While registering voters in Clark County last month, I came face to face with young people’s depression and disengagement from politics. Though they don't want Trump and support Clinton, many won't be voting this year. They feel their vote doesn't matter, that it won't be heard, or that it feeds a “sinful” system.
Millennials aren’t dumb kids; we are radical idealists.
One young man in Vegas told me that in order to create real change in this country, we need to implement mass strikes. That may be, but strikes aren’t on the ballot. Candidates are.
We need to bring young people into the political process by voting in our elections -- not as a substitute for more disruptive or community-based action, but as one necessary part of creating change.
To do that, we need to level with them. My sister Zoë and I made this frank PSA with the help of a team of young people passionate about creating change in this world. Our aim was to speak to our generation, not at it, about the importance of voting within a larger context of activism and engagement. Voting won’t radically transform our society overnight, yet voting remains essential. It’s how we set the agenda, and how we expand and change what’s possible. Our message: Vote and also protest. Vote and also write. Vote and also strike.
Please share this video with someone before Tuesday. And remember to VOTE.