Over the past few years, the United States has had its fair share of embarrassing moments in politics, ranging from Mitch McConnell freezing in two of his speeches to the controversies surrounding Dianne Fernstein’s declining cognitive abilities. A problem in our government has been revealed, and no, it is not our politicians’ fault.
The average age of U.S. Senators is 64, which is over 10 years higher than the average age in the government of countries like the United Kingdom and Canada. Our politicians are showing us that Father Time catches up with everyone. However, it only proves that the issue is with voters for continuously reelecting politicians who cannot effectively carry out their job.
“Most people say they like their state leaders, and a large majority even remembers learning about state government in school,” Johns Hopkins University political scientist Jennifer Bachner said in an article written by Johns Hopkins University. “Despite this, most people are not aware of who exactly represents them and the significant decisions made by their state government.”
Young politicians are running, but older candidates get disproportionately more media coverage, funding and partisan support. This is because the two major parties prefer giving support for incumbents or politicians with previous experience since they are more likely to agree with their party’s agenda instead of trying to bring in new issues. Parties like predictability, and being able to have confidence in the fact that a candidate will not make changes that do not align with the party is a major benefit.
“The biggest impediment to get elected, no matter how old you are, is name recognition,” AP Government teacher Steven Plette said. “Generally in politics, the older you are, the more name recognition you have, but this was historically addressed by younger politicians starting small and building a backing from their communities.”
This is exactly why being an educated and well-researched voter is necessary. Rather than voting based on familiar names and faces, Americans need to understand and research a candidate’s values and political agenda.
With the younger generation’s renewed interest in politics, both as voters and candidates, the power to change our government is in our hands. With the Class of 2024 becoming eligible to vote in the presidential election, a new generation of voters are able to make their voices heard. Americans need to start caring about the government again.
“Political apathy is not a new problem, and it is only made worse as people don’t see themselves represented in government,” Plette said. “The only way to bring in new voices in government is to tell the younger generation that their vote matters.”
