COLUMN: Fads outweigh substance in millennials’ politics


Just a few weeks ago, thousands of protesters, many of them young people, took to the streets in Russia to speak out against rampant corruption. Met with stiff resistance, thousands were arrested as Russian dreams for a freer nation once again faded into a backdrop of repression and censorship. But across the seas, American millennials who, after the Women’s March and other demonstrations, have done their own fair amount of protesting, favor sexy over substantial political engagement, rendering us complacent in the face of political apathy and ignorance.

Our fascination with controversial speakers may spark great Facebook comment threads but ultimately misses the point.  Take for example the University of California, Berkeley, where two clubs invited unabashedly bigoted conservative commentator Ann Coulter to campus to speak on immigration.

In an age where the conflict around freedom of speech garners more attention than the conflicts dotting the Congo and Yemen, the obsessive, polarizing and media-driven debate around the First Amendment will likely yield more spotlights held and abused by provocateurs like far-right internet personality Milo Yiannopoulos. We delude ourselves by thinking controversy sparks understanding or awareness and in the process prioritize sensationalism over sensibility.

But before millennials can attend speaking engagements or even log out of Facebook, they first must dodge political memes left and right.  Marketed at best as political humor and at worst, as methods of political dialogue, memes, especially in light of the election, have risen to comfort — and incite — inform, delude, engage and disenchant. 

But for the most part, they cast serious issues in a light that ultimately favors flashy trends and viral news over real issues. Sharing a meme on social media may garner likes and laughs, but these pictures with text detract us from real, substantive politics and, even worse, can act as a form of substitution for real political engagement.

And now we turn to the elephant, or rather the protester, in the room. Americans of all ages and stripes took to the streets and social media to the Women’s March on January 21 to advocate for equality and women’s rights. And with the recent Trump Tax Return Rally and the upcoming March for Science, we can expect to see the same: a burst of millennial “political” energy and social media presence — followed by little else.

Rallies make for good profile pictures, but in the long run, real political engagement requires much more.  Take the March for Science: Millennial participation remains crucial to elevate the cause of science, but once the posters gather dust in the closet and the temporal bursts of energy and activism subside, more needs to be done.

Protests may gather attention in the short term, but to ensure a real shift in the political dialogue, we need to dedicate ourselves to calling members of Congress, adding our voice to the discussion regarding science and resolving to get involved in campaigns to elect politicians who share our values.

Regardless of this recent “millennial political involvement” taking hold, we must remain aware of the real issues.  Only half of the people in our generation cast ballots in the recent election, well below the national average. 

But we can become the generation that wields the greatest political clout in the nation. 

Next election cycle, millennials will form the greatest share of the electorate, but before we voice our opinions at the ballot box, we must first cultivate a greater sense of civic engagement in the other 11 months not named November.  And this civic engagement must be more focused and purposeful.  No longer can we be satisfied merely with controversy, memes and marches. This is our country — let’s act like it.

Alec Vandenberg is a freshman majoring in public policy. His column,“Civil and Civic,” runs every other Monday.