If we want change, we have to vote

If you watch the news, you know that there’s a big debate on whether the country is doing well or not. People on the left are screaming that we’re headed for “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” levels of bad, and people on the right are screaming that the people on the left have no idea what they’re talking about.

No matter what the side, the fact of the matter is that this country has a lot of opinions on what’s good and what’s bad in the politisphere. When we look at some of the recent headlines, ranging from Brett Kavanaugh to the Russia probe, there’s no doubt that the goings-on of Washington are unusual.

This is good for the simple fact that we the people are working to hold those in power accountable. It’s bad because we keep seeing our fight for justice thwarted by those same people in power.

So what can we do? Besides continuing to question the things that don’t seem right, we can vote.

Sounds easy enough – so why aren’t people our age voting?

Millennials and GenZ alike are showing that, while they like to tweet about the abhorrence of this country, they don’t really care that much as they aren’t turning out to vote.

Yes, in recent news Taylor Swift’s announcement of being a democrat led to the registration of over 65,000 voters in just one day – but registering to vote and actually voting are two different things.

In the most recent presidential election, we saw an emphasis on our demographic. Hillary Clinton was doing everything in her power to collect the 18-24 vote, posting vines and recruiting any and all pop stars for a photo-op in order to seem relatable to us and though she tried hard, ultimately she failed.

Are Millennials too hard to reach? Are we too cynical? Do we just not care?

According to a study from the Pew Research Center, Millennials and “post-Millennials” or GenZ, are currently the majority. Numbers of Baby Boomers and older generations are down significantly after the most recent midterm, due in part to death. Which means something big: we get to call the shots.

Yes, while it seems daunting to think that we’re suddenly able to be in the position to be making rational decisions, we need to face the fact that we’re here. And since we the majority are expected to be making choices that can impact the world, we should be taking that responsibility seriously.

Right now, the House of Representatives is dominated by the Republican Party. The House was responsible for the ending of the Russia probe investigation, an investigation that sought to discover any Russian influence with the 2016 election. 

It is believed now that if Democrats regain dominance in the House that the investigation will be re-opened. According to an article from AP News, “Democrats say Republicans ignored key facts and important witnesses and want to restart parts of the investigation if they win the House.”

For many Democrats, the thought of Russian tampering is one of the most important issues at hand, if it can be proven that there was interference in the election a massive can of worms will be opened – but the only way that this box can be opened is if Democrats regain control of the house and that can only happen if people vote.

Oppositely, many Republicans feel that this issue has been solved and the reopening such a case is a waste of time, money, and resources. So, if Republicans wish to keep this case closed they need to keep control of the House – which means millennial-aged republicans need to vote.

This is just one of the numerous issues America is facing now, and frankly, it doesn’t matter which side of the issues one might be on. Either way, the way to see what you want happen, is to vote.

It isn’t enough to retweet an article about the importance of voting from Buzzfeed. If we want to see change, we have to take the appropriate steps to achieve it – and that means we need to wake up and realize that – while sometimes it may not seem like it – our votes count.

There’s a reason Hillary Clinton was in an episode of the Comedy Central show “Broad City” and it certainly isn’t because of the storylines, it’s because getting the attention of our generation is the key to success.

Yes, ultimately a ploy to get the youth’s attention like that comes off as cheesy, but the fact that people with Clinton’s political notoriety are stooping to that level in order to engage us and intrigue us to vote certainly says something about the power Millennials and GenZ has.

If we want to see a change of any kind, we have to take initiative. We have to vote.