Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter.
Gen Z is our best hope for peaceful politics, so let's stop dismissing them
Joe Biden ran to be a president for all Americans, and this includes young people who were critical contributors to his victory last November.
Young people have the power to influence presidential elections, but whether they influence presidencies is another matter entirely. Biden ran on promises that matter to young people. But, after less than three months in office, there is growing concern these promises were just lip service.
"Young people not only exist to represent the future of the country. We are here to effect change so that our country may have a future," one student activist told the Center for Law and Social Policy. "This past election, we overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden, cementing our place as a critical voting bloc," said Connor Kalahiki. "Despite our efforts, the issues we face are not prioritized. We face high unemployment rates, mental health crises, and injustice environmentally, socially, and economically — the pandemic has only exacerbated this reality. We cannot be ignored anymore."
"As a member of Gen Z, I was a part of this historic youth turnout. I supported Biden from the start," Ashley Lynn Priore, a national youth organizer, wrote for The Progressive on inauguration day. But it took months to connect with someone to urge the campaign "to consider the differences in policy based on ages. When I finally did get a call back, I was told something like this: 'This campaign is about organizing, not policy implementation.'"
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
Feeling dismissed, Priore concluded: "How do we expect to have a seat at the table for young Americans without actually engaging them in the White House? We are tired of being shut out."
These experiences are not unique, according to new findings by my organization based on surveys of tens of thousands of Americans ages 13 to 25 each year. After surveying their political perspectives in conjunction with a 2019-2020 national study, we discovered that 41 percent of young people feel that most adults in their lives disregard their feelings about political issues — and more than half (52 percent) believe they know more about politics than adults give them credit for.
"Older people, like our parents, don't really listen. They half listen to our opinions, thoughts, whatever the case may be. They don't really hear us out," Alyssa, 19, told us.
Additional data, however, suggests that young people are bearing the brunt of a political climate that doesn't put much value on hearing out anyone — their age notwithstanding.
When asked to describe how the adults in their lives talk about politics, young people selected aggressive, dismissive and disengaged (65 percent) almost twice as often as they selected considerate and inviting (35 percent).
Young people are watching as their parents, coaches, teachers, bosses and even spiritual mentors fail to model healthy political discourse. The result is that young people are seeing this trend toward political toxicity come up in their own exchanges and experiences. "I have had very few healthy political conversations in my lifetime. Nobody wants to listen. They just want to talk," explained Corey, 21.
Fortunately, Gen Z is course-correcting, even without much help from older adults in their lives.
Nearly half (48 percent) of all American adults say they've stopped talking to someone they disagree with politically, while few adults take time to educate themselves on what their political opponents really believe.
By contrast, 68 percent of young people have told us they would not stop speaking to someone who strongly disagrees with or opposes their political values. At the same time, 81 percent say it's important to understand both sides of a political issue, and 84 percent agree that getting educated about the views and perspectives of others is important for seeing both sides more clearly.
While a majority of adults are avoiding conversations with those they disagree with politically, 77 percent of young people tell us they want to have conversations about political differences openly.
If it's true that a majority of Americans are exhausted by the state of our politics, then we dismiss the voices and perspectives of young people at our peril.
It is precisely young Americans whose voices we should be propping up right now — because they are eager to subvert the political polarization that has become so commonplace that we now take it for granted.
Research is showing young Americans — even those with ages in the single digits — are informed and empowered when it comes to politics. We live at a time when information is more readily accessible than ever, and Gen Z is extremely savvy when it comes to accessing that information.
We can no longer justifiably assert that young people are naive and misinformed about politics, so we should stop treating them that way.
A brighter future for American politics is possible if we give Gen Z a seat at the table and hear what they have to say.
- Young people aren't the problem with civic participation. We're the ... ›
- Gen Z deserves to be politically independent and potent - The Fulcrum ›
- An invitation to Gen Z: Describe your wish for America. - The Fulcrum ›
- Generation Z is ready for its first chance to vote - The Fulcrum ›
MAP founder Steven Olikara (left) stepped down from the top job earlier this year. Layla Zaidane has been named the new CEO.
Millennial Action Project and its founder begin new chapters
Growing up in Milwaukee, Steven Olikara felt that playing music was the only way to bring people of all backgrounds and ideologies together — until he was inspired to launch the Millennial Action Project.
Believing the trend toward polarization had put American democracy on perilous footing, Olikara decided to translate his musical performances into political involvement on a national scale. In 2013, he officially launched MAP with the hopes that the next generation could bridge the political divide and put America on the right path forward.
Now, after nearly a decade at the helm, Olikara has stepped down as both he and the organization enter new chapters. On Wednesday, the organization announced as his successor Layla Zaidane, who previously served as MAP's executive director and COO. As for Olikara's next steps, the 31-year-old has his sights set on a potential Senate run next year when Republican Ron Johnson's seat is up for election.
"I'll be focused on how we can raise the consciousness of our politics and how we can bring the MAP model to a new level in our country," Olikara said. "I'm very deeply engaged in how that model can make a positive impact in my home state of Wisconsin."
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
His name is one of several that have been thrown out as possible Democratic contenders for Wisconsin's hotly contested Senate seat. Others include: Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry and state Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
There's a chance Johnson, who is in his second term, may not seek re-election, which would dial up the competitiveness of that race. The 65-year-old senator has said previously that he intended to serve only two terms, but he has not yet made an official decision. If Johnson decides to retire, his open seat would be one of two in a state that went to Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. (The other is held by Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, who announced his retirement last October.)
Regardless of where Olikara's political career takes him, he will stay involved with MAP as founder and senior advisor. (Olikara also serves on the board of directors for Issue One, which owns, but is journalistically independent from, The Fulcrum.) Over the last few months, he has been transitioning out of his leadership position while MAP's board of directors vetted more than 100 candidates for the role.
Ultimately, Zaidane was chosen because "there was no one quite so intimately connected or committed to MAP's mission and vision as Layla," board Chair Nicholas Maschari said in announcing her promotion.
Since joining MAP in 2016, Zaidane said, she has been "truly inspired by MAP's vision of a more inclusive democracy, led by young people."
As the new CEO, Zaidane will continue to grow the organization's Future Caucus Network, a bipartisan coalition of young legislators from across the country. Through this work, MAP and its caucus members will develop future-oriented solutions on issues such as climate change, criminal justice and democracy reform.
"It's hard to imagine a more important time for our country to move beyond the partisan framework that's defined our politics for far too long, and I am honored to be leading MAP and our network of young legislators in this movement," she said.
Zaidane, before joining MAP, was managing director of the youth-oriented Generation Progress and a marketing specialist for LivingSocial. She earned a degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
During his time leading MAP, Olikara said his biggest accomplishments came when he saw the hard work of his staff and legislators in the Future Caucus pay off.
"Often it happens behind the scenes where they exhibit tremendous political courage to get a bill over the finish line or when they reach across the aisle to build a coalition," he said. "That always speaks deeply to the possibilities of this movement, so it's these stories of growth and leadership that, to me, are the most personally meaningful."
And millennials' impact on politics will only continue to grow. Last year's election saw more victories from young candidates than ever before: 1,641 people under the age of 45 were elected to state legislatures — representing nearly a quarter of the total seats. And 81 young members from both parties, including 23 freshmen and 58 incumbents, were elected to the House of Representatives.
Plus, Democrat Jon Ossoff won his January runoff in Georgia, making him at age 33 the youngest person elected to the Senate since Joe Biden in 1972. Another young senator, 43-year-old Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas, was re-elected last year.
Olikara is hoping these young representatives will help inject new life into politics and political decision-making. One of the biggest problems MAP has tried to tackle from the outset is what he calls the "short-termism" of politics.
"It's all about short-term wins and short-term fixes, often at the expense of the long-term health of our country," he said. "It's been too politically convenient for our leaders to just kick the can down the road on a lot of generational problems, whether it's climate change or the national debts or preparing our workforce for the jobs of the future."
Having young people represented in state legislatures and Congress, Olikara said, is going to have a huge impact on policymaking because their generation brings different life experiences and ideas.
Reflecting on his time at MAP, Olikara said there is no person better suited to lead the organization into its next chapter than Zaidane.
"For over four years, Layla has been by my side for every major decision at MAP. She brought energy, conviction and dedication to her role first as COO and then as executive director & COO," he said. "As I step down from serving as CEO at the organization I helped found over eight years ago, I'm proud to pass the baton to such a capable leader. It's honestly a dream come true."
- Millennial Action Projects awards 3 for cross-party efforts - The ... ›
- Younger House members prove to be a bit more bipartisan - The ... ›
- Steven Olikara, cultivator of young and centrist leaders - The Fulcrum ›
The next generation can save democracy globally — but cannot go it alone
Meadows and Press are recent college graduates and junior fellows at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonpartisan foreign policy think tank.
The future of global democracy is startlingly uncertain.
Nearly 70 percent of countries exhibited signs of democratic decline last year, The Economist Intelligence Unit has concluded, while Freedom House's newest annual "Freedom in the World" report finds a decline in global freedom for a 15th consecutive year. And events of the past few months — from the attempted insurrection in the United States to a military coup in Myanmar — underscore the universality of democracy's present struggle.
As consolidated and fledgling democracies alike flounder, concern over the future of democracy has become a global topic of conversation, with some analysts and political leaders looking to younger generations for solutions to democracy's ills. But young peoples' mixed views on democracy, combined with the grim realities of any post-pandemic economic recovery, call into question optimistic narratives about a new generation's capacity for democratic renovation.
Recent data on youth involvement in politics present a complicated picture. Last year's presidential election, for example, saw record-breaking youth turnout: More than half of eligible Americans younger than 30 cast a ballot — an increase of 10 percentage points from 2016 and the highest rate of youth participation in nearly 50 years. In the 2019 European elections, record turnout was driven by a surge in participation by young people, with voters younger than 25 registering a 14-point turnout increase from 2014. South Korea saw its best turnout since 1992 in the National Assembly elections, bolstered by enthusiasm from young voters.
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
Beyond the ballot box, youth have also taken to the streets to make their voices heard, fueling the most significant protest wave in the last half-century. Young people led protests against long-standing economic inequality in Chile, against police brutality in Nigeria, against corruption in Lebanon and against endemic youth unemployment in Tunisia.
Youth political participation in many democracies is indeed on the rise, and cross-national surveys highlight high levels of optimism among young adults about their capacity to achieve positive social change. But that doesn't mean these people are inherently pro-democracy. In fact, many are doubting the ability of their democracies to deliver.
Today's young people are more dissatisfied with their democracies' performance than older people were when they were young. In Western Europe and Latin America, for example, a recent Cambridge University study found that, that while Baby Boomers started off relatively satisfied with democratic performance and became even more so, millennials' levels of satisfaction started out lower and have worsened.
Two additional factors bode ill for the notion that young adult political participation could be democracy's saving grace.
First, in the wake of the global pandemic, the economic outlook for millennials and their Generation Z counterparts remains dismal.
Youth unemployment rates are high and on the rise across the world, and the effects of the Covid-related recession are likely to be felt for at least the next decade. Furthermore, economists project that a bifurcated — or K-shaped — post-Covid recovery may be the most realistic expectation: Middle-income, white-collar workers may fare relatively well while younger people, who are more likely to have less secure jobs in industries such as tourism and hospitality, may be left behind.
Second, many young people hold troubling views about the necessity of "strong leaders" — either on the left or the right — to bring about political change.
Far-right political organizations such as the Jobbik Party in Hungary, the AfD in Germany and Greece's Golden Dawn have indeed benefited from surprising levels of youth support. What's more, the Cambridge report finds that several countries — including Brazil, Bolivia and Hungary, which have all elected illiberal populist leaders — have seen short-term increases in youth satisfaction with their governments.
Youth disillusionment with the mainstream democratic order is contributing to a search for alternatives, illiberal or not. If democracy further fails to deliver, this pro-populist strain could grow over time.
It's difficult to overstate the significance of this forecast: In consolidated democracies such as the United States and Great Britain, where democratic dissatisfaction is strongly correlated with high levels of economic inequality, an unequal pace of recovery may foment disillusionment. Young people who are already disenchanted with democracy may grow more dissatisfied or gravitate towards more extreme candidates.
Policymakers must not overlook these subtleties when crafting sustainable solutions to democratic erosion. Removing barriers to youth political participation, from restrictive registration policies to candidate age minimums, could help to reduce feelings of political alienation driving youth populist support. But there's also no guarantee that younger candidates will necessarily be good for democracy.
As such, policies focused on facilitating youth political inclusion must be supplemented with structural reforms meant to both improve quality of governance and counter illiberal narratives.
This will be no easy feat.
For governments, improving the quality of governance and delivery of public services may be rendered nearly impossible due to the severe political polarization that continues to plague democracies worldwide. But while solving the problems of government service delivery is a common refrain, less often discussed is how governments must simultaneously manage constituent expectations, which influence perceived government performance and satisfaction. Exercises in deliberative and community-based governance, like participatory budgeting, could help to build trust among young people, even in challenging governing contexts.
Finally, as antidemocratic forces become more adept at eroding truth for political gain, civil society actors across technology and education sectors must also invest in building digital literacy skills and countering misinformation. While older people may be more likely to share misinformation, studies show that adolescents also have a tough time distinguishing between fake news and trustworthy information online.
Investing in youth-focused media and information literacy initiatives could both improve youth digital literacy and give young people the tools they need to help their parents and grandparents learn the same best practices.
Galvanizing a new generation of democratic defenders is vital for democratic sustainability. But democracies cannot rest on their laurels. They must confront the democratic recession by actively working with and for their youngest constituents, or risk losing a generation's support for democracy itself.
- Pandemic or not, young people remain key to elections - The Fulcrum ›
- Youth protesting racism are the civic educators we need - The Fulcrum ›
- Young people found more ways to engage in politics in 2020 - The ... ›
- Designing youth civic education for representative civic participation ... ›
President Biden could learn from foreign governments that have formal structures for generating input from younger generations, writs Menon. Above, members of the News South Wales youth parliament engage in debate.
The oldest president should hold seats at his table for the youngest voices
Menon is in her first year at Princeton University and is a fellow with The OpEd Project, a nonprofit that promotes more diversity among thought leaders.
It is time for the Biden administration to ensure the voices of young people are finally heard by establishing formal roles for youth in the federal government.
A year ago, as I was a high school senior preparing to fly north as one of two delegates representing Florida in the annual Senate Youth Program, the Covid-19 pandemic began to take shape and our week in Washington was abruptly canceled. But it was replaced with a virtual program affording us the opportunity to learn from senators, Foreign Service officers nd public health officials. This unique experience, engaging with the inner workings of our democracy among other passionate students, left me wondering why we have so little influence over politics and the government in our country.
Young people played a pivotal role in last year's election. But to continue this momentum of youth civic engagement, we must be enfranchised and prioritized within the political system. When we see that our interests, and the interests of our generation, are protected by the government, we will be encouraged to participate for years to come.
Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter
The issues that disproportionately affect our generation — starting with climate change, gun violence and systemic discrimination — have been placed on the back burner for many years, and we need youth voices in our government to advocate for solutions that will benefit our generation.
Though a seat in the Oval Office may be reserved for those older than 35, politics at large must not exclude younger people. We need youth leaders to take on formal roles in government, representing the policy interests of the next generation.
For many years, for example, young people have been at the forefront of the climate justice movement, raising awareness and seeking solutions to the environmental, health and social implications of climate change. While the 78-year-old President Biden has appointed an extensive and dedicated climate team, we are yet to see any youth advocates represented in his administration.
Therefore, organizations such as March for Our Lives, NAACP Youth & College Division, United We Dream and Sunrise Movement have rallied behind the #YouthInGov initiative. It calls on the president to establish an independent Office of Young Americans, appoint a director of youth engagement and employ young people in administrative positions.
Policy making and advocacy will be most effective when it is intergenerational and collaborative — instead of one generation being left to speak for another.
We need equitable representation for members of Generation Z, from diverse backgrounds, to influence federal policy making from inside the government. Today, many such positions have age floors — 25 to be a House member and 30 to be a senator, for example — while many other countries reserve government positions for young people. Only Britons ages 11 to 18 may be elected to the UK Youth Parliament, where they advocate on issues such as educational access, child poverty and environmental justice. The forum has not only expanded the impact of young voices in the United Kingdom but has also introduced important policy initiatives such as the inclusion of physical and mental health education in schools.
Similar youth councils and parliaments exist across the world in countries from Canada to Malaysia, and from Afghanistan to Greece. And here in the United States, cities including Philadelphia, Sacramento, Calif., and Salem, Mass., have special panels for young people to advocate on behalf of their generation. Last year, for instance, the Philadelphia Youth Commission designed policies to minimize police and gun violence, increase access to sanitary products in public schools and expand Covid-19 information to youth populations — accurate responses to interests of the city's young people.
We need to expand such opportunities, from school boards to Washington. Giving a voice to youth advocates, especially those from marginalized communities, will engender a greater sense of belonging for this underrepresented group in politics.
There are many young Americans who genuinely aspire to serve our government, but they lack meaningful opportunities to do so. Opportunities are typically limited to campaign volunteering and organizing. Denied much of a chance to propose or craft our own policy solutions, we are instead forced to stand behind candidates we hope will prioritize our interests.
Young people are more than a voting bloc to be leveraged in the political power game; we are an important community with a large stake in politics.
In a society where influence is reserved primarily for older generations, youth activists have had to pave their own paths and build their own movements from the ground up. These youth leaders deserve recognition for their hard and often unpaid labor. More importantly, their efforts could be more effectively realized if they could directly engage with politicians and present their own solutions.
Politicians and adults are often too quick to dismiss youth activists as being immature and inexperienced, pointing to our age as a reason for exclusion. But they forget about the gravity of our lived experiences in a world where our schools are under siege and our homes at risk of submersion. They fail to recognize how these perspectives can move the static air of Washington. Age should not be the determining factor of whose voice matters. It should be determined by passion, compassion and the strength of ideas.
The political decisions made today will impact the world our generation inherits. It's not enough for politicians to thank young people for their support and their votes. They must allow us to speak for ourselves and play a role in shaping the world that will soon enough be in our hands.
- Pandemic or not, young people remain key to elections - The Fulcrum ›
- Youth protesting racism are the civic educators we need - The Fulcrum ›
- Young people found more ways to engage in politics in 2020 - The ... ›
- Designing youth civic education for representative civic participation ... ›
