The Trump Noise Machine
And a strategy for saving democracy
It’s just noise. Manufactured chaos, really, designed to raise anxiety. The large amount of wind coming of late from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee turns out to be nothing more than a distraction, or distractions. If it truly mattered, we’d tell you about it. But here’s the interesting thing: The polls are beginning to move, and not in favor of the GOP. Surveys in swing states this week revealed that President Biden is closing the gap on Donald Trump. Are chaos and crazy finally catching up to Trump? It is too soon to tell, but the early spring shift is real.
No doubt many of you have felt like diving into a foxhole over the winter, holed up at home and making the mistake of glancing at social media or cable news. Here’s a suggestion: Now that the weather is warming, venture outside and breathe. And after you have had ample time to soak in the spring sun, it’s time to get back to work.
We have 220 days until Election Day. The noise will only increase. So will the nonsense.
Let’s focus on something much more productive that could help save our democracy. We need a full-court press to register young people to vote and then get them to the polls.
We recently saw a heartening statistic: More than 8 million Americans have turned 18 since 2020. That means 8 million young Americans are eligible to cast a ballot for the first time. This is great news for our democracy. During the last presidential election, an increase in young voters was credited with helping to send a former president packing. Young people can save our democracy.
While the picture isn’t completely rosy, it does trend toward pink.
According to the U.S. Census, 54% of 18-29-year-olds voted in the 2020 presidential election. That’s up 11 points from 2016. More young people voted in 2020 than in any election since the 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. And several hot-button issues like climate change and abortion are important to this demographic.
That statistic is great and needs to trend higher, but a Harvard survey reported most young people do not think their high schools prepared them to vote. If you could see me now, I’d be shaking my head. The United States is arguably the greatest democracy in the world, but we are terrible at teaching our children about it.
The results of a test administered to eighth graders this year are downright frightening. Only 22% are proficient in civics and even less, 13%, are proficient in U.S. history. Blame the pandemic, sure, but also blame decades of fighting among a polarized population over how history and civics should be taught. If, indeed, they are taught at all. Which is a whole other subject that we intend to write about at length another time.
Back to what our young people don’t know. As The Washington Post reports, it’s not just about a lack of knowledge but a loss of connection with this country. A Morning Consult poll found there is a generational decline in a sense of pride in America. While three-quarters of baby boomers are proud of this country, that proportion drops to 16% of Gen Z, those born from 1997 to 2012.
If our young people do not understand the workings of our government and that their engagement and vote matter, why would they participate? As President Franklin Roosevelt famously said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” We are not building our youth for their future. We must do better.
Most importantly, how will our young voters be able to differentiate the noise and nonsense from what they need to know to make informed decisions? We need to spread the word with messages like this:
Donald Trump is the greatest threat to democracy in modern times. America is a great country where more unites us than divides us. It deserves saving, and it needs your help. Please register and please vote.
Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Steady will be examining this issue periodically. If you are a young person, let us know what matters to you and what will get you to the polls. If you know young people who are questioning the relevance of their participation, leave us a comment about why.
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Stay Steady,
Dan
Amen Dan! Now I have two words for everyone:Taylor Swift. She can lock up Trump in two more words: Vote Biden.
You know, Dan, my lovely house is not far from the high school. A lot of kids walk by everyday. Recently, I was out doing yard work and a couple of these folks walked by and complimented me on my landscape. Well, we got to talking and I discovered they were seniors who had turned 18. I spoke to them about their power to vote and they both replied that they had already registered. Made my heart just swell up! So please allow me to talk about Tik Tok and its positive influence on the younger crowd. Tik Tok provides a place where these folks can find their known celebrities speaking out about their power to make change. I know the government wants to get rid of it because of finding Chinese spyware on it. I get that but on the hand, this app is home for many and if it is reduced to nothing, the younger generation will feel cheated and possibly not vote. I do not feel we can take that risk. I also want to encourage people to look at Victor Shi and David Hogg on “X” who are big influencers promoting Biden-Harris. Hogg has been harassed by Marjorie Taylor-Greene relentlessly but he is backing young candidates who vying for seats at many tables. Maxwell Frost is the youngest person in Congress!