2016 is finally here. With a clean slate and a new year ahead of them, many people follow the famous tradition of making resolutions. Common examples are to eat healthy, exercise more, stop procrastinating, study harder, etc. And most all of these resolutioners set out with high hopes and higher ambitions when it comes to actually keeping these resolutions… until about a month or so later when the January influx of gym memberships turns into the February of empty treadmills.
New year resolutions are a nice idea, without a doubt. But in reality, not many people actually follow through with them for very long. In my opinion, however, there are some resolutions that are very attainable, and are collectively extremely important for the entire population to act on. Sure it's a good idea to stick with your resolution of swapping more pieces of pizza for spinach salads, but this year, maybe it’s more important for our generation to commit to being more informed about the world around us, too.
Monumental things have obviously been happening throughout all of history, but this year in particular saw a ton of changes being made and a ton of problems that can't go ignored. Gun control is becoming more and more of a debated issue. A woman’s right to choose is being threatened by countless politicians, some even being candidates for the presidency in the 2016 election. The war on terrorism is reaching fever pitch as the battle against ISIS continues and is impacting our country’s policies regarding immigrants and refugees. As the election moves closer and closer, the issues so often discussed in the news and throughout the media are in our hands.
So many young people that I talk to are uninvolved in politics; so much so that many don’t even plan to vote. When I ask them why, I usually receive one of two answers. Either they are overwhelmed by a government laden with bureaucracy, or they don’t understand the issues enough to care. Many people have a problem with bureaucracy in America today, and with how inconvenient and tedious the messy system that is our government can be. And that is understandable. But at the end of the day, it is our government. It is the entity that runs our country, and ultimately a democracy cannot function without the votes of the people in play. No matter how small your voice might feel, it is important to try to be heard.
As for the kids who aren’t voting because they don’t understand enough about the issues and the news to care about the outcome - this is what concerns me the most. These issues - the ones you try and tune out on the 6 o’clock news, the ones your parents are watching while you’re on Facebook or Instagram - are the issues that are going to impact your life as an adult. If our generation leaves voting to the 45 and older age group and leave our needs completely out of the picture, we will be the ones living out their decisions in the peak of our lifetime. The issues being voted on right now are the ones that are going to affect the entire rest of our lives. Therefore, we might want to know what they are in time to state our opinions on them while it still matters.
So in 2016, along with buying your new gym membership, changing your wardrobe, and making a “to-do” list every morning, I hope that you watch the news, research the issues, and learn more. I hope you get informed about the world around you, and I really, really hope that you vote in the upcoming election. Because whatever your values may be, whatever direction you think America should take, your voice matters. It is our job as the youngest generation of voters to make our country what we want it to be for ourselves in the upcoming years. It’s an important job, and one we should all definitely strive to get done.
