It'll pay off. Sooner or later. Maybe.

I do not believe most Millennials are voting cynics. By voting cynics I mean people who think voting doesn't make a difference. If that description doesn't fit you or those you know I wasn't talking about you.

There are voting cynics of all ages, but, for example, older voting cynics will not be the ones who suffer the most from what will happen to the Earth's climate over the course of their projected life times.

And surely you do not dispute that younger voters are less likely to vote in general than older ones? This country will change for the better when that fact changes.

Boomers voting for Republicans is at least as big a problem as millennials not voting, and yet I only see these patrionizing posts pointed in one direction.

Millennials are not uniquely stupid. They are not the only age demographic behaving in a manner that is seemingly contrary to their own self interest. Also, we're not kids. I'm 35 years old, I have a job, a spouse, and a mortgage. You really think you're gonna get through to people in my demographic talking to them like a scolding parent? Good luck.

When I say that when more younger people vote our nation will change for the better that explicitly means that I believe that younger voters in general have better values overall than older voters. I welcome the perspective and leadership of generations younger than my own. I count on the idealism and relative anti-materialism of youth to pull our nation back from the brink of disaster. Mostly I was thinking of people younger than yourself who choose not vote and the potential consequences over their lifetimes of that choice at this turning point in our history.

I am critical of older generations, my own included, for not being united enough against evils such as racism. Boomers voting for Republicans is a huge problem, but I am forced to assume that they do so because they agree with the Republican Party when they do so. If I could think of a new way to reach them I would, but if this Trump Administration hasn't turned them against Republicans by now I am not sure what will.

I am assuming that most young non voters DO NOT agree with what Trump is doing to our nation. They do not need to be de-brainwashed, they are not FOX viewers. I will put by trust in their votes if they actually cast them. And for the record, of course I assume that DU members of every age will be voting on election day. I do not think any DU readers are voting cynics.

I'd like to see apples to apples comparisons-- what were Boomer voting patterns like when they were in the same demographic?

I'm 38 years old. I don't have a husband or house, but I've been in the real world for awhile.

These 'kids' that many here complain about are actually Gen Z, the too young to remember 9/11 kids.

"and yet I only see these patrionizing (sic) posts pointed in one direction..."

Most likely because your bias prevents you from seeing anything that invalidates your narrative. But those posts are there. I open them. I read them. I sometimes respond to them.

Good luck, indeed.

Fascinating.

I'm here, am I not?

People in my age group might be less politically engaged per capita, but those who are engaged are just as reliable. Don't believe the hype.

political activists I have ever known or met. Those who have chosen to be engaged are incredibly well informed and extremely effective at organizing. I greatly appreciate all that they are doing. It gives me real hope. More power to you, sincerely.

I appreciate the kind words. And I can appreciate the fact you posted this out of genuine concern for the future. I too hope more people in my age group will get out to vote Tuesday, but we need to be more serious about political disengagement in young people and how best to correct it, because what we have been doing for at least the three decades I've been conscious hasn't been successful.

You wrote: "we need to be more serious about political disengagement in young people and how best to correct it."

I fully agree, and some big part of that falls on those who play significant roles in current political, media, and educational institutions. A democratic society bears some responsibility for instilling democratic values (small "d" democratic) in it's citizens. And a democratic society must be responsive to the concerns of citizens. On so many fronts today it is discouraging how often the opinions of our citizenry are ignored or overridden. : on gun safety, on abortion, on protecting "dreamers", on tax policy, and so much more.

...I didn't have an overtly politicized childhood. I didn't know my parents were Democrats until I became active in politics myself as an adult. They both came from a time and place where it was considered unseemly to talk politics openly, and while they were very civically active (they both voted regularly), they never endorsed candidates or parties in front of me or my siblings.

I got really involved after 9/11. Started protesting the war. Worked on a couple of campaigns. I imagine it mirrors the Boomers' Vietnam experience somewhat, though the stakes were much lower in my case.

I don't know. I think there's a lot going on with my generation contributing to the lack of civic engagement. I would like to think the biggest reason is we're still young (mostly) and still thinking about more immediate, provincial concerns that aren't really being addressed in tangible, meaningful ways, but I get the suspicion there are cultural aspects as well, and those will not be easily reversed.

On top of that there was the "counter culture" which helped us form an oppositional identity. I would love to listen to a panel discussion among those more your age exploring some of the questions you raise here. Namely what were the cultural aspects of coming of age in or close to the 2000's etc. that effect civic engagement in various forms (I don't assume that those who do not prioritize voting are not in civically involved in other ways.)

I'll add that while I was a strong political activist through all of my adult life, I resisted significant involvement in electoral politics (aside from voting) until after 9/11 myself.

They listen to what they have to say, consider it carefully and react accordingly.

But saying "Stop talking to us like we're teenagers" gets you nowhere, especially when that seems to be pushback to any criticism or attempt to educate - and, in fact, is the kind of response that immature people give whenever anyone tries to talk to them.

FYI - if you want to be treated with respect, acting respectfully toward others will get you much farther toward that goal. But telling everyone else that THEY'RE doing it wrong, THEY'RE talking to you wrong, THEY'RE approaching you wrong - while consistently complaining that THEY'RE not being nice enough to YOU - gets no one anywhere.

But that would be Mom.

And thank YOU for helping to make my point.

Congratulations.

The more you write, the more you prove my point.

You two get along now or I swear I'll pull over at the next scroungy rest stop and you can get over yourselves while staring at rotted picnic tables and overflowing trash cans.

You got the same britches to get glad in that you got mad in.

Full disclosure: I'm Gen-X, so I have no dog in the Boomer/Millennial fight. But, it's interesting to watch.

The Boomer/X fight was way worse.

I was speaking of Boomer/Millennial

One that FINALLY doesn't involve us.

That's such an X thing to do.

We never thought we'd see adulthood, so we were programmed from the start to believe in our own life's futility.

Any day we're not dead is a mildly pleasant surprise.

So my experience isn't wildly different from those on the younger side of X. I remember the tail end of the 1980s, but that's about it.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other... and each as without merit as the other.

Congratulations, indeed...

Enjoy.

Why didn't you say that to the OP? Or to yourself.

And I'm at the top of the Gen X age demographic (52) and even to me you sound like a parental scold. And that never works well.

I've added to what I wrote a couple of times since then during the discussion. I am just as critical of people my own age who are worried about the direction our nation is taking, but not voting, as I am of those in younger generations. There are relatively fewer of them though, and at this point in their lives, they are pretty set in their (IMO) counter productive ways.

I realize you have changed it and that indicates an understanding of how your tone came across. That's noble.

I just thought the person scolding people for doing things wrong telling people that they are doing things wrong was an ironic gold mine.

I teach high school. These kids are way more politically active than I was (Gen X) at their age and I was pretty active.

scolding" while young people lecturing and instructing and complaining about what everyone else is saying or doing or not saying or doing or the tone of what they're saying or doing is simply speaking truth to power and must be heeded without comment or feedback.

As I said, mature people can listen to advice and criticism without whining that they're being subjected to "parental scolding." And if they are so sensitive to their perception of the tone or content of what people are saying to them makes them that they disengage from the political process, well ...

Frankly, I've already got mine. I'll be fine whoever is in power but am fighting for those who aren't fine and aren't going to be fine. And I've been doing this for decades and know a little something about it - largely because I listened to and learned from those who came before me and didn't accuse them of being "scolds" or reject their advice when they told me their honest truth. But if anyone feels that this is personal and that they need to disconnect from the process that impacts them because they don't like something I've said on an online discussion board, again, well ...

Wake up people!

Of course participation dropped as soon as the war was over.