Young People: Grab your seat at the table

Young People: Grab your seat at the table

By,
Lauren Fleming

In the aftermath of a bloody health care battle, America has awoken to the realization that we no longer have control over the direction of our country. The most stunned of all are the masses of Gen-Xers and Millennials who sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to help Obama ascend to President. To these it has become glaringly apparent the stimulus package did not create jobs for those entry-level experts fresh out of the collegiate bubble, nor did the bailouts of Wall Street or the banking and auto industries soften the financial blow to our meager checkbooks. We now see partisanship and bullying have not created sufficient health care reform; but only alienated those with alternative ideas and dismissed a generation of taxpayers who will carry the burden of socialized medicine into the foreseeable future, perhaps indefinitely.
Reagan said that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” The current political climate, with its back room deals, pulpit bullying techniques, and hyper-partisanship, is enough to disenfranchise an entire generation of youth who are only learning how fragile freedom is. Our liberty has never been challenged; we did not live through the Red Scare, the Civil Rights Movement or Vietnam. Our only concept of defiance to American principles comes from memories of ash-covered victims fleeing tumbling buildings one September day nearly 10 years ago. And, we have never taken on a challenge so domestic as our very own President and his allies. This concept is, well, foreign to us.
Pew Research Center, a non-partisan organization, recently released a poll indicating that 75 percent of Americans are “angry” with the government, and one-third feel their personal liberties are threatened. Thomas Jefferson said that “every generation needs a revolution.” The time is ripe for this generation of Americans to learn what it means to take ownership in our country and to impart the nation’s future with our passion, our fortitude and our pride. History has shown that if we don’t take a seat at the table, we’ll most certainly be on the menu.

Lauren Fleming
Chair, Lake County Young Republicans
Lake County, IL