Much of America was swept along a tidal wave of hope and change during the 2008 presidential election cycle.
Four years later, some still struggle to identify the differences between now and then.
Whether President Barack Obama really is a socialist Muslim out to ruin America, or he’s an honest guy getting stonewalled by his opposition, polling data indicates that the American electorate may be tuning out civic engagement.
Youth voters are 25 percent less likely to vote this fall.
Paul Sracic, chairman of the political science department, blames the politicians. He said that young people are less interested because candidates have less to offer this time around.
It’s an evolving problem.
Nielsen ratings showed a 41 percent drop in ratings for the Republican National Convention. The Democrats experienced a 34 percent drop as well.
Sadly, we live in a society where Honey Boo Boo’s viewership rivaled Bill Clinton’s speech.
With heightened fiscal circumstances and key social issues up for debate this election, the last thing we the people need to do is turn a blind eye.
Remember: These are the same elected officials who repealed Glass-Steagall; cut miles of red tape, thus enabling a nearly unregulated financial sector; and allowed partisanship to interfere with progress while we plummeted into the worst financial crisis in decades.
No change will come if candidates only see an apathetic electorate.
College students receive sparse attention from the political parties due to anemic turnouts on election days, and nothing will change if things only stay the same.
You say you want a revolution? Let your ballot be your pitchfork.
