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In reply to the discussion: Why young people are right about Hillary Clinton [View all]DKM
(5 posts)I'm a high school teacher and I live in a college town (College Park Md). Matt's central argument is that th youth vote can swing the election for Bernie. I know from practical experience this is not true. I have taught high school age students, seniors and some juniors are 18. I talk to college students. Let me use one specific issue as an example.
I think the 21 year old drinking age is a travesty and a joke. 18-20 year olds do not obey this law, they disregard the law in overwhelming numbers, and there is a huge industry of fake ID's that these young people enthusiastically patronize. If 18-20 year olds voted, the idea of raising the drinking age would never have gotten past "go" back in 1984. If 18-20 year olds pushed the issue and voted, the social discrimination would end. Now you can argue that the drinking age is not as important as reproductive rights or college tuition, and you're right. But it is an issue that daily hits a lot more 18-20 year olds than almost any other. And it wasn't and isn't enough to get them to mobilize.
My point is as much as I appreciate Bernie and love what he says, young people are not going to actually vote for him, and they are definitely not going to hit Capitol Hill or day to day engage politicians on these issues. If they are going to deal with the flagrant discrimination of the drinking age by finding alternative means to get into bars. They are going to find alternative means to deal with other issues rather than take the time to hit the issues head on, which is the fundamental assumption of Bernie.
To give this a historical perspective, in 1859 John Brown thought hundreds of thousands of people would swarm to Harper's Ferry and help him arm the slaves. For far more sinister reasons, Timothy McVeigh thought blowing up a federal building would set off a revolution. Dylann Roof thought shooting in a church would set off a race war. Ammon Bundy thought hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of supporters would flock to Oregon. Even though Bernie's goals are far more beneficial and good, the assumption of widely mobilized popular support is not supported by history. For these two reasons; young people's political apathy and Bernie's assumption, I'm afraid I have to side with Jann and go with Hillary.