Eliot Sherman: Forcing politicians to pay attention

The saddest part of every political campaign, from student council to the presidency, is what I call the laundry list. It is a list of issues and promises that the candidate swears up and down are near and dear to his heart, the ones that the candidate claims will be the focus of his term in office should the good voters see their way to electing said candidate.

If you've seen any of these, you'll notice that universally, the first promise is "prescription drugs for seniors." Why? Because they vote. They vote in droves, and because of this, the ears of politicians remain sensitive to their key issues, which are, of course, prescription drugs and Social Security.

Which is why I cringe every year, as candidates swear up and down that prescription drugs are what motivated them to seek office in the first place, when I can't remember the last elected official who gleefully rammed bills on prescription drugs through Congress the way they do for tax cuts. Or foreign wars. Or a second tax cut.

For God's sake, our government spent $20 million on a marketing campaign for the new $20 bill! Marketing money, the one thing that doesn't need to be marketed, is worth $20 million, but candidates have enough sense not to run on that platform. So instead, they consistently promise to make it easier for seniors to get their meds and then, once elected, consistently ignore those aforementioned promises.

But us twenty-somethings, we're a bit of an enigma. We don't vote. Can't be bothered. It's sad, really, that the voting age was lowered for nothing. But don't worry; it's only your future. Politicians know that we don't vote, which is why they don't even give us the credit of pretending to care about our issues before cutting taxes instead.

Yes, I'm bitter, but part of the reason is that I'm afflicted with generational apathy just as much as any of you. We're all pretty busy taking midterms and boozing it up -- and besides, who even knows exactly how to vote? I mean, thousands of Floridians screwed it up, so it must be hard.(Between the 2000 election, the Marlins, Elian and Steve Spurrier, I say we cut Florida loose. Would you miss it? Would you? Oh c'mon, I'm just kidding.)

Rationally, I know that I'm not the only person who cares about this stuff. There are plenty in my generation who are politically engaged and astute about the issues and election processes. They just happen to be vastly outnumbered by those that don't know and don't care to know. I'm not asking for everyone to be fascinated with things like David McCullough's biographies or the presidential succession (that's right, I'm gonna open up and let all the nerdery hang out), but I think, at the very least, a mild interest in the election of those that will make our laws and determine our country's future would seem appropriate.

You don't even have to vote out of an inherent devotion to the importance of public service, or even an avid interest in politics. How about the seduction of power? I'm serious; the 18- to 24-year-old demographic could swing this presidential election. No one's expecting us to vote anyway, so we have the element of surprise on our side as well. If all that isn't reason enough, well... and it pains me to say this... MTV wants us to vote, through their Rock The Vote project, and if they say so, it must be cool! Right? Anything for the network that brought us Creed and Justin Timberboot.

But seriously, there is also the slightly more insidious matter of all the delightful debts and deficits that Congress seems determined to pass onto our shoulders since they figure we're not paying attention anyway. I have to say, up to this point they seem to be correct.

Despite all these reasons to make voting a regular habit, I'm not going to hold my breath.

So prove me wrong. Make me an idiot. I dare you, I beg you, whatever, just vote. It's a good time for it; if you live in Philly, there's a mayor to be decided on next week. But it doesn't really matter who you vote for, as long as you vote.

Vote Republican. Vote Democrat. Elect a socialist for God's sake. Just exercise this democratic right that we have been handed on a silver platter. People get killed in this world for trying to vote, so make sure that yours counts.

Eliot Sherman is a junor English major from Philadelphia, Pa.

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