Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

buddhamanjpb t1_ituzso3 wrote

This is so true. What's really interesting is that young people are taking an interest earlier and earlier in politics and while they are all over social media defending their rights, they still do not turn out to vote. Voting is the most powerful tool that can be used to defend what they believe in.

I think it's just because they don't truly understand the impact that these people in office have in their lives. I'm 42 now, but I didn't cast my first vote until I was 26 for the same reason. As you get older, you start to realize that the decisions made in Washington and in your local Capitol building really affect your life, your future, and your wallet.

2

mooscaretaker OP t1_itvcj6b wrote

That's also a great point, they're more interested and they realize the importance of politics but still don't turn out. I am constantly texting my kids and their friends during election season (and I pretty much leave them alone the rest of the time) to get them out but I wonder what else can be done.

4

Seasnek t1_itvi88u wrote

Both system change and cultural changes are needed. On a system level, make it easy to vote, which RI kinda is good about, the voter info website is very good (could be better about non English languages) we have mail in ballots legalized and early voting. Still need Election Day to be a day off so there’s more accessibility.

The culture shift is a harder thing, it will take time to do that work of convincing people one by one how the systems work, that their vote counts, that they can make informed choices, just like any habit, it will take time and repetition on a community yearly scale.

I will also counter that I know many people who have said voting doesn’t work so I’m going to make change in other ways such as community organizing participating in actions and other stuff outside the legislative electoral system. My response has been always well voting is the bare minimum, it’s something to show up twice a year too. But I do want to highlight that some people have lost faith in government and have been working to strengthen this community outside the system.

3

buddhamanjpb t1_itvjd8g wrote

That's a massive issue right? The trust in our Government by it's citizens is at an extreme low. A lot of that is based off of misinformation from various media outlets, but a portion of it is based in reality. Our Goverment has done some really fucked up things over the years, and it feels like fewer and fewer people are getting into office for the right reasons.

This country can never be run properly until Citizens United is repealed. We MUST get money out of politics.

3

Seasnek t1_itvkj2n wrote

Heres a crazy stastic for yah, in RI, we are number one in the country for frequently speaking to and spend time with friends/family, but rank very low for speaking to friends/family/neighbors about political/social issues and volunteering/participating in groups.

[maybe I should post the graphic in the subreddit as its own post, its very interesting]

we need a strong culture shift to talk to each other more!

3

buddhamanjpb t1_itvxoit wrote

That's an interesting statistic. I know that from growing up here, the rule was always, never talk about politics or religion, but I've always felt in recent years that the rule no longer applies since everything in our world is now politicized.

2

Seasnek t1_itvzaab wrote

Everything in our world was always political. Not talking about it led to assumptions that politics is separate. Now that we’re talking more about it, we can see the nuances of how government and policy affects our everyday lives.

2

buddhamanjpb t1_itvzm6f wrote

It's made everyone segregated and even hate each other in some cases though.

I'm not sure about everything. Take masks for example. Something that got politized that had no business being portrayed that way.

I'm not sure which situation is worse. In a perfect world, we could disagree on something and come to a compromise, or find equal ground, but it's nasty out there.

1

Seasnek t1_itw0gfa wrote

Ah your wording threw me off. You mean polarization, or when a topic is turned into a “support this or you’re bad” such as masks. Because pandemic response and public health is political, we have had responses to pandemics before and providing vaccines. You’re right that it was turned into an “issue” rather than being okay let’s put into policy that we will follow the best guidelines for responding to a pandemic. (Which again, is a political act)

If we as a culture practice talking to each other about difficult subjects rather than saying “just never talk about politics or religion” then it would get easier. It’s a skill to be able to have discussions with people. That’s a skill we all need to work on.

2

mooscaretaker OP t1_itvjiuk wrote

I always think local govt works, you can go to your local board or council or whatever and have a one on one conversation there. But I also think politicians and people in power are more accessible in RI compared to most other states. Voting on local issues is where someone can actually see the difference voting makes.

1

Seasnek t1_itvjzhs wrote

I completely agree. Also to note, most 16-18 year olds are pushed to focus on COLLEGE APPLICATIONS. They are stressed the heck out to even think about making a difference. Even then, they can't get invested because they're most likely going to be moving out of state for school. I'm curious how many 18 year olds in RI are transplants or grew up here.

2