FREE ESSAY ON GEN X

GEN X

We Do Not Xactly Care About the Government
What is the point of the government? This is a question I often ask myself. I am a member
of Generation X, or so I've been labeled since I was born in 1981. I have been labeled as
lazy, irresponsible, and apathetic. One of those words applies to me right now, and that
is my apathy toward the government. At this time in my life it does not matter what
happens in the government, it will continue to run without my input. Perhaps our
indifference toward the government is one of the many problems with my generation. 
There are many reasons why young people do not vote, or get involved in political
actions. They range from apathy to just plain not having enough time. One of the larger
reasons is that most candidates are much older then those 18-25. Generation X has lead a
different life style since birth then those of older generations. We like different
music, different movies, there is not much we have in common. Generation X has grown up
in a world of money and quickly changing technology. In order to be the President of the
United States of America, one must be thirty-five years old. Automatically that is at
least a ten-year age difference between the two groups. There is an ever growing
generation gap between candidates and youthful voters. In the case of the 1996
Presidential election, Bob Dole was in his seventies, my grandfather is not even seventy.
Bob Dole and many other candidates in recent and past years have had trouble relating to
Generation X and vice versa. 
Another reason why Xers are turning away from the government is lack of political
education. The last of the Generation Xers will be entering college in the 2000-2001
school year, to most of us college is much more important then politics. I know if I had
the option of watching a presidential debate or studying, I would opt for the studying.
At this point in my life getting good grades is a lot more important then knowing what is
going on in the political world. College students also feel isolated from the outside
world. Sure one can watch the news, but it is not the same as at home. At home many
parents watch the 5:30 news when they get home from work. However, if it was up to a
Generation Xer to pick what to watch at 5:30, it would probably be MTV or VH1. Parents
are also more likely then a college student to buy the newspaper every day. The
lifestyles of Generation Xers do not allow for everyday exposure to politics. 
The few students who take the time to get involved in politics and educate themselves,
are faced with yet another problem. Students find many major political candidates have
paid little, if any, attention to the issues that affect young people the most. Maybe
these older candidates do not think kids can make a difference in political elections,
but they are wrong. Elections have been won or lost due to the support of younger voters.
In 1992, 50% of registered voters under the age of 30 turned out to vote. In that
election, Bill Clinton received fifty percent of the less than 30 votes (Bush received
thirty percent, Perot twenty percent). Clinton's twenty percent margin of victory in the
young persons vote was his largest in any age group and may have very well put him in the
White House. 
The biggest issues which affect younger voters are those issues that deal directly with
them such as money. Most college students are concerned with some sort of financial aid
such as student loans, tax cuts, social security, minimum wage and Federal Pell Grants.
Other issues which interest young people are birth control, AIDS, and helping out the
environment. If a political candidate would show the littlest interest in young voters,
they could very easily gain their support and perhaps their vote. For example, Bill
Clinton stopped at many colleges and talked about issues concerning college students. He
attacked Bob Doles lack of support for Federal Pell Grants. Therefore, Clinton easily
gained the support of many college students. Generation X has always looked for some
politician, any politician, to pay the least little bit of attention to them. 
Being payed attention to by political candidates also brings up another issue. Since the
littlest sign of interest by a candidate can easily hook a young voter, is this all the
support they will ever be shown? I will always wonder if candidates are genuinely
concerned about issues that concern me or will they only appear to be concerned on the
surface to gain my vote?
To my generation, Generation X, the government is viewed as deceiving. We have never felt
like we could really trust the government. Watergate, Whitewater, and more recently, the
Monica Lewinsky scandal, have all given my generation a reason not to trust the
government. President Clinton lied to the entire country about Monica Lewinsky, why
should anyone trust him to run the government? What else is he lying to the American
people about? I do not want to take part in an institution who regularly lies to the
people who trust the government most. By the time the government is in my generation's
hand, we will be left with a huge national debt, and we will probably never see half of
the money we have put into social security. Is my one vote really going to change this
huge establishment that runs our country? I think this is how many Generation Xers feel.
Can I really make a difference?
However, there is hope for our apathetic Generation X. We are more involved in different
organizations such as SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving), The Sierra Club, and
Republican or Democratic Clubs. Just the other day I received an E-mail requesting my
presence at a meeting for the Republican's club. Two days later I received another E-mail
for a Democratic group. There are a few students interested in government and hopefully
their interest will rub off. Who knows, maybe Generation X will be the generation to
change what is wrong in government today. As a part of Generation X I can only hope that
we can make the necessary changes to the government and leave our children with more to
work with then we have right now. 
Bibliography
Works Not Cited
Brown, Steve. Generation X: Deficit, Debt and Entitlements.
http://www.cc.colorado.edu/Dept/EC/generationx965/genx/genx1.html (20 Oct. 1999)
Cheslog, Craig. A Concord Coalition Backgrounder: Listen Up, Generation X.
http://members.aol.com/genxcaol/info-48.htm
Nelson, Rob. 100 Harshest Facts About Our Future. Revolution X.
http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/LEAD/harsh.html (20 Oct. 1999).