Why Not Voting Screwed You and Our Generation Over

The real impact of political apathy among millennials in the midterm elections

Story by Albert Serna

You took the time to listen to all the hoopla over the importance of voting— how it could affect the next few years of your life. You even planned to go to the polling place. But at the last minute you decided not to vote and skipped it all together. Or you pulled one of those “my vote doesn’t matter” fits and logged onto Facebook instead. Congratulations, you are now part of the growing problem sweeping our nation: political apathy.

So why is this such a big issue?

For starters, this is the first time in eight years the GOP has taken control of the Senate and retained its control of the House of Representatives which puts them in a position to possibly thwart President Obama’s progress during his last two years in office. The GOP, also known as the Grand Old Party, or the Republicans, needed only six seats to take power and did so amidst low voter turnout, contributed in part by you. All the campaigning and political activism set by millennials such as yourself in both 2008 and 2012 to elect Obama is now for the most part down the toilet. Believe me, I am just as frustrated as anyone at all of things that could have and should have been accomplished in the past six years, but that’s not Obama’s fault entirely. He has been stuck with a congress that has vowed to block him at every turn. It is a miracle that he managed to pass the Affordable Care Act, which allows millennials like us to remain on our parent’s insurance longer and makes insurance more affordable for us. This has a made a huge difference in my life, and probably yours as well.

By voting, we have representation in congress and in state legislatures that can benefit us now and in the future. But the GOP does not represent the best interests of our generation. They have made it clear that they do not care about the environment by assuring the public it will stop at nothing to get the Keystone XL pipeline built. You know, the one that would transport oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico; the same one that could accelerate global warming to the brink of disaster. The same pipeline that could spell ruin for the Great Plains area.

But come on, your vote didn’t really matter, right? And the environment is something that you’ve never really paid too much attention to. Then how about sex? Do I have your attention now? Surely this is something that affects most of us directly. If you are a woman and you believe you should have the right to determine what goes on with your body, than you may be out of luck. States such as Colorado, New York, and Washington are a few that could face a setback in the fight for reproductive rights. More than likely the nation is about to see cases like Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which upheld a corporation’s right to deny certain kinds of birth control to their employees based on religious beliefs, brought to the Supreme Court.

Hold on, you won’t be affected by that whole mess because you’re gay right? Yaaaassss mama, let me dish the tea for you. I got some political realness right here, no shade hunty. That whole movement our predecessors started back in the 70s for equality— well gurl, let me tell you, it’s about to dry up faster than Hillary at a leather bar. Not only are there a slew of possible GOP presidential hopefuls who aren’t about gay marriage, but with such a conservative Senate and House, gay issues like workplace discrimination could see major setbacks. It is no secret that LGBTQ rights activists have had a hard time gaining favor with Republican leaders.

Either way you look at it, the GOP is now in a position to block some issues of importance to us millennials including reproductive rights, immigration reform, gay rights, and climate change. The New York Times reported that prior to the election, the Obama administration, which anticipated a Senate takeover, began to look into deals to help further the Democratic agenda. Despite possible plans for compromise, some believe the GOP will stop at nothing to keep the president from making any more progress while in office. In fact, it has been a constant tactic for the GOP to block actions and blame the Obama administration for its lack of success. Or in a more sinister move, blame Obama for just about everything they can possibly think of.

If that isn’t enough to worry you, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported that 48 percent of Americans are happy that the GOP has taken control of the Senate, while 38 percent are unhappy. This mirrors the public's opinion from 2010 when 48 percent of Americans were happy and 34 percent unhappy with GOP control of the House. In short, people are okay with the possibility of the GOP dealing some devastating blows to civil liberties and environmental issues.

It is a sad fact that nagging and complaining to millennials doesn’t seem to impact our apathy in the slightest. The only thing that does make a difference is when important things are taken from us and we have to fight to get them back. Maybe when woman are made to be reproductive property, gays are forced into conversion camps, and the environment is all but collapsed, then we will step into action by voting and showing some political interest. But then again, maybe liking something on Facebook might be more than enough to satisfy a momentary surge of political responsibility.

Here’s the deal people, and feel free to tweet me with any qualms about what I am about to say — despite how much we bitch and complain about our political system and how underrepresented our generation is, we refuse to get out there and be the change we seek.

We are not registering voters, helping campaigns that matter to us, or even just logging off and stepping outside to vote. If we were to do so, even in part, we would be the strongest political force out there. We say we care about the environment and social issues. Well let’s prove it. We have another election in 2016. Now is the time to begin looking at the issues at hand and to pick someone who won’t do us wrong. If we do not make ourselves heard now, we could end up with another eight years of Bush, and none of us wants an old white bush.

Substance is a publication of the Mt. San Antonio College Journalism Program. The program recently moved its newsroom over to Medium as part of a one-year experiment. Read about it here.