To Millennials and Gen Z: It’s Our Turn Now
Let’s prevent a future in which we think to ourselves, “I wish I had voted.”
Seven years ago, I called for my generation — the tail end of Millennials and early years of Gen Z — to care about politics. The world looked very different in 2013. President Obama had just been re-elected and America was the uncontested global and economic leader. Things seemed good. Why care about politics when everything is going well?
Complacency — as is so often the case — lulled our generations into thinking that progress was given, and not fought over.
Speaking generally, the values of the Millennial and Gen Z generations differ greatly from the Boomer and Silent generations. We understand technology and how to use it as a platform for content-creation and spreading our voice. We are less religiously affiliated. We grew up with more ethnic diversity in our schools. We had conversations on gender identity. But the differences in values don’t stop there.
Fighting racism and combating police brutality. The rights of the LGBTQ community. Combating voter suppression. Addressing climate change. Gun control. Expanding health care accessibility. The fight for reproductive justice. Feeding those who are hungry. The battle for affordable education. The list goes on and on. We, the Millennials and Gen Zers, are generally united in our values.
And oftentimes, these values collide head on with those of our elders — the ones in charge.
The Supreme Court in 2013 struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, effectively stating that racism no longer existed at the ballot box. Congress has failed to enact any meaningful gun control legislation in decades while watching our fellow high school students get gunned down time after time. Our policymakers are trying to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) despite skyrocketing rates of food insecurity. Rollback after rollback on environmental protection. Eliminating the rights of transgenders in our health care system. Exploiting the COVID pandemic to prevent women from receiving reproductive health care. Protecting predatory educational institutions rather than our students and veterans. In so many ways, America is not just stagnant — it is regressing, and fast.
The consequences of such regressions are immeasurable. The thousands of our fellow citizens who unnecessarily died from COVID-19 due to poor leadership and the dismissal of scientific principles. The battle for the rights of persons of color under the administration of the law, and the ensuing chaos that unfolded when peaceful protests were not only discouraged, but targeted by those in power. The financial ruin millions are facing. The hunger plaguing our children. The permanent destruction of our planet. The hurt, the stress, the loss, the pain of it all.
But in such a turbulent world, there is light. Now, more than ever before, we understand the impact of our voice in the world and are growing in power — and fast. Millennials are now, by many estimates, the largest voting bloc in the nation. Gen Z’s percentage of the 2020 electorate is expected to be 4% higher than it was in 2016. Millennial turnout doubled from 2014 to 2018 to 42% (which is notably still significantly lower than the 64% turnout of the Boomer and Silent generations in 2018). Millennials, Gen Z and Gen X, combined, outvoted the Boomer and elder generations in the 2018 midterms. We’ve taken more seats in Congress. And with time, the relative presence of our generations will only grow.
We have taken to the streets around the world. To our local legislators and police departments. To social media. To uncomfortable conversations with friends and family. To supporting organizations and businesses that reflect our values — inclusivity, diversity, social justice, among others. All to tell the world that the old way of doing things isn’t enough, and that our values are not being adequately represented by our leaders.
It’s inspiring that you care now. It’s inspiring that you are protesting. It’s inspiring seeing your social media presence. It’s inspiring seeing the uncomfortable conversations you have been having. It’s inspiring seeing your support of organizations and businesses with our values. It’s inspiring seeing some of our leaders respond to our demands.
But this is not enough. We must remain vigilant and channel this energy into votes for those who possess these values to achieve the results we seek.
Our voice only matters if we use it in a way that has a clear impact on our leaders. Let’s harness and exercise this power in local, state, and national elections. Let’s elect those who we can trust, those who have our values, and those who represent our interests. Let’s prevent a future in which we think to ourselves, “I wish I had voted.”
Mark your calendars. Cast your votes. Then, we can really get to work.
Julian Sarafian is a millennial born in the ’90s from Folsom, CA.
