Many youths think voting doesn't matter. They think that if they don't vote, it doesn't matter. As a college student, I know dozens of them. The idea that one can remain neutral in U.S. politics, like Switzerland in World War II, reflects a false sense of security. It's a front put up that politicians and rich elites can take advantage of.
The truth is, choosing not to vote and being neutral helps oppressors. Staying silent never helps the oppressed. Often, people who need justice are ones who don't have voting rights or can't speak up for themselves. Every single person under the age of 18 has problems and needs they can't address through our legal system. They still matter the same as you and me.
Young voters relate the most to kids in school because they recently were students in the system. Young voters are the perfect people to determine what is going wrong and what needs improvement.
I am a 20-year-old who remembers all the thoughts I had when in school on what needs change. However, no one taught me how to vote, and no one showed me how to fight.
Giving older voters who have not been through the school system in decades all the power in education is crazy. Some of these people making all our decisions were around during World War II. Some fought in World War II and know very well they cannot be Switzerland. They need to fight for their voice to be heard by voting in every election. They are at the polls, and our government knows that.
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We need to get our young voters at the frontline. Every reader needs to tell and show our youth how to be at the poll for themselves and their futures.
Juliana Epstein
Duluth
The writer is a student at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
