Voting

Everyone in the media is wringing their hands about voter turnout.  It seems we have to somehow convince young people to vote.  What is the problem here.  If you are registered to vote, it takes about 15 minutes of your day to cast a ballot.  If you are not registered it may take a few minutes longer to take care of that aspect of your civic duty.  Of course, I'm a late middle aged white man whose presence at a polling place is a given on election day.  No one will dispute or even turn a hairy eyeball in my direction when I show up to vote.  I have voted in every election since I turned 18 and fully expect to continue this tradition.  So what is the big deal with this younger generation.  There doesn't seem to be any studies explaining why so few of the children of the baby boomers show up to vote.  As I said, time spent on actually voting is negligible.  The excuse that "my vote doesn't count" is feeble and self centered.  The disincentives many jurisdictions use to discourage voting is something to consider.  However, I think the main reason less than 60% of eligible voters cast a ballot is apathy.  This may be the hardest behavior to overcome, as anyone who has raised teenagers can attest.  It is still no excuse.  The stakes are extremely high and the policies that will be enacted if the insult comedian wins are so horrific as to be mind boggling.  Voting, even in the face of myriad distractions is not only the right and duty of everyone, but a commitment to a future we can all embrace.