25 Nov
Obama’s Youth Movement
The notion of keeping Obama’s youth movement activated and engaged is all over the nets today. It’s an interesting topic that I’m particularly interested in. I think only time will tell whether today’s “kids” will continue to shed their apathy and engage the political world. I hope they will.
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He made it pretty easy to ‘shed apathy and engage.’ It needs to remain easy and accessible, somehow. There need to be tangible goals to work for, so “we”, the youth, can still see our work having an impact. We still need to feel like our thoughts and wants are being acknowledged and utilized. We need to be reminded regularly about all the ways we can contribute our time and energy towards a cause/issue. There will be a small proportion of us who get creative and inspired and don’t need that direction. But to remain a movement, there needs to be a plan for how to bring the rest of the youth along too, to keep that “revolutionary spirit” alive.
The LA Times article said young voters “are interested in public service, particularly if they are asked to serve.” It’s similar to how many people just want a nonprofit organization to come out and ask them for money, and then they are more than willing to write a $10,000 check. They want to know that they are needed and that their contribution will have an impact, and will be valued. Apathy is learned, and it will take some training and hard work to unlearn it and readjust our mindsets. Obama might have enough on his plate already, but truly, if we want to have hope for the future, it lies in engaging and empowering the next generation of leaders: “us”
November 26th, 2008 at 9:47 am