is going to stop and question why the U.S. is the only developed country in the world that allows pharmaceutical companies to advertise drugs - which they have done to the point that they are spending more on advertising than on research and development.
We need leadership that understands that citizens' privacy and civil liberties are pivotal to the protecting the security and integrity of our homeland, because the actions this administration have taken in the name of "security" and "freedom" have so distorted the true definition of those words that they become practically Orwellian.
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