KaraLee Langford, Editor

For generations, those before us have never failed to offer a remedy for life’s simplest decisions. Phrases such as, “I was once young too, you know,” or “back in my day…” seem to be  the starting point for elegant, life inspired conversation between young adults and senior citizens.

There is no doubt such conversations are only had to pass on wisdom gained throughout the years. Yet, in all their wisdom they fail to see how a conglomeration of differing thoughts and opinions can lead to assimilation between varying peoples. What they have failed to learn and teach, is there is no one singular correct path.

Particularly on the stance of politics, sides are always taken. One has to either be a Republican or a Democrat, conservative or liberal. Yet, what happens if someone identifies with more than one party? For most senior citizens, this is the very reason there is no real change happening in our government.

I would argue this is the reason there is about to be a whole lot of change within our government.

According to the United States Election Project, more than 70 percent of recorded voter turnout is of age 60 or older. The Washington Post says there was  A jump in 65-and-older voters from 2016, of seven points.” However, the collection of young voter turnouts had decreased by five percent from 2016.

Even with this knowledge, the younger generations are being blamed as the reason there has been no real change in our government. Yet it is clear the older generations still have the upper hand when it comes to politics. Therefore, why are we accepting the blame for something they clearly have control over?

It is not that the younger generations of voting age don’t care about it, they are just figuring out they don’t belong to just a single political party. If they can’t vote for what they truly believe in, why waste their time?

What sort of change are the older generations looking for to make a difference? Sure we have heard numerous times there is no change, but no one can say what the change needs to be.

The American Association of Retired Persons said, “While analysts point to increased energy among younger voters over the past couple of elections, people over 65 continue to show up at the polls far more than any other age group. At the same time, the number of voters who fall into the category of “older” keeps rising.”

There is no disagreement the voting population of older generations are the ones propelling those behind them forward. After all, older people tend to view voting as a responsibility and therefore more likely to take the time to go place their vote.

Ed Goeas is a veteran pollster and has been manufacturing the George Washington University Battleground poll. In an interview with AARP, Goeas said the American electorate is  the only group that looks out not only for their own well-being but the well-being of their children and grandchildren.

Yet, what if their efforts are not what the younger generations want to see in their government? Our circumstances we had to deal with are not going to be the same for those to follow. How can we be sure we are setting up our futures so that it will be better for those behind us if we can’t rely on the decades of life experiences those have gained before us?

It is simple.

It is not the younger generations fault there is no change in our government. It is the older generations who typically have a harder time adjusting to new changes. As the saying goes “it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.”

I am not saying older generations don’t try to make things easier for the ones following behind that they care about. Rather, it is our job to explain why we seek a different viewpoint and why we take a seperate stance than those before us did. Because only through understanding can one truly have faith. Then, perhaps there will finally be a deserving change for the better in our government along with the realization, there is more than one path we can take to get to where we desire to be.

Millennials, and Generation Z are said to be the most accepting generations. It is not the older generations job to teach us, but our job to teach them, and their job to obtain an open mind.

Oprah Winfrey explained it best when she said, “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.”