I’m writing this piece as I watch the election results roll in. As states turn red or blue and congressional districts are split and counted, there is one thing I cannot stop thinking about: our presidential candidates are so old. Regardless of your political association, it is easy to see that the presidential candidates offered this year and in 2016 do not represent the average American. The average American is 37.9 years old. Our candidates this year, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are 77 and 74 respectively. Donald Trump was the oldest president elected when he was inaugurated. Our senators average around 62 years old, congresspeople around 58. They are, on average, some of the oldest members of our representative government in United States history. Americans are not being represented accurately.
Young people are ultimately affected by long-term political decisions. Not only are politicians making choices for voters, but they are making decisions for those too young to vote. Decisions about environmental policies especially impact future generations. Our politicians are crafting a polluted, sickly world that they will never have the displeasure of living in. But we will. And the children growing up in today’s world will. These children, already stripped of recess, playdates, and snow days, will be stripped of further opportunities if our politicians continue to disregard a future they will never have to experience.
Environmental issues are not the only things that politicians act upon with their own age in mind. Those who speak for us in our government need to think about us college women. Economic and social issues, like welfare and women’s health, will change individuals’ lives for years to come. But women’s health has little-to-no effect on a 75-year-old male senator, while it has an enormous effect on any number of young women.
Furthermore, regardless of the effects of these decisions, our voices need to be heard. Representative government is called that for a reason. Each and every one of us has experiences, viewpoints, and ideas that are so critically and uniquely important that they need to be shared. I want to feel like I have a say in what happens to me in the country I live in. By electing people that truly represent us, we hold a megaphone above our mouths. We amplify our voices.
We have elected people that don’t operate with our interests in mind, but is that really our fault? The pathway to becoming a politician is a careful one filled with shaking hands and knowing the right people, and younger people simply don’t always know the right people or feel empowered enough to get involved. With the help of organizations like Her Campus, involvement is more available than ever. With the right resources, getting involved can be as easy as signing up for an email list or filling out a survey. I’ve linked a couple of great ones at the end of this article, even.
Even if you don’t feel called to pursue politics as a career, there are so many outlets through which you can become a catalyst for change. The ones I have particularly utilized are creating dialogues with my friends and family regarding issues like Black Lives Matter and women’s health, reaching out to local representatives, and using social media to speak on what matters to me.
As silly as it may seem, sharing your political beliefs on social media and taking a stand is an incredibly important and brave step. It can be scary to open yourself up to criticism. As intimidating as it can be, it is necessary to take that first step and show that you care about human rights. Social media has become an incredibly essential form of organization, and we can only go up from here. Use the power we have harnessed from connecting with each other and run with it. Encourage your neighbor. Call your representatives. Ask for more. We need it.
Resources:
Running Start, which trains young women to run for office and is partnered with Her Campus: https://runningstart.org/
League of Women Voters, which empowers voters to participate in democracy: https://www.lwv.org/
She Should Run, another training resource for women running for office: https://www.sheshouldrun.org/
EMILY’s List, which aims to get pro-choice women elected to office: https://www.emilyslist.org/
And finally, VOTE!