Vincent Chen, Period 7, 3/12/2024

Vincent Chen Period 7 3/11/2024 Modern Mythology 2024

Socio-political Consciousness

Democracy. Demos, or the people, and kratos, meaning power. Put together, it means the government of the people, or democracy. But is it really? Over the past few years, we were shown again and again that our voices did not reach our governments. The Roe v Wade overturn, the increase in shootings, or recently, how a lump of cells are counted as life in Alabama. We tend to just chalk it up to be the faults of government officials, and continue complaining. But where does the problem really lie? In the corrupt and increasingly unfit to govern politicians, or is it elsewhere? 

Why are there really only two parties in congress? Why is it that every election always comes down to the two parties, and there have never been an independent president since George Washington? Can we truly pin all the fault on the corruption of the electoral process, or perhaps do we have to take part of the blame somehow?

The median age of members of the 118th senate is 65.3 years old, the average being 64 years old. The older generations, consisting of boomers and the silent generation constitutes 54% or the majority of Congress. The oldest member is 87, and still serving. While age could be an asset, as it comes with experience, I believe that in this rapidly modernizing and revolutionizing world of ours, we need to have representatives with the insight ad knowledge necessary to understand and lead our country through this ever-changing landscape of world diplomacy, economics, and domestic affairs. Take the recent congressional hearing regarding Tik Tok and social media. Without fully understanding how filters work, or how wifi connects a device, (evidence being the Texas congressman exposing himself that his For You page was filled with underage girls dancing “provaccatively”, and not understanding how an algorithm works) I do not believe that decisions should be made rashly regarding their usage. 

In light of the upcoming presidential election of 2024, we again seemed to have limited ourselves to only two “realistic” candidates, one being from the democratic party, and the other from the republican party, again. We seem to be blind to the fact that there are more candidates, other than just the Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. No, we chose to be blind to the fact that there are more than two viable options. An interesting conversation I had recently, when I had voiced my opinion on potentially voting for a third party candidate as my very first election, I was met with a response, “you are just going to throw your vote away”. Perhaps this mindset is what really contributes to millions of votes being “thrown away” every year, the mindset that independent third parties are never going to win. If we all agree to vote a third party candidate, then perhaps we will have a viable third party in our country. 

Now going back to my previous questions, whose fault is it really that we have representatives that perhaps do not have the full mental capacity or knowledge needed to make informed desicions? Sure we can blame it on the redrawing of district lines in electoral votes, or the numerous shenanigans and corrupt tatics that allow politicians to win a seat, but I believe that we ourselves have a huge part in this as well. In a study done by Harvard’s Institute of Politics, the number of americans aged between 18-29 who declared that they will “definitely vote” in the upcoming presidential elections has decreased from 57% to 49%. Why? Is it because in light of the recent developments and increasing exposure of the tactics used by politicians to unjustly claim power, or because that they feel that their voices were useless, and they were powerless in the decisions of their government? If that is the case, then it is all the more reason in voting.

We, as the younger generation need to increase our voter turnout, as it is up to us to change the world that we live in. While many of us may doubt our power in government, or may think that our futile efforts wold amount to nothing, it is essentially these doubts and feelings of futility that creates reality. In psychology, it is know as the self-fulfilling prophecy effect, what we believe in, we will unconsciously act towards that, making it a reality. So to change that, I urge that all of us to go out and vote. We can change our world! No matter how futile you believe that your singular vote is, know that there is power in numbers. One cannot change the world alone, but only one is needed to ignite the spark that will set the world alight. 

Don’t believe it? Well, history has shown time and time again that only one is needed to ignite the spark that changes the world. From the civil rights movement’s Martin Luther King Jr, to the one intellectual that stood up to the US government and called for ceasefire in Vietnam, time and time again, their valiant efforts allowed for positive change on our country. 

But does this mean that I am encouraging you to go out and immediately vote for the third party candidate? No. As always, do your research before voting. Follow your own beliefs, and no one elses. If you believe that your goals and vision align with the republican candidate, then go for it. If it aligns with the democratic then vote democratic party. What I am saying is that do not be confined and narrow your choices to only two, there are more, and do not harbor the mindset that your vote does not matter. It matters, and it could be the vote that changes the trajectory the country is going. The power lies in the people, us. It always has, it is now time to wield that power for democracy. 

Demos, or the people, and kratos, meaning power. The power of the people. It is time to vote, and change the world.