Youthenizing Government and Politics

State Rep. Joe Dorman from Oklahoma was an ally in demanding there be a student ID prevision in the Voter ID bill that Oklahoma's Republican House passed a few weeks ago. He was elected in 2002 as a former young elected official and member of Gen X. His district borders Cameron and University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. We are grateful to have his perspective here. --Sarah

A recent commercial I saw during the NCAA tournament stuck with me even longer than most of the exciting games I watched.  In this commercial, a group of cable executives are looking for a catchy slogan to help win over customers.  One of the people comes up with the slogan to "Youthenize" their viewership.  While this was meant to be play on words with "euthanize" or be a slam, I see where this slogan can easily be translated positively into politics.

For centuries, there has been a "Good Old Boy" system run the affairs of our states and the nation.  With recent changes to law in fifteen states, we have seen term limits implemented and drive out many of these long-term officials.  While this is an issue that can be argued good and bad, the end result has often given younger elected officials an opportunity to serve, therefore "youthenizing" the various public forums.

Unfortunately, the result has often not been consistent with voting for issues affecting the youth of our nation. Party politics too often has driven the focus on many votes.  We have seen many key issues driven by national interests to stipulate policies that frequently disenfranchise voters and various groups.  One area in particular is voter identification; it has been questioned as a system that will disenfranchise elderly and young voters alike.

In Oklahoma, we have been fortunate enough to have an author of this bill, Rep. Sue Tibbs of Tulsa, who has agreed that college identification should be considered valid.  This will take care of at least one aspect to allow voters from other states to legally cast a vote even if they do not have a local drivers license. Too often, students will register where they are enrolled in school, and the last thing we want is a poll workers turning them away should the student not have an in-state license.

While we have many younger elected officials who have had the opportunity to serve in Oklahoma, we have also seen a trend towards less accountability though their actions.  The ability to manipulate the message with their own agendas has been growing stronger.  Many younger politicians master the Internet to publicize forums, issue press releases and promote opportunities for voters to meet them (as I even do on Facebook and Twitter). Too often, the public buys into this message as factual and forgetting that these are generated by the politicians or paid staff assigned to make them look good.  Further, there is less accountability from the media, the "fourth branch of government" in these changing times and especially with the financially strapped situations their outlets have faced.

Fortunately, many advocates have stepped up to the plate. One such is Mr. Brown, a gentleman from Singapore, who has blogged about local and international politics and has gained worldwide appreciation for his efforts in accountability.  We have also seen individuals in Oklahoma spread awareness on issues such as autism coverage and seek out support through various outlets which has brought in a new audience who formerly paid little attention to politics.

Another example of issue awareness is the interview of CNBC's Jim Cramer (host of Mad Money) done by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show which I saw on a blog because I missed the original airing. This was a brilliant interview about our financial problems and should be seen by everyone. I'm glad I had a second chance due to a blog posting.

The best part of all this is that blogging has piqued the interest of a younger generation who formerly felt like they could make very little difference in the political system. It has brought them together on message boards, in chat rooms, and using social media to show them that they are not alone in this crazy, mixed-up world.

While "youthenize" might sound like something bad if you are listening to this instead of reading it, I hope you will believe me when I say that it is exactly what our current system of government needs. The next step is to move away from the keyboard, get active and maybe even run for office yourself. Even if you do not win, you are advocating the message which is important to you.

If we are to bring back a heart and a conscience to politics and empower a generation that is seeing opportunities unlike any other before, we have a lot of "youthenizing' to do to the system and to the "Good Old Boys" politicians.

Editor Note: You can add Joe on Facebook and Twitter