youth activism

Well, another day, and another unknown guy lamenting the horrible things happening to our generation and our supposed complicit behavior.

This rando, some Gen Xer named Rob Long, writes that young people are being ripped off thanks to a "a vast, Madoff-like Ponzi scheme," in which payroll taxes are immediately shuffled off to help seniors pay their medical bills. He can't believe that young people are letting this go and are not more alarmed, Glenn Beck style.

And yet: no protests in the streets. No marches. No student sit-ins. No youth agitation at all, really, except for a couple of College Republicans in blue blazers. What? Are they stupid? After all of that college tuition? Are young people in their 20's just dumb?

I appreciate your phony concern, Rob. But if you're truly advocating for a strong quality of life for Millennials, you'd come to terms with what must be a painful truth for you. Your party, while railing against imaginary deficits in the future, blatantly ignores the fact that many of us are struggling to make end's meet today. One of your party's governors, in the name of fiscal responsibility, cut $30 million from childcare centers. And "after all that college tuition," the Republican House proposes to balance the budget by taking Pell Grants, and therefore the prospects of higher education, away from us at the worst possible time. This is at the same time that we're being crushed by trillions of dollars worth of student loans. Fellow FM writer Karlo Marcelo used a great analogy to frame this reality back when we were debating the stimulus.

Millennials will face new challenges when caring for the Baby Boomer generation as they near towards retirement. What they don't need are unnecessary financial burdens that make it difficult for them to succeed early on in their adult lives. Young people are already saddled with a "burden", and the GOP needs to recognize and respect that reality.

Imagine for a moment that you are trying to traverse a hill. The hill represents how much taxes you expect to pay over your lifetime. One end of the hill is the start (the beginning of your life), the top of the hill is middle-age, and the other end of the hill is, well, six-feet-under. At both ends of the hill, you pay relatively little in taxes, and the top of the hill is when you pay the most in taxes. This is what tax-paying looks like throughout the course of one's life. For some generations, traversing this hill was made easier (but not faster), because the government helped invest in the well-being of the tax-payer very early on in life.

This is not the case with Millennials. The rising cost (PDF) of college and beyond has not resulted in a proportionate increase in services or resources. When you place this fact of rising costs into the context of rising college attendance, the effect is magnified. The share of young people that have attended college has increased 21 percentage points from the 1970s to the present (PDF, pg. 5). What's more is the fact young people with post-graduate degrees on are on the rise, too. What all this amounts to is a more difficult (but not slower) journey over the hill. It's almost as if Millennials have to carry a heavy backpack (read: student debt) and still keep pace with everyone else. Now add to that the fact that the end of the hill for Millennials is much farther away than it is for previous generations due to longer life expectancy.

So, if you're seriously concerned about our collective future, do us a favor: get off your high horse and hop on a time machine back to now and start working on these problems.

Mr. Long, you're not done. Please sit back down. Let me explain another thing. And I'll go slowly, because this might be hard for you to understand:

Millennials. Like. Government.

Seriously, we do. You can see that here, here, here, or even here. According to NDN, a Washington think tank, 58% of Millennials actually favor larger government, as opposed to one that “stays out of society and the economy.” It might be surprising since we've been let down by government so often (especially from 2001-2006 when the GOP ruled Washington), but it's the truth.

And we do protest. Your fellow unknown Ted Nugent also made the mistake of assuming young people don't get mad and act on it, and we provided these examples (these just being a few that one simple Google search turned up):

Students across USA protest over college funding, tuition
March 4, 2010

Dickinson College students protest school's handling of sex assaults
March 3, 2011

Cerritos College students protest proposed summer cuts
May 18, 2011

Half-naked college students protest coal
April 15, 2011

‘Students are not ATMs'; college students protest budget cuts
March 15, 2011

College students, staff protest budget cuts
April 13, 2011

College students protest higher fees
January 12, 2010

Three Arrested at Hunter College Protest
March 4, 2010

College students protest death penalty
March 27, 2010

College students protest PA budget cuts
March 30, 2011

'Ramen' protest highlights community college fee increases
March 2, 2011

California college students protest higher ed budget cuts
April 13, 2011

High school, college students to protest state education cuts
March 19, 2011

PSU students, State College mayor protest funding cuts
April 5, 2011

College students protest HOPE cuts outside State Capitol
March 2, 2011

Vt. college students protest planned cuts
March 16, 2011

Phoenix high school, college students organize Capitol protest
March 4, 2011

Michigan College Students Protest Higher Ed Cuts
March 24, 2011

College Students Protest Voter ID Bill
April 4, 2011

Allegheny College students protest education cuts
March 18, 2011

College students protest strip mine plans
September 14, 2010

Carthage College students protest anti-gay speaker
February 24, 2010

College students protest HB 176
February 24, 2011

Emory protesters arrested during student protest
April 26, 2011

TUSD on image control after student protest cancels meeting
April 27, 2011

Supporters rally for students arrested at SB 1070 protest
November 16, 2010

Thousands of students flock to Capitol to protest SB1070
April 22, 2010

Wisconsin Students Protest Governor's Attack on Unions
February 15, 2011

Zombie protesters lurch for voter, student rights
June 8, 2011

Based on the list above and the little we do know of you, it would appear you're merely grumpy because we don't protest the same things that your Tea Party friends do.

Do us a favor and can the fake outrage. If you're genuine, you'd be doing what you could to keep conservatives from defunding our collective future so that fat cats can keep flying their corporate jets.

After posting my piece last night on youth and government health reform, I thought more about the attitudes of young people on the issue. The meme out there is that we consider ourselves to be "invincible," therefore we're not engaging in discussion on the issue. Luckily, in true Millennial form, some young people collaborated, started an organization, and fought back against this "invincible" myth.

But if we're not perceiving ourselves to be invincible, what's going on here? Why the minimal "noise" from young people?

First, let's remember that today's young people don't make "noise." Our generation wants to solve problems, not settle ideological scores, whether that's through technology, multi-tasking, collaborating with others, etc. Our change-making skills are generally different from the Boomers currently running our major institutions. While our conservative elders are best-served to confuse voters of all ages in this debate, many of our older Democratic brothers and sisters don't have the stomach to avoid the false clamors for bipartisanship. As a result, Democrats and Republicans who run the debate continue to yell at each other, while millions of Americans - including too many young people - gamble their already-precarious life savings on not getting hurt or sick. So whether young people are attempting to make change or not, the "chorus of cynics," and in this case, cowards, distracts from anything we would be doing anyway.

Given the sway that lobbyists and special interests still have within Congress and other halls of government, young people unfortunately can't yet enact their brand of change in every institution. In 2008, this was overcome by advocating and voting for a candidate who displayed a mastery of the peer-to-peer tactics, and the pragmatic and "no drama" approach that Millennials embrace. Millennials saw this approach on many issues the first part of this year as well, particularly on pieces of legislation like Serve America, the large expansion in national service through the federal government. But now that the most important issue has appeared in front of us as a nation, young people are missing that refreshing call for collaborative, pragmatic problem-solving. Instead, talking points and yelling abounds. To paraphrase from today's op-ed piece in the Post, "We have the hope. Where's the audacity," Mr. President?

Eight months into the Obama administration, as we mourn the senator from Massachusetts, many of us retain the hope, but we are wondering what happened to the audacity that is needed to move the country in a new direction. In recent weeks, many progressives have expressed concern that Obama's bold plan to reform health care may be at risk. A defeat on this key issue could undermine other elements of his agenda. We don't believe that the president has changed his goals, but we wonder whether he underestimated the power necessary to bring about real change.

If we're going to be successful in getting this done, we need the chief facilitator of the "millions of voices calling for change" to return to his role.

An LA Times article, also published today, discusses the widespread support among young people for government-led health reform. It contained the statistics that are more startling and worrisome every time I read them:

Young people account for 30% of the uninsured population, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy research foundation. They are least likely to be offered health insurance through employment benefits -- just 53% of working young adults are eligible for employer-based coverage. And since their incomes tend to be low, buying coverage on their own is usually too expensive.

The problem is still there, and getting worse with each day. Contrary to the conventional wisdom spread by AP writers, the youth of the nation don't feel invincible. Try disgusted. In the midst of a cacophony that, at best, lacks courage, and, at worst, is hate-filled, we simply want to see some semblance of the problem-solving politics for which we voted.

Iranian-British recording artist Mams Taylor collaborated with some of Iran's most well-known entertainers in producing and writing "United for Neda," a song advocating for political freedom in the country.

One of the most notable aspects of the video (below) is the filming method (or lack thereof). The video was shot only on cell phones, an important development given the tribute to Iranian protestors and the fact that nothing like it has ever been done before, especially with the notoriety of the artists participating.

Taylor sang on the track with artists named Dariush, Sattar and Morteza, who are the most famous/iconic singers in Iran’s history. Others appearing in the video included Iranian super stars Shila Vosough (Actress), Shoreh Aghdashloo (Oscar nominated actress from House of Sand and Fog), Kamy R (Singer from Black Cats – most popular singing group in Iran), Sussan Deyhim (Singer), Parviz Sayyad (Actor/Poet), Kamyar and Payam Jaffari (Rappers).

The video itself has gotten lots of play, specifically on CNN and Rock the Vote.com.

Proceeds from both the song and the video will benefit those Iranians fighting for freedom, so go check it out.

Journalism today scares me. I’ll tell you why.

Our generation is investing our time and effort reinvigorating our nation’s civic life. Millennials are rising through the ranks of American society at a time when our team-oriented, pragmatic approach is necessary to successfully combat the problems confronting the U.S. Contrary to our Boomer parents, our activism is inside-out in nature, not outside-in. The way we make change is to infiltrate institutions and transform them from within. This form of activism requires a generation that pays attention to current events, one that leans toward political engagement as opposed to apathy. The political world saw our impact in the 2004 election, as Millennials were the only age group to vote for John Kerry, and it felt it in 2008, with Millennials favoring Barack Obama over John McCain by a 2-1 margin, and providing Obama with most of his margin of victory. While we still have a ways to go in convincing our political parties and the government to recruit more Millennials for positions with decision-making power, I don’t think many would argue that our generation is well on its way to Howe and Strauss’s vision of the generational powerhouse prophesied in Millennials Rising.

What’s surprising to me is that we have made such progress in the face of awful journalism. The tribute to Walter Cronkite following his recent death is appropriate and ironic. The media, dubbed “The Fourth Estate,” wax poetic on Cronkite’s integrity and objectivity, while epically failing to meet these same standards today. More ironic is that examples of these failures were released to the public this week when The Charleston Post and Courier secured and published e-mails between South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s staffers and the leading political journalists of mainstream news outlets. One such example is David Gregory, NBC’s moderator of Meet the Press. TPM Muckraker outlined a particularly concerning exchange taking place between Gregory and Sanford’s then-press secretary, Joel Sawyer.

Gregory's first email to Sawyer was sent at 12:24 p.m. on Wednesday June 24 -- that is, after Sanford had admitted to The State that he had actually been in Argentina, but before the famed stream-of-consciousness press conference where he admitted to an affair. Gregory wrote:

Hey Joel ...
Left you a message. Wanted you to hear directly from me that I want to have the Gov on Sunday on Meet The Press. I think it's exactly the right forum to answer the questions about his trip as well as giving him a platform to discuss the economy/stimulus and the future of the party. You know he will get a fair shake from me and coming on MTP puts all of this to rest.
Let's talk when you can.

Gregory left two different phone numbers.

After the press conference, Sawyer replied:

David --
Thank you very much for taking the time to personally reach out to us. For the time being, we're just going to let what the governor said today stand on its own. If we do some interviews in the future, I'll let you know as soon as possible.

Gregory followed up quickly: "You aren't doing anything at all this week...no other intvus anywhere?" Sawyer replied that they weren't.
Gregory gave it one last shot:

Look, you guys have a lot of pitches .. I get it and I know this is a tough situation ... Let me just say this is the place to have a wider conversation with some context about not just the personal but also the future for him and the party ... This situation only exacerbates the issue of how the GOP recovers when another national leader suffers a setback like this. So coming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to...and then move on. You can see (sic) you have done your interview and then move on. Consider it.

Sawyer did not respond.

This exchange is a perfect example of the difference between Cronkite’s journalism skills – the skills we need the media to have today – versus the lacking skill of modern journalists like Gregory. Yes, it’s a business. But we need it to be a noble business, one that uncovers answers and information with the public’s interest at heart. In Gregory’s example, as moderator of MTP, shouldn’t he be framing the conversation? Gregory’s apparent willingness to allow any guest to dictate the direction of the interview is seriously problematic.

If Millennials want to continue to build and reinvigorate our civic institutions for the Twenty-First Century, I suggest we start with the media. Luckily we already have Scoop44 on board, a youth-run media outlet dedicating to chronicling the Obama administration from a youth perspective. Scoop44’s about page frequently describes itself as energetic, perhaps needling the traditional media’s penchant for lazy reporting. We also have a friend in Luke Russert at NBC, following in his dad's footsteps and asking questions about youth issues like the impact of the economy and unemployment on our generation. But in order for us to make the largest mark on society, Millennials need more from today's journalists.

Any thoughts on the state of the media and its relationship with Millennials as we continue to gain more power across the nation?

The New York Times has a story up this weekend exploring the increased popularity of community organizing work as a profession-of-choice for college graduates.

A job that has not been all that alluring to college graduates is in resurgence, according to leading community organizers and educators. Once thought of as a destination for lefty radicals committed to living lives of low pay, frustration and bitter burnout, community organizing is now seen by many young people an exciting career.

With their jobs, students envision helping communities address urgent issues — economics or the environment, education or social justice — while developing leadership skills. And these jobs, students say, can actually lead to ... well, you know.

“Community organizing has become cool,” said Marshall Ganz, who dropped out of Harvard in 1964 to join the civil rights movement in Mississippi and spent 16 years with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. Of course, a tough economy helps attract people to professions they might not have otherwise considered, as does a crusading time when Wall Street has become a symbol of greed, arrogance and irresponsibility.

Peter Dreier, the Professor of Politics at Occidental College who was quoted in the article, wrote an accompanying post over at TPM Cafe discussing community organizing among young people, focusing on the Millennial generation and what he sees as needed policy for this country.

Perhaps because so many of them get practical experience while still in college, working with off-campus groups, today's student activists are much more pragmatic, savvy, and patient than their counterparts in the 1960s. They are skeptical but not cynical. They are not paralyzed by old ideological battles or identity politics. They respect differences of opinion, including religious beliefs, as well as the right to dissent. They understand that they can disagree with their government and still love their country and its ideals. They want major changes in our institutions and policies, but they know that people need to win stepping-stone reforms before they can envision a different kind of world.

For sure, student interest in political activism and community organizing was going on long before the Obama campaign. In the 1990s, students mobilized against sweatshops and for "fair trade" consumer products, in support of "living wages" for university employees, and around global warming and "greening" America's college campuses. The AFL-CIO began the Organizing Institute, a summer internship program for college students who want to learn about union organizing. After years of watching the conservative movement spend millions of dollars to recruit and train activists on campuses, and plug them into jobs with politicians, think tanks, and right-wing publications, liberal groups like the Center for American Progress, Wellstone Action, Democracy Matters, the Student Environmental Action Coalition and others began to focus more attention on college students -- to invest in the next generation of progressives. In addition, over the past decade, a growing number of colleges and universities embraced the idea of "service learning," linking classrooms and the community.

I quoted Dreier because of his deeper discussion of the movement among young people to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others, and because his writing excerpted above deeply (and rightly) contradicts a point the New York Times reporter Sara Rimer tried to make in the main article:

And unlike the 1960s, many of these students don’t seem motivated by partisanship. Drea Chicas, 21, the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, is a graduating senior at Occidental, where she has taken Professor Dreier’s course and worked with teenage girls.

But politics? “That to me is just a distraction,” she said. “When I’m with my girls, that’s the last thing they have on their minds. They’ve seen their boys shot in their faces, violence against women. Democratic, Republican — that’s not even relevant.”

I was feeling this story until I got to the excerpt above, which came out of nowhere. I disagree with these two paragraphs because service and politics, when both are at their best, are inextricably linked. There is no separating the two, because to practice politics effectively, one must serve others; to serve effectively, creating positive, sustained social change, one must practice politics. Rimer's differentiation between the two appears to stem from a common association of "politics" with a more Machiavellian connotation, more along the lines of "bitter partisanship" than the actual political process.

What Rimer may have been trying to say by including that student's quote is that young people today don't like strict, unyielding ideology, and that I would agree with. As Dreier noted above, youth today believe that in order to pursue many of the imposing, systemic issues we face today, we can't afford to scream at each other and participate in symbolic acts and back-and-forth bickering that don't accomplish anything. Those squabbles are irrelevant in our current political environment. Instead, our preferred style of activism involves embarking on a long-term construction job, building our ideal society brick by brick, which, to be most effective, must involve the machinery of the government.

The primary definition of politics in the dictionary is "the art or science of government." When youth service rates surged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the political side of change-making still left a lot to be desired. In the 2000 election, only 41 percent of 18-29 year olds voted, compared with 2008's 52 percent. But starting in 2003 and moving forward, the numbers increased: more youth immersed themselves in the political process, either by voting, volunteering for candidates, working in government offices/departments, attending rallies, and yes, working as community organizers.

So yes - the politics (irresponsible partisanship) that Rimer writes of is not liked by Millennials. But the legitimate definition of politics -- "the art or science of government" -- has become an essential piece of the Millennial brand of activism. This version of politics is combined with the service that Millennials are known for, and together, they create the positive social change we need to solve our largest problems and, consequently, inspire a surge in community organizing.

From the Houston Airport, here is some Sunday reading for you...

• Some churches are trying to make inroads with the Millennial Generation, though they recognize they're falling short in many areas.
• Where W focused on K-12 education, President Obama has shifted the focus to higher ed. USA Today has the story.
• Forward Montana is making sure youth have a voice in the healthcare reform discussion with Generation H.
• It's Getting Hot in Here recaps Powershift '09.
• More Powershift wrap-up -- Democracy Now interviews attendees.

As advocates for youth in the political process, one thing we should all be aware of is the budget process. Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics, has repeatedly labeled a budget as a "moral document," a list that telegraphs to outsiders and our progeny what we considered to be priorities.

David Waldman, at Congress Matters (a spin-off of Daily Kos), has provided a list of various tools we can use to look into the budget process, as well as a reference guide detailing its flow.

As this blog seeks to further youth progressive politics, I think it's important that this list be shared with you, our readers. We all have the right to know, and an obligation to follow, how our government is allocating our tax dollars. Thanks to the internet and the resurgence of an emphasis on civic responsibility in our government, the process is more accessible than ever. It's up to us to take advantage of it.

We've cited Thomas Friedman's attack on the Millennials, which he labeled "Generation Q," many a time here. Young people today are too quiet, Friedman wrote, arguing that our timidity is a sign that we're apathetic and not concerned with the world around us going to hell in a handbasket.

But Generation Q may be too quiet, too online, for its own good, and for the country’s own good. When I think of the huge budget deficit, Social Security deficit and ecological deficit that our generation is leaving this generation, if they are not spitting mad, well, then they’re just not paying attention. And we’ll just keep piling it on them.

[...]

America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage (it must be in there) of Generation Q. That’s what twentysomethings are for — to light a fire under the country. But they can’t e-mail it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won’t cut it. They have to get organized in a way that will force politicians to pay attention rather than just patronize them.

Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn’t change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way — by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall. Virtual politics is just that — virtual.

Then, on December 7, 2008, Friedman again pricks young people, labeling our generational philosophy as "quietism" in the context of arguing for responsible spending in the stimulus bill.

Our kids should be so much more radical than they are today. I understand why they aren’t. They’re so worried about just getting a job or paying next semester’s tuition. But we must not take their quietism as license to do whatever we want with this bailout cash. They are going to have to pay this money back. And therefore, we have an incredibly weighty obligation to make sure that we not only spend every stimulus dollar wisely but also with an eye to creating new technologies.

So today, Friedman's piece is written about an experience he had in India with young American women while attending the Energy and Resources Institute Climate Conference. While there, two young Americans and one of their mothers asked Friedman to take a ride with them in a plug-in electric- and solar-powered car. Friedman, impressed, says yes, and away they go.

Friedman learns about the friends' partnership with the Indian Youth Climate Network, which now connects climate leaders from across the country, and he's amazed. The women tell him of their "climate caravan," which they organized to spread the message of energy conservation. Environmentally-friendly solar-powered and electric cars were donated by an Indian electric car company (one of the women knew the CEO), and the women then hopped inside them, traveling 2,100 miles across India, organizing entertainment at each stop to attract interest. The women trained local youth to begin their own initiatives.

Friedman sounds verklempt as he wraps up his column.

I met Howe and Ringwald after a tiring day, but I have to admit that as soon as they started telling me their story it really made me smile. After a year of watching adults engage in devastating recklessness in the financial markets and depressing fecklessness in the global climate talks, it’s refreshing to know that the world keeps minting idealistic young people who are not waiting for governments to act, but are starting their own projects and driving innovation.

A couple possibilities here.

1.) Friedman has seen the light, realizing that Millennials aren't "quiet," but have a different way of going about things than Friedman's generation.

2.) Millennial activism in America doesn't count for anything in Friedman's eyes, but in India -- it's worth a few hundred words in the New York Times.

I'm hoping it's numero uno, and that Friedman never uses the word "quiet" again.

And let's get something else straight -- the reason I write about Friedman is not a demonstration of the vanity that sometimes is ascribed to Millennials. I really don't care what Friedman himself thinks about young people. But I do care about others being fooled into thinking young people aren't doing anything simply because Friedman can't handle the philosophical discrepancy between the way his generation did things and the way ours does. Hopefully Friedman took care of that with his trip to India and his car ride.

Friedman aside, kudos to those young women -- Caroline Howe and Alexis Ringwald -- for doing their part by piecing together a great program that is truly making a difference.

A reader left a comment on Mike's post about the Youth Ball that I thought might be coming:

Yes, the way the ball was handled is inexcusable, but we can't let that influence our opinion of the current administration or what we're doing here. (Not that any of you are, I'm just making a point.) Let's face it, a youth ball is not President Obama's top priority. No doubt, it should have been someone's priority, and it certainly does send a message that our vote is a little unappreciated, but I personally didn't get involved because I need recognition from preceding generations. I don't care if they appreciate us or not! We are a force to be reckoned with, and thanks to this election, we are now stronger than ever. Let us remember this and all the other times we have been and will be disregarded and take it with us as WE become the elders. Let us remember to treat the generations following us with the respect we wish we had today. "That's not change I can believe in?" Screw 'em! Whether they respect us or not, the next generation is heading their way!

First, I believe that Mike, in promoting a diary with a video of President Obama's appearance at the Youth Ball, clarified that Obama shouldn't be held responsible for the failure.

But the point of Mike and Sarah's posts regarding the Youth Ball was more than just blowing off steam.

This failure is representative of one of the very few black marks the Obama team has -- the failure to learn "glue politics," which Mike Lux and Chris Bowers describe over at Open Left.

Glue politics is that below the surface relational aspect of politics that gets very little attention compared to speeches, debates, or ads, but is actually quite important- to a modest extent in getting elected, to a huge extent in governing. Relationships and a sense of mutuality between people in politics are the source of many of the political establishment's problems, but they are also important in actually getting things done.(...)

While I do some blogging, and raise money for different causes and candidates, and have produced my share of ads and mail and phone calls, I am at core a glue politics guy- keeping in touch with lots of different kinds of folks, helping people I think are doing good things, introducing folks from disparate communities, being a catalyst for interesting ideas that friends come to me with. So I have a pretty strong feeling about all of this, and it's an area where I feel like the Obama team doesn't do very well, for the most part. I think they have been so good at many of the big things, frequently able to organize around establishment players through their technological and inspirational ability, but that they discount glue politics at its core.

The Convention was a classic example. The big things the Convention needed to do message-wise got done, which means the Convention was a big success overall. I am thrilled about that. But a couple of levels below the surface, my sense was that a lot of key people- national and local electeds, organizational leaders, bloggers, even some money people- were feeling blown off. A personal example: I always spend a huge amount of time trying to get credentials for key progressive leaders who aren't normally taken care of by the party bureaucracy, and that role has always been respected by Presidential campaigns in conventions past, but it wasn't by the Obama folks this year. I honestly thought maybe it was just me this time- that my best friends on the inside had other fish to fry, that the outside progressive world I walk in just wasn't a big priority for them in general. But in talking to others the last couple of days of the convention, I got the sense that a lot of other really important folks were feeling the same as me.

Obama's problems with "glue politics" once again appeared yesterday. At the inauguration, thousands of activists and staffers with tickets were unable to get inside the event, and they are not very happy about it. Check out the comments on the Purple Tunnel Of Doom Facebook group for a few couple hundred examples. The problem continued last night, when several thousand more staffers and activists, all with tickets, were unable to attend inaugural balls. This is an epic fail of glue politics, and it could have not inconsequential repercussions.

Even as one of the purple ticket holders who was unable to attend to I don't want to dwell on what happened yesterday. Further, I doubt that this is an aspect of politics that many blogosphere denizens will view as valid, as it hints of patronage politics. However, the simple fact is that if this keeps occurring, it will cause the Obama administration problems in passing legislation, and during his re-election campaign. Simply put, they have to fix their problems in this area. Right now, the excitement over the trifecta is keeping a spirit of forgiveness afloat, but that won't last forever.

Lux and Bowers describe this on a macro-level compared to youth politics, but their lesson holds true.

Like I said in my reply to the reader, Mike's point -- and the argument of late on this blog -- is that youth shouldn't be expected to bide their time putting up with mismanaged youth balls and staffing the plethora of service initiatives this administration will surely launch. Yes, the initiatives are going to be formed around important work. And yes, it's vital, given the current times, that youth infuse this effort with energy. But there's more to do.

Youth should be included in policy discussions as well. We should have a seat at the table just as much as those that are older than us. FM has prolifically discussed the differences in values, temperament, and gifts between Millennials and others'. We need what Millennials have to offer, and we need it in more places than just Teach for America and Americorps.

We can't "wait for the world to change," as John Mayer might sing. The squeaky wheel does get the grease, after all. The progressive youth community, as America's future, should be enjoying a plethora of opportunities to get involved, to hone leadership and intellectual skills, in addition to tangible, up-front work of physically transforming our communities through volunteer efforts.

It's up to President Obama's political team to recognize that the youth community is one of many constituencies that worked hard to get the president elected. And the recognition shouldn't just come from the mouths of Obama staffers. A seat at the table would be welcome.

Some Sunday reading for you.

• The Nation profiles a young immigrant rights activist fighting for the rights of Cambodian women facing deportation.
• A 29 year old Stanford grad and sports agent pushes her clients to reach out to the communities in which they work to give back; not for financial/PR reasons, but because it's the right thing to do.
• Andrew Revkin, at the New York Times blog "Dot Earth," labels the Millennial Generation -- already Generations Y, Q, and O -- Generation E.
• In addition to launching its Ideas for Change in America, change.org is expanding by seven blogs
• The Nation counts the victories of youth activism in 2008.