Nathan Weber

POLS 1100 MWF

23OCT2014
Paper #2

A Survey of Contemporary Political Awareness & Issues

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being
governed by your inferiors. That was said 2300 years ago by Plato. Yet only 58 percent of
eligible voters in America participate in elections. These statistics are astounding, and show a
great amount of political apathy in the nation. When demographics of eligible voters come to
light, an interesting fact is learned. In the 2010 elections, 41.8 percent of the population 18 and
over were reported as having voted. That same election, the demographic of both females and
males of the ages 18-24, only 19.6 percent had voted (U.S. Census, 2011). That unfortunate
statistic is well represented in our class. In a small class such as ours it should be fairly easy to
determine to which side of the political gambit we, as a class, lean. I dare to say neither, due to
the political apathy that exists among the 18-24 year olds.
Why is it that teenagers are so apathetic toward any form of political knowledge or
involvement? Most people might say that it is because they simply view politics as boring.
Others might add that they don't believe that politics affects their lives, and since they cannot
vote they see no need to participate. (Orrell, 2013) The amount of participants in class
discussion are further evidence of this fact. Enthusiastic people are curious and interested in the
subject of their enthusiasm. That is the opposite of apathy.
With enthusiasm, or the lack of apathy, comes knowledge. Even one that is engaged in
another task like reading the news or studying a topic of interest to them, they gain knowledge in
the parties at play in their focus. For example, if a student were passionate about the equality of

marriage and the right of same-sex marriage, they would study the topic, or follow the
advancement of the legal proceedings. This study would inadvertently lead to the knowledge of
governors, judges, and other politicians involved in making statements or opinions on the case.
Apathy is a factor that can account for the lack of knowledge that is represented by the class
survey. Senators, Representatives, even the Governor were only known by the majority of the
class. Barely the majority of the surveyed even knew the name of the Vice President of the
United States of America; a name that is said often in Saturday Night Live skits, or late night talk
shows. This is possible, either through apathy or the astronomical odds of actually never hearing
any of the names asked for on the survey, and those circumstances are not plausible. The lack of
enthusiasm, or inadvertent knowledge is further proof of political apathy.
Political parties, or even more simply, the ideals of conservatism and liberalism, have
policies and stances on each issue asked about in the survey. It is highly unlikely that even one
student voted yes or no to all the questions, in exactly the same way that a political representative
or their own declared idealism would have done. There are too many personal influences in each
students life that affect how they will feel in every agenda. Even beyond that, they could
conceivably vote opposing to themselves in a different time of the semester. To feel that they
vote one way or the other based on the views of a political affiliation is simplistic. The majority
of students have no idea what it means to be conservative or liberal. Through their own political
apathy they have not the knowledge required to make that declaration of affiliation. They make
it nonetheless, due to the upbringing they endured, or the opinions of their pop idols; not because
they have their own enthusiastic opinion.
When the answers to the survey are looked at outside of the political view, it is amazing
to see the similarities to pop culture. The majority of the students voted the same way my pre-

teen kids would have voted after watching modern television shows. They voted for whatever
was popular amongst the culture of teen pop. The issues of choice versus regulation will be
given to the side of choice. The choice of foreign policy versus national security, will be given
to the side of national security. The effects of these policies are not often considered in depth.
Only the image presented by being on the cool side of the issue. The majority of students are
apathetic, while most of the rest are apolitical. The Collins Dictionary defines apolitical as
"politically neutral; without political attitudes, content, or bias. (Collins, n.d.) Both of these
attitudes give way to being lead to a decision, instead of a decision being made by personal study
or critical thinking. Neither of those attitudes give rise to the effort of voting or taking action.
The original question was simple, do I consider the class to be liberal or conservative? I
dont. I consider them, as an average age of 23, to be young. I consider them to be whatever
current culture makes them think it is cool to be. They are apathetic.

Bibliography
Collins. (n.d.). Collins Dictionary. Retrieved from apolitical:
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/apolitical
Orrell, R. (2013, November 7). Political Apathy Exists in Todays Teenagers. Retrieved from The Dispatch:
http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20131107/teen/311079992
U.S. Census. (2011, October). Census.gov. Retrieved from
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2010/tables.html