The 2016 presidential election is approaching fast, and for many students this will be the first election they are eligible to vote. While everyone seems excited and ready to talk about their opinions at any moment, statistics indicate that less young people in America are participating in voting. Among those who do plan to vote, there is little room for varying opinion, or in many cases political opinions at all. While it may seem like we have little say in how our country is run, it is critically important that young people stay informed, form their own opinions, and express those opinions when election time rolls around.

The right to vote is an important principle our country was founded on, but it seems to matter less than ever nowadays. With each election, the number of voters drops compared to the year before, specifically among young Americans. In addition, the number of young people with political opinions is dwindling. Students are America’s future, it is immensely important that we have our own thoughts and opinions. America’s youth must stay informed and vote if we want to make any progress as a country.

According to civicyouth.com, 19.9 percent of citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 were a part of the 2014 election. This was the lowest number of young voters in a federal election in our country’s history. The last presidential election brought in 45 percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29. This was down from 51 percent in 2008. Young people aren’t voting because they feel they do not have as much at stake, and they do not feel their vote matters. While we may not be immediately affected, the decisions our leaders make right now shape the future we will be living in. Any major that are mistakes made, especially fiscally, will need to be repaired by our generation.

The dropping number of voters is partially due to the fact that young people are starting to care less about politics. According to the Economist, when asked why they were choosing not to vote, a majority of young people answered that they were uninformed, didn’t care, or found politics boring. This mindset we have created for ourselves is dangerous. Politics may not be your passion, but it directly impacts every American citizen. The laws our leaders pass are the laws we will have to follow. The economy they create is the economy we will be working, shopping, paying, and living in. If we can’t be bothered to play even a tiny role in this, we are giving up all basic freedoms we once had.

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When political conversation does arise, it is often pushed away, because students are often afraid to talk about it. We don’t want to fight, and therefore we don’t want to talk about what actually matters. If we are not allowed to talk about how we feel about a variety of fiscal and social issues, we will start to lose our opinions. Conversation is a way of educating; should we not have the ability to keep it civil? If politics are too controversial of a subject to ever be discussed, we will slowly become a futuristic dystopia. We need to form and discuss opinions if we do not want to become mindless zombies, who do whatever we are told.

People argue that they do not want to vote because their vote will not make a difference, and therefore doesn’t matter. It is true that your vote will unlikely be the singular vote that breaks the tie of presidential candidates, but that does not mean it’s not important. The government does keep track of who is voting and their age range. Voting lets the government know what your generation wants. It’s also a principle our country was founded on, and one we’ve fought hard to protect. It represents something much larger than a single ballot.

If young people do not get more involved in politics, our country may be headed in a dangerous direction. We are selecting the leaders that will paint our future. What we decided today shapes tomorrow. We are lucky enough to have the ability to decide our country’s future, it’s important that we do it.