Dear millennials, it’s not too late to set things right
There are many stories that can be gleaned from history books and social studies classes about people who made a change. But there is only one story that should be taught over and over again, the story of the 19th Amendment, where women granted the right to vote.
Before 1848 women were denied from many basic rights, they couldn’t own properties, money or participate in politics. They had one job to do and that was staying at home cleaning, cooking and taking care of their children. It can take only one person to believe in making a change, for women rights Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were the first to stand up for it.
Stanton and Mott organized a movement for women’s rights to demand that women should have their own political identities and have the right to vote. The movement attracted many female activists like Susan Anthony, Lucy Stone and Carrie Chapman Catt who created the National American Woman Suffrage Association and aimed to have a federal constitutional amendment that would grant women the right to vote. After years of restless protests, on June 4, 1919, the U.S. Senate passed the 19th Amendment and sent it for the states for ratification.
In the last midterm elections, statistics showed that many people nowadays are giving up their right to vote, especially millennials. Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) stated that 35 percent of Americans ages 18–29 said that they will vote to compare to 81 percent of seniors (Americans age 65+).
So why are young people giving up on their kids’ future?
The 2016 presidential election results were a shock, many people realized that their votes won’t matter, and they became cynical about the future of the country. Megan Davis a 31-year-old massage therapist spoke to NPR,
“I feel like my voice doesn’t matter. People who suck still are in the office, so it doesn’t make a difference.”
This feeling of vulnerability is mutual in the West Virginia McDowell County, which is one of the top regions in the U.S. where people don’t vote. 33-year-old former restaurant worker Josh Mullins sees voting is pointless in making any change,
“”Hillary won the popular vote and we still have Trump for president,” he said. “To me it says … it was just the [Electoral College] that put Trump in office.”
Some people admit that they don’t vote because they don’t know how. Robert Griffin, associate director of research at PRRI, concluded in his survey that a major reason for the low turnout among millennials was feeling ‘uninformed’. There is a huge lack of knowledge about how to vote, what documents to take and how to learn about the candidates.
These reasons may seem like ‘not a good excuse’ but it is not a right to shame them either. In the 2018 primary elections, some voters in Pennsylvania received letters publicizing the names, addresses of their friends and neighbors with their voting history in previous elections. The voter-shaming letters have prompted dozens of angry calls to the election’s office. G Terry Madonna, director of the Centre for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College, told Lancaster Online that it was unusual to try and embarrass people into voting.
“There’s a difference in mailings encouraging people to vote and efforts to embarrass people into voting by sharing that information with their neighbors,” she said.
If you want to encourage people to vote, educate them about it. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram dedicated their apps to include information about polls location, early voting deadlines, candidates and transportation services on the election day.Vote.org can help in registration, location and it also provides an absentee ballot for those who can’t go in person. Some states like Washington, Oregon and Colorado provide voting by mail service, which make it easier for the voter who finds it hard to go to the voting location. The government should consider voting by mail should be established in all states as it can save millions of dollars of polling places and staff.
“The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer. Understand what it means and what it can do for your country. Use it intelligently, conscientiously, prayerfully.” Carrie Chapman Catt.
It’s your time now to fight for your kids right for a better country. It’s never too late to make a change. If you feel that the 2016 elections didn’t go the way it should it’s not too late to make it right again.
