We all get it. America is fucked.
Doesn't matter, currently, if you vote Democrat or Republican. The Democratic party refuses to let anyone run for president that doesn't uphold the status quo, and the status quo is enabling the Republican party, which hasn't been self-viable for decades.
But consider this... You all are in the most powerful position of any age demographic in the country for a number of reasons.
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You have youth and energy on your side.
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You have lived through some of the shittiest times in the last 100 years, brought on by the left/right establishment. You know what is wrong, and you know what would make it better.
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You have your whole lives ahead of you and the most to lose.
I am pushing 50, and I didn't start taking politics seriously until I was in my mid-twenties. I regret that a lot. Don't make the same mistake.
The reality is that a bunch of very old people who mostly have it made, due to prosperity in their middle age, are all feeling threatened by the greed of today. They are worried they will all die less well off than they are now (boo hoo). But most of them will be dead in <=20 years. You won't. And the policies they are voting for will affect you the most.
Yes, our system is broken. But what is at stake right now is bigger than America. America has made itself a fulcrum pin, holding globalization together. If we go, the world goes.
Putin is incapable of lifting Russia up out of the muck it has been mired in for 100 years. So, his approach is to drag as many western countries as possible down to his level. The surge of far right politicians and rhetoric all over the world in the last 20 years is not a coincidence, and it's not a natural phenomenon. This is Russian influence at work.
Through blackmail and bribery, he has subverted or is trying to subvert democratic elections around the world. He managed to sabotage Britain with Brexit, weakening Britain and Europe. If he can manage to take down America, Europe will soon follow. Once that happens, the world will slide into a dark age dystopia of fascism and chaos that will last until enough people rise up and deal with fascism in the only way it can be dealt with.
The alternative, is to stabilize the west long enough for Russia to burn itself out. Then to set about rooting out all of the bad actors on the left and right and replace them with leadership that is beholden to citizens, not to the shareholders, donors, and lobbies they are controlled by now.
You may think it can't get much worse than no jobs and unaffordable living. But it can get much, much worse. And it will if Trump wins in November. If you want any hope of seeing your quality of life improve in your lifetime, you have to get past the notion that it's hopeless. That's part of the narrative being pushed by those with the most to gain from you believing it. American democracy is sick, yes. It's on life support. But it's not dead.
Vote straight line Progressive where you can, Democrat party line where you have to, and against every GOP candidate you can. Don't expect to agree with every policy a candidate stands for. It's not going to happen. Think Bernie is crazy, ok, but vote for the crazy guy who wants to give you health care and prevent your landlord from raping you instead of the crazy guy who wants to let billionaires take away your weekends and lunch breaks, or conscript you into their own personal vendetta/conquest wars, like Putin in Ukraine.
Look around the world. You don't have to look far to see how much worse it already is for your age group in countries like Russia, former Soviet bloc countries, etc. Look back to countries like Romania in the 1970s and 80s to see how hard it is to reverse fascist dictatorships, once they have taken hold.
I, and other olds, will be right there with you, voting, running for state and local office, and standing up to the idiocracy that would rather knock this country down to their own miserable level than have to change and improve themselves. Stand up to the religious psychopaths who think that bringing about the end of the world by voting for Trump will bring back Jesus.
There's a saying "If you are going through hell, keep going" which means, don't stop in hell and stay there. Keep going until you leave hell behind. You didn't cause this but you can help fix it. No, it's not fair. But neither will be what happens if you give up and stick your head in the sand.
Vote until you fix the problem, or you can't vote anymore. Have a better plan, run for office and push that plan. Replace the system, tear it down and rebuild it. If you don't, people like Trump and Putin will.
Edit: If you don't agree it sucks right now, good! That's part of the point. And, in that case, you aren't the person this post is directed toward. But there are a lot of checked out youth voters who think it's all hopeless. And we need to get them engaged or else this country will suck in short order.
Don't take it all for granted. As someone who has been alive since Carter, I can say that this is one of the toughest times I have experienced. Hate these sorts of posts if you want. But they aren't meant for you. They are meant for the youth who think they can just check out and someone else will do the work.
