One of the most striking features of the Obama campaign was the enormous influence and involvement of young people from the start. While the dramatic souring of the economy in the months leading up to election day (in addition to the Palin factor) certainly helped win over many older, middle-of-the-road voters to the Obama camp, the same cannot be said about his younger supporters. Polls suggest they hold more socially liberal views, and are more open to an expanded role for government in addressing social injustices, than their older counterparts. Of course, this wasn’t the only reason nearly 70 per cent of them voted for Obama. The movement behind the democratic candidate spread almost virally, with facebook groups appearing even before his official candidacy was launched. The campaign didn’t just reach out to young people; young people were a key driving force behind the campaign. And while the administration hedges on some issues, like LGBT rights, young people continue to push a progressive agenda through organisations and their own social networks, making for a healthier, more vibrant democratic society in the process.
What does this mean in a British context?
Youth engagement with politics offers a real chance to strengthen the vibrancy of
British and European democracy, while contributing innovative ideas that can
help us all. An awareness that simply giving a speech to a youth wing of a
party is not enough; young people must be met where they are, rather than waiting for them to connect with ‘traditional’
structures of engagement that they may perceive as unresponsive or irrelevant.
Overcoming this apprehension requires increasing opportunities for young people to contribute their
energy at the local, British, and European levels. The benefit of doing so is two-fold.
First, new ideas can help to invigorate institutions increasingly viewed as
irrelevant, with the benefit of increasing their responsiveness and relevance
to the citizenry. Second, engagement breeds familiarity and knowledge of
these institutions and helps young people to see why they are so important,
creating long-lasting commitment to their upkeep. Britain’s place in Europe in
particular would benefit from active youth involvement, ensuring commitment to and
further building of a healthy and responsive European level democracy. With public wariness of
politics and governance reaching new heights, engaging with the young in new
ways from the grassroots up will strengthen and secure our democratic community
into the future.
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