Americans aged 18-29 support the war and Bush in higher percentages than other age groups.

[Hamlette]

The younger generation is opposed to the war in Iraq, right? Wrong. Actually, they're divided on the war, far more so than their grandparents, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll in March. Seems younger people are more supportive of the war and the president than any other age group.

Forty-eight percent of Americans 18 to 29 years old said the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, while 45 percent said the United States should have stayed out. That is in sharp contrast to the opinions of those 65 and older, who have lived through many other wars. Twenty eight percent of that age group said the United States did the right thing, while 67 percent said the United States should have stayed out.

This is nothing new, said John Mueller, author of "War, Presidents and Public Opinion," and a professor of political science at Ohio State University. "This is a pattern that is identical to what we saw in Korea and Vietnam, younger people are more likely to support what the president is doing," he said.

snip

A look back at the Vietnam years showed a similar divide between young and old. Older Americans were defined as 50 and older, but the comparison is still apt. In October 1968, when Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and George Wallace were running for president, a Gallup poll found that about half, 52 percent, of people under the age of 30 supported the war in Vietnam. But among those 50 and older, 26 percent supported the war.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/politics/18web-elder.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

Now I'm sort of glad they don't vote. No wonder the GOP went along with lowering the voting age back in the day. I'm thinking we should raise it to 56.

[Ishoutandscream2]

Frightening

I'm sure a nice, cool, DRAFT would turn some of those numbers around.

[bdamomma]

7. these young people have no clue about war, let them watch

America at a Crossroads on PBS, war is not video game.

[acmavm]

1. And where were they as they were showing their support? At

home in front of the television?

[treestar]

Undermines the argument that if there were a draft, younger

people would be more against it.

Those statistics about Vietnam are very surprising.

[gaspee]

2. They still believe

Their elders, or the ones who are predisposed to be followers, anyway. The question is, if they support their "daddy" why aren't they in the army or marines?

[bdamomma]

3. those 48% are shamelessly not informed and do not know

the real facts about the consequences of *'s war.

[acmavm]

4. And where were they as they were showing their support? At

home in front of the television maybe?

[Donnachaidh]

5. Have you seen what passes for HISTORY in schools lately?

It's far easier to control a populace that is ill-informed. And all those cool army commercials on the channels the kids watch -- add it up. :sarcasm:

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Why does this demographic have such a problem with uncritical

challenge to authority figures? They have access to the internet far more than other age groups. Is it apathy? Is it blind trust? Ignorance? Willful ignorance?

[Hobarticus]

10. Possibly, the first Fox-force-fed generation?

Are we seeing the fruits of efforts to dumb down the country?

[no_hypocrisy]

11. A good point.

Television doesn't lie to its viewers.

:sarcasm:

[Hamlette]

15. it is not this generation, in 1968 young people supported Vietnam in higher numbers

than "older people."

I think it is experience.

I remember thinking, during Vietnam, that it was just LBJ and Nixon who lied to us. Now I know it is all/most politicians who do and they lie to us about war more than other issues.

Kids don't know that yet.

[Hobarticus]

22. I'd buy that...

I know I'm getting much more critical and cranky, the older I get.

[bdamomma]

17. dumbing down, this has been going on for a long time, it's

this regime's mantra to keep the masses ignorant, uneducated and in fear to control them better.

[bdamomma]

14. in twenty years with the new technology and yet no changes

have been made in how Americans are tuned in with politics or the world around them, they get low grades on everything, with no substantial media information and lack of young people being able to afford college, that willful ignorance or ignorance will keep on rising. And the World watches and just sighs............

Sad very sad.

[Deja Q]

8. Splendid! They must be the people helping to keep enlistment numbers so high!

:woohoo:


:sarcasm:

[Hobarticus]

26. "Uh...um.....uhhh...I support the war, that's all..." eom

[StarryNite]

9. I'm glad my two

kids that are in that age group are smarter than that.

[bdamomma]

21. yes, this percentage won't reflect on all kids in that age range

there are alot of intuitive kids out there who do know what's going on.

[rockymountaindem]

12. And yet the only age group which supported Kerry (overwhelmingly)

was the under 30 demographic. Maybe we're not as stupid as you think.

[RedEarth]

13. If we had a draft they damn sure wouldn't support the war

[Hamlette]

28. we had a draft in 1968 and a higher percentage supported Vietnam than did other age groups.

this article blows that argument out of the water.

[RedEarth]

40. I was draft age during the Viet Nam war

and the comment I made pertained more to the later years of the war instead of 1968. By the time I was re-classified 1-A in 1970, support for the war had tumbled among all age groups. By 1970 it seemed the war had been going on forever and there appeared to be no end in sight....somewhat similar to today. Whether or not the draft played a part in publics support or lack of support or the war, I really don't know. Perhaps I jumped the gun saying a draft would make a difference now. I do know when the public at large had friends and family killed or maimed in the war Viet Nam, it did seem to affect their views...at least it did for some people I knew.

Bottom line, I think the public grew weary(just like today) of the quagmire we had gotten into in Viet Nam. Consequently, their support faded.

Below is a link to a page that shows support for the Viet Nam war in all age groups.

Support for War in Vietnam, by Age
Under 30 30-49 Over 49
May 1965 61 59 43
August 1965 76 64 51
November 1965 75 68 57
March 1966 71 63 48
May 1966 62 54 39
September 1966 53 56 39
November 1966 66 55 41
May 1967 60 53 42
July 1967 62 52 37
October 1967 50 50 35
Early February 1968 51 44 36
March 1968 50 46 35
April 1968 54 44 31
August 1968 45 39 27
Early October 1968 52 41 26
February 1969 47 43 31
September 1969 36 37 25
January 1970 41 37 25
March 1970 48 41 26
April 1970 43 40 25
January 1971 41 38 20
May 1971 34 30 23

http://www.seanet.com/~jimxc/Politics/Mistakes/Vietnam_support.html

[Hamlette]

42. we must be the same age, I too was draft age during Vietnam and was surprised by these numbers

It also saddens me that with 50% disapproval in 1968 it still took 5 years to get out.

Those of us who remember Vietnman know it is so much more difficult for this country to get out of a war than to get into one which is what we all feared when Bush went into Iraq.

[BurtWorm]

16. Don't worry. Most of them don't vote, and the ones who do are overwhelmingly Democratic.

:patriot:

[MadBadger]

20. That is the point that needs to be taken away

Many young people are apathetic to voting, and many of those are ignorant on the issues. So I would Like to see a poll done on likely voters 18-29. I bet that would show that much better numbers.

[minkyboodle]

38. good point

I think that poll would show much better numbers.

[geardaddy]

18. And I bet the 48%ers

are College Republicans that won't serve.

[bouwob1]

19. what % of this poll..

what % of this poll involved actual troops?

Since the troops are mainly 18-29 year olds this would not surprize me at all.

[Breeze54]

23. That 'poll' was probably freeped by Oral Roberts University students!

or similar. The younger crowd is divided, just like a lot of vacillatingly Americans.
Just like a lot of DU members. Support the troops and keep funding the war! Ra-fucking-Ra!
"Stand by your democratic leaders, no matter what! Don't question them! It won't work!"
Ad-infinitum ... ad nauseam....

:grr:

[WI_DEM]

24. Interesting, but didn't this age group vote for John Kerry more heavily than other age groups?

my other question is if they support this war--why aren't they getting their asses out and enlisting? It seems to me that some of these people must be "chicken hawks" like their heroes Bush and Cheney.

[Breeze54]

32. Turnout among 18-29 year-olds increased for the second major election in a row.

Youth Voters Opt for Democrats in 2006

http://www.civicyouth.org/quick/youth_voting.htm

CIRCLE releases a new fact sheet on Young Voters in the 2006 Elections.

* Turnout among 18-29 year-olds increased for the second major election in a row.

* Young adults voted for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate in races for
the House of Representatives (58% vs. 38%), the Senate (60% vs. 33%) and governor (55% vs. 34%).


Youth Voting Trends: Midterm Elections (Age 18-29)

In 2006, young people were more likely than adults 30 and older to identify as strictly
independents (26 percent vs. 18 percent) and less likely to identify as Republicans
(28 percent vs. 35 percent). Compared to 2002, somewhat more young adults are identifying
as independents (up 2 points) though slightly fewer identify as Democrats (down 1 point).

In 2004, 47% of 18-24 year old citizens voted, 66% of citizens 25 and older voted.

Single young people, particularly women, are more likely to vote than married young people.
The turnout among single women age 18-24 led the way and increased by 12 percentage points,
or about one third, since 2000.


In 2002, the three states with the highest level of youth voter turnout were
Minnesota (45 percent), South Dakota (36 percent), and Alaska (34 percent).

In contrast, the three states with the lowest voter turnout rates among young people
in 2002 were Delaware (15 percent), West Virginia (15 percent) and Arizona (14 percent.


http://www.civicyouth.org/quick/youth_voting.htm

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. It makes sense. The young are invincible

I wasn't all that much against the Vietnam war until a year or so after I got out of the army. (draftee REMF)

Maybe I got smarter. Maybe.

[madrchsod]

27. ya mention the draft and see what they think

[WI_DEM]

31. Exactly! some of those "chicken-hawks" might have a change of mind then.

[soothsayer]

29. Well you're not an adult until age 29-ish (according to astrology, and

the Romans--you were still a juvenile). Glad to see adults hate his guts,and only silly kids like him.

[Kber]

30. Well, I guess that explains the increase in military recruitment, right?

Right?

[Betty]

33. well then, sign up, you young assholes

if you are for the war. Get your sorry ass over there and FIGHT!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. So they support the right of others to die for them?

time to shup up or put up!

Why we need a draft.

[raccoon]

35. I have come to distrust polls anyway.

"In October 1968, when Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and George Wallace were running for president, a Gallup poll found that about half, 52 percent, of people under the age of 30 supported the war in Vietnam."

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics." :shrug:

[minkyboodle]

36. very strange

That's not my experience with the people I know.
However another 10 months and I will be out of
this polls range :) I would be interested in
learning of those polled whether there was
any trend among this age group. I suspect that
much of the bush/iraq war support comes from
the younger range of this sample, especially those for whom
9/11 was a formative experience (like the
Challenger explosion or JFK for previous generations).
I'm personally thankful I didn't go through
adolescence in the fear baiting environment
of the last 5 years.

[porphyrian]

37. They're trusting authority so they don't have to think about it.

Wait until they find out they've been duped.

[devilgrrl]

39. Cool, now they can sign up for duty...

unless of course - they also believe that the "lower classes" should do the fighting.

[DCKit]

41. That's it. I'm ignoring any further polls. They are complete BS

I'm not a fan or our education system as it is now, but COME ON, they may as well have said that same age group is 28% developmentally handicapped.

[WinkyDink]

43. Ignorant. And half of them are probably punks who think they're tough, but haven't enlisted.

[bobbolink]

44. Yet, there are so many on DU who *love* to bash "Boomers"!

Same ignorance, different day.

[warren pease]

45. Victimized by the hideous state of US public education...

Continuous televised celebrity worship. Trained by TV to have the attention span of a Mayfly. Propagandized half to death by the librul media. Wouldn't mind having a beer with the Souse in Chief. In some cases, the influence of wingnut religious fear and intolerance. Raised to believe hyper-competitiveness is a positive attribute. The male half seriously testosterone poisoned.

Seems like there are many factors at work, but the ultimate cause is this toxic society, which has become extremely good at breeding sociopaths and disguising them as normal patriotic americans. It would be interesting to see the numbers if an identical study was conducted in places like Canada, France, the Netherlands, Scandanavian countries, Japan, India and so forth. They wouldn't have the perspective of living in a country that launched an imperialist resource grab, but they're still affected by US foreign policy and the "war on terror."


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