Mercury News
By DERRICK SEAVER |
PUBLISHED: August 9, 2017 at 6:00 am | UPDATED: August 9, 2017 at 6:07 am
In 1972, the voting age was lowered to 18, but since then, less than one-third of eligible young Americans have opted to vote in federal elections. (Bear in mind, however, that statistics show that just about 50 percent of all eligible citizens voted during the last two presidential elections, so, sadly, our young voters are not far behind the general population.)
As U.S. citizens, part of our job is to uphold our democracy, but according to a recent Pew Research study, only 48 percent of adults directly take part in any civic group or activity. Imagine what the repercussions would be if only 50 percent of U.S. employees decided to go to work tomorrow.
In our society, everyone has a role to play, but what happens when people stop doing their jobs?
We hear that people dislike politicians, are not “politically minded,” or don’t believe they can have an impact on what happens, but elected officials are tasked with listening and responding to the concerns of their constituents. America’s public services and freedoms require more from our citizens than mere patriotism; the future of our country depends on our voices, actions, and working with our representatives to get things done.
Santa Clara County is home to world-class technology, prolific economic development, 15 cities, 31 school districts, and some phenomenal organizations and public services. What we lack, and what we need now more than ever, is a unifying vision for civic development, education and engagement.
Finding ways to include youth in civic activities will help the next generation become active, informed and engaged; citizens who are prepared to participate in the electoral process.
Our youth and adults must develop a willingness to utilize democratic processes for making decisions and managing conflict. But first, we need to provide inclusive opportunities for all to engage in a dialogue about community issues.
Solutions begin with an idea, and implementation requires collaboration among community stakeholders.
Here at the SVO Foundation, we are building a civics education program for high school juniors through our Leadership San Jose Academy. It will focus on three elements:
1) How government works at every level and why building relationships with elected officials strengthens effective engagement.
2) The need to develop empathy in pursuit of greater civil discourse with those with whom we disagree, and the importance of shifting the purpose of discourse from seeking to persuade to seeking to understand.
3) Learning the analytical skills needed to determine the validity or factual accuracy of information we hear, read or see, and to identify the bias, underlying motives and intent of information generators.
Here in Silicon Valley, we pride ourselves on innovation. Let’s use our ingenuity and collaboration skills to help more youth become informed and active participants in the electoral process.
Together, we can help our communities develop a better understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy, and teach them the skills to participate as effectual and responsible citizens.
Derrick Seaver is Executive Vice President at The Silicon Valley Organization. He wrote this for The Mercury News. This is the third in a series of articles on civic engagement in Santa Clara County.