The Lifeblood of Politics: Why Young People Should (and Do) Have an Influence in Politics

(Guest blogged by MB, a Brighton High graduate and student at Northwestern University -- Welcome MB!)

How important are the youth of America in Today's political scene? How much influence do they really have? Some would even question if it is worth the time of people running for election to even court the young vote, or to listen to the opinions of young voters. The youngsters out there lack the experience to know what to do, to say what to say, and therefore, something as important as politics should be left to the grown-ups, right? Wrong.

Nothing could be further from truth. The fact of the matter is, young people are the lifeblood of the political system, and without the creativity, energy, and pure hope in their country that interested young people bring to the table, this nation would lose out on a valuable portion of it's demographic.

There is no denying that young voters in the past have not represented themselves well: According to a 2003 USA Today article, since the voting age was changed to 18 and up in 1973, the number of 18-20 year-olds showing up to the polls has consistently gone down. In the 2004 presidential elections, the US Census Bureau recorded that the 18-24 voting block had the lowest percentage of people registered (58%) and actual voters (47%) of any eligible age bloc in America.

What do those numbers really mean, though? More than 11.6 million people under the age of 25 voted in the 2004 presidential election, according to the Census Bureau, over three million more than did in the 2000 presidential election. And while the 18-24 year-old electorate may have had the lowest registration and voting rates of any group, they showed the highest jump from the 2000 presidential of any age group in both of those categories, with registration increasing by seven percent and voting up a huge 11%. It is my firm belief that this trend of increasing young voters will continue, so to ignore this resurgent voting bloc can only hurt politicians vying for a position.

But besides all of the numbers proving young people have an influence through voting, Americans need to realize the necessity of the youth in the entire political arena. While people have exhausted the idea that "young people are the future", this point should not be belittled: The teens and twenty-somethings are the generation, my generation, that are going to inherit the political system. Young people are the ones that are going to be around to see today's changes affect the lives of people down the road, and young people have the advantage of not having become jaded by years on the daily grind that worn-out politicians often fall victim to.

Do not mistake the lack of years, however, as a lack of experience. The youth of today have grown up in their own time of wars, of economic booms and (more often) busts, and have been around long enough to recognize failure in government when they see it. Young people are definitely the force behind the political sphere, and to all those people that may believe otherwise, remember one thing:

You were young once, too.