“Make sure you vote for your homecoming king and queen before the deadline,” Coppell High School Student Council sponsor Benjamin Stroud says during afternoon announcements. Yet, despite his impassioned pleas, students continue their monotonous slumps.
‘Someone else will do it and ‘Does it even matter anyway?’ runs through students’ minds as a collective wave of apathy surges.
But it does matter, and no one else is going to do it for you.
It is well known that young people are increasingly disengaged from politics. Fewer and fewer people vote or even care about what is going on locally and nationally.
However, this political indifference trickles down to the most inconsequential things, such as voting for a classroom activity or homecoming court.
This lack of participation could be due to political disillusionment, the belief that your vote does not matter or plain old laziness. But, any which way you slice it, minimal civic participation can not become commonplace.
The current habits we possess prepare us for the future. If we are not involved now when the stakes are low, how can we expect ourselves to participate in politics when we have a bigger say? Our voting habits and level of political involvement indicate whether we will have an active, educated society or not.
However, there is a stigma regarding students who do choose to get involved. The fear of one’s political participation coming back to haunt them when applying to college or a job stops many from using their voice. Even something as simple as reposting on your social media account becomes a dilemma, pressuring students to suppress their political voices.
For students with these concerns, there are still much safer ways to use your voice. Becoming educated about the world around you, learning what impacts you and using your voice when given the chance helps you figure out what is important, better preparing you for when you are eligible to participate.
One day it will no longer be Generation X or Millennials who are at the helm, but us, Generation Z, who have the power to make a difference. We cannot complain about our government, claim that it is making choices for us, or wonder why our friends did not win a spot on homecoming court without taking an active part. An active society is one which utilizes its civic rights and voice to make change. So, will we make the choice to get involved and be vocal, or will we stay silent and hope someone else comes along to fulfill our desires? For everyone’s sake, we hope it is the former.
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