After the loss of Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat to Republican Scott Brown and the stalling of health care reform, Democrats may think there is very little to get fired up about. And, with midterm elections fast approaching, the number of Democratic retirements may be cause for further alarm. Already frightened by an only 18-seat majority, Democrats currently stand to lose a few more seats in the 2010 elections. But, while I’m not exactly fired up right now, recent events have certainly lit a fire under me.
Last year, Democrats, and especially young Democrats, had a very specific goal—elect Barack Obama and other Democrats to state and national office. This goal was easy to get fired up about. We had a dynamic candidate and could easily help by registering 10 people to vote or knocking on a hundred doors. For me, because I knew that I could make a tangible impact, I set out to make it as large and palpable as possible.
The story of Obama’s election was often told as the narrative tale of new voters, especially young voters, turning to the polls and donating to a political campaign for the first time. Media coverage circulated the lines: Would young people actually turn out? Would young people be game changers in the election? Fifty-two percent of young Americans turned out on Election Day to answer their questions with a resounding “yes.”
Since the election, however, the young person’s story has largely disappeared in the media. Take, for instance, the current health care debate. Media coverage of young people’s opinions about health care generally focuses on the perception that young Americans believe that they are invincible and do not want health care forced down their throats. There is little mention of the fact that young people represent over a third of the uninsured population or that large numbers of students will become uninsured upon graduation. Putting aside emergency health care costs such as breaking an arm, many versions of the bill have also called for increased mental health care coverage—something that many young people may need access to. There is evidently much at stake for young Americans, yet this narrative is lost. Congress worried about the AARP endorsement, but what about the young people’s opinions?
Even in the recent elections, consideration of the youth has been largely absent. Massachusetts reported that only 15 percent of young people voted, while only 17 percent voted in Virginia, and 19 percent voted in New Jersey. I will not blame young people for the electoral results in these states, but I think this is indicative of the change in focus. Young people are not mobilized in the same way that they were for Obama, and Democrats—both young and old—need to ensure that the youth are incorporated into the governing administration as they were in the election.
We, as both young and as left-leaning Democrats, have a responsibility to stay involved in politics. It is our job to get out and vote. It is our job to call our senators, elect better candidates, and fight for the issues that we care about. It is our job to tell the young person’s story because that is the story that we are experts on and that we can tell better than any pundit. It is our future that is currently being debated on a national level, so it is our job to make sure that people are paying attention.
Columbia is no stranger to being at the forefront of youth activism, and our campus has been one of the most active. But I feel that even our campus has settled down this year. During break, my friends asked for stories from a member of the politically active Columbia community, and, since I told them tales of protests and hunger strikes in past years, they had pretty high expectations. But I struggled this year to talk about the spirit of activism on our campus. It’s time for us as a community to step it up again and revive our activist spirit.
When asked about how I am reacting to the loss in Massachusetts and what I think about the Democratic retirements, I’m reply that I am not scared. My reaction is to ask you and my other young colleagues to turn up the heat and get “fired up” again. We used to have a goal to press us to fight for the issues we care about. But every moment is an important moment, and we need to be there. We always must be ready to go.
The author is a Barnard College senior majoring in political science. She is the president of the Columbia University College Democrats.
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