Generation Why

Today is a special day. For many of us, this will mark election day, but for some, this will also mark the FIRST TIME they have voted. Perhaps they just turned 18 in the last year or so, or perhaps they have felt their vote meant nothing, but this year, somehow, its different. Perhaps the lessons of Florida circa 2000 are still fresh enough that indeed, every vote matters. Perhaps this is the first presidential election they were old enough to vote in. In any event: CONGRATULATIONS!

I have a 19 year old son. He wonders no doubt, why he needs to fill out this form, that looks suspiciously like a test. He wonders why he needs to read all that information in the Voter Pamphlet. He wonders why you cannot vote via video game...which come to think of it , might be something we need to consider at some point. I am assured that he will make the walk, perhaps even through a bit of northern Colorado snow, to the polling place and deliver his ballot. It means something, especially in Colorado, but regardless of location, it means a lot to vote.

To skip voting is a little like ceding control to someone else. You let others make decisions for you. They tell you what to do, where to go, and you just have to go along with it. Does it sound familiar? Yep...that is a bit like having parents when you were a little kid. But as you turn 18, and in the years that follow, we are trusting you to make decisions. You have a stake in this, and it is time to show you are ready.

Besides, all the problems that we face today: they are YOUR problems more than anyone else’s. Some of these issues, like climate control, alternative energy, war, and peace, will be with us for your entire lifetime. The sooner we start solving those problems, the better your life will be.

So vote, my young friends, lest we send you to bed without supper, or take away your allowance.