Local college student says she won’t be voting this year
I am a college student who can’t bring myself to vote and here’s why.
Last semester I had taken my very first political science course at Penn State, the Eberly Campus. I had gone into it hesitantly, but had decided that my interest in American history was reason enough to believe that I’d probably enjoy the class. My professor for the course happened to also be my professor in economics, which just so happened to also be my favorite class.
In the course, we were assigned weekly articles to read. Most were political debates between politicians that no one my age would recognize. These debates were not viral Facebook posts or common retweets. These debates were on matters that the media does not shine a light on. Matters concerning our Constitution, and picking apart the sections of that document that can be misinterpreted or understood incorrectly. We focused on whether or not that very document is outdated. Where is the relevance in this topic?
We studied the Citizens United debate that tackled issues on whether corporations should be limited on their spending in support for a particular candidate. Wouldn’t this give that candidate a better shot at gaining the public’s approval? You could argue that they are practicing the very right that we all know too well, which is freedom of speech. We all hear about this freedom of speech through popular YouTube videos of young men practicing this very right on police officers bitterly after being pulled over. Those videos are viral, but I suppose corporations pumping millions of dollars into advertisements against an opposing candidate is irrelevant as well.
The Second Amendment’s popularity has escalated since the recent shootings have occurred throughout our country. But what of the 22nd amendment? Do students know that this very amendment has been debated upon as to whether it should be revised? How many students even know what this amendment stands for? What if within the next 10 years, presidential term limits are completely stripped away, leaving one man (or one woman) to run the country as long as the American people will continue to vote them in?
Our eyes are put onto what the media wishes for us to focus on. One week we support gays, the next we passionately support the Syrian refugees, and the week after that, we stand against racism along with the Black Lives Matter movement. We are just a swarm of blurred faces that are formed into cavasses for the media to paint whatever they please into our minds. A couple years ago, we feared Ebola would overtake the country, and now ISIS has decided to take its place instead. I hear nothing on ISIS anymore because the media has moved onto tackling racism and so have we.
Recent flooding in West Virginia had us reposting touching stories all over Facebook. The shootings in France had us filter our profile pictures in their flag’s colors to show our support and love for their losses.
But once a new topic comes up, once the media blasts new areas of concern into our Facebook feeds, into our emails, or on our television sets only then do we venture into unchartered waters. We decided to be passionate about something that we hadn’t known existed before a red lettered breaking news logo flashed onto our TV screens.
I am a part of the Independence Party of America because my Facebook information says so. But am I really aware of what that means? Or do I just repost my political views on what my friends in the newsroom decide to stream on my feed?
It’s no doubt that the upcoming election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is going to be an interesting one. However, my doubts do not lie with the politicians whose faces are broadcasted all over our media. My doubts lie with my own generation.
Coming from a college student who is easily persuaded by one news article, or one speech, or one Facebook post, I can’t say that every vote that is cast is going to be a relevant one. When my generation of kids goes to register for their vote in the upcoming election, my greatest fear is that they’ll be voting for a name that the media painted a face for. They’ll vote for the speech they heard while passing by their desktop computer. They’ll vote for Trump because their family is Republican. Or they’ll vote for Hillary because they want to witness the nomination of the first female president.
I believe in practicing all of my rights as an American citizen. And as a lover of a country that was created cleverly by our forefathers on genius foundations, I can’t say my vote would be a relevant one. I’m a part of an ignorant generation, and so for that, these are the very reasons that I cannot bring myself to vote.
Paige Malenock is a resident of Uniontown.