Ever since the 2024 Presidential Election results came and went, I’ve been wracking my brain about what my next article should be. Finishing a half-written article about me and my friends felt wrong, and I know no one wants to read another lukewarm Democratic think-piece on what went wrong with Kamala Harris’s campaign. So, I looked inside myself to see what was truly eating away at me, and I found it. The one thing that’s making me the most upset during all of this is that nobody cares.
I’m 20 years old, and a sophomore in college; the age range of the people I talk to on a daily basis is 18-24. Out of about 10 people I interact with regularly, I only know 6 who voted, including myself.
I ranted to one of my friends about the election. When I was done and asked what he thought, he giggled and said, “Honestly I don’t care.” Back in October, I had to tell this same friend when Election Day was. Another friend of mine isn’t registered to vote even though there were multiple student organizations around campus showing how and where people can register to vote. A friend and I who did vote ranted to each other about the results while hanging out with a larger group of friends. When we were done, the rest of the group said something along the lines of “See that’s why I didn’t vote, both sides are just as bad.”
I feel like I’m going crazy…
I’ve been at least paying attention to politics since middle school. I give credit to my older brother as he was the one telling my parents about certain politicians and their policies for their consideration and he was only 16 at the time of the 2016 presidential election. The first 2 political figures I was introduced to were Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders, setting the bar pretty high for an angsty twelve-year-old. The third was Donald Trump, who was a rude awakening.
Ever since Trump’s presidency, I understood how important it was to at least stay informed about what’s going on. I remember “debating” a boy I sat next to in my 7th grade Social Studies class which ended with him calling me “Liberal scum.” Me not truly understanding what that meant and telling my brother about it afterward, who was then concerned (to say the least) that a boy at school was calling me “Liberal scum.” Tired of walking on eggshells, we (my immediate family) cut off family and friends. I started biting my tongue at school because I knew I couldn’t change someone’s political beliefs in a single argument and I was tired of talking to brick walls. I just stuck with my friends and let my “Less Donald Trump more Patrick Stump” pin do the talking for me. I did mention I was an angsty middle schooler?
The point is that I cared. I’ve been caring. I celebrated when Joe Biden won in 2020, lost sleep when Donald Trump won this past Election Day, and I’m sorely disappointed in my peers.
I don’t hold my friends in contempt. I don’t want to start any drama or whatever, and I don’t want you to feel so guilty about your choice. But if you’re reading this you must understand my frustration. Everyone says “Politics isn’t sexy,” and while that is true it’s also important to understand. This is the age of information, there’s really no excuse anymore.
I know my generation is used to distracting ourselves when things feel uncomfortable but we have to stop. As much as you may want to deny it, we are the new adults. We need to do better. I won’t let people tell me “It’s not that deep,” because understanding how our country works is that deep. I will let the election affect me because I have empathy! My heart aches for my friends and family who are in the LGBTQ+ community, who are people of color, who are disabled, who are living in poverty, who are immigrants, and even more who will be more affected by Trump’s policies than I will be. I will continue to care about the people in my community.
During a lecture, my Political Science professor said, “You may not care about politics, but politics cares a hell of a lot about you.” As much as you want to ignore or deny, these policies will affect us. Being apolitical is so political in and of itself, do you know how much privilege you have to have to be able to just stay out of politics? I understand that our political climate is more toxic than before, but we cannot ignore every bad thing happening. We need young people now more than ever to advocate for things they are passionate about and want to protect.
To my friends who voted who may be reading this:
We did what we could and we can only look towards the future as bleak as it looks right now. Yes, these next four years are going to be rough. But community is what will get us through. Keep in touch with those around you and make sure they’re ok, even just checking in on someone can make a huge difference. But also, don’t let yourself burn out, check with yourself and make sure you’re ok too. I know it won’t be easy but don’t let defeatism swallow you whole, that’s exactly what they want.
To my friends who didn’t vote who may be reading this:
Again I don’t want to make you feel guilty or like you’re a bad person but you have to understand why I might be a little frustrated with you right now. I’m not asking you to be on the front lines of a protest but I’m urging you to stop living a life in ignorance, I just want you to be aware of what will likely happen under Trump’s second term. Listen to the news, get used to feeling uncomfortable, and stop limiting yourselves. Everyone deserves a seat at the table and that includes you and ignoring what’s going on doesn’t make it go away. You are all very smart people and I believe you can form your own political opinions as much as it may piss other people off.