American democracy right now is a polarizing turn-off for my nine-year-old daughter, and yet recently she told me, “I really want to vote.” I want to start a productive conversation with other Orange County parents about how to interest our kids in voting by the time they’re twice her current age.
Whichever way you lean on the political spectrum, we all tend to agree — although there are some exceptions! — on the fact that voting is a powerful way of making your voice heard. It’s National Voter Registration Day on September 17, and in Orange County, 43% of 18-year-olds are registered to vote. That’s higher than the 30% average, according to the Civics Center.
Meanwhile, half of U.S. teens can pre register to vote at 16, and Orange County lags 28 other California counties on that measurement, with just 12.8% pre registered. I asked myself why Orange County’s teens are pre registering at lower rates, and then I asked my daughter, who lives here with me. She told me the first Presidential debate was boring; budgets are boring; city council meetings are boring.
I can’t say I blame her. Although in Westminster, where we live, city council meetings have really gotten “interesting” lately. Although will they encourage my daughter to follow them? I don’t think so.
For one thing, a recent council meeting ran for more than 12 hours, until 5:20 the following morning. There are concerns about bankruptcy. There is infighting, name-calling, sharing of misinformation, and even filing of lawsuits and motions to censure. The council members hate each other’s guts and it’s a lot like our national political picture, come to think of it.
Take a step back further, and there’s not much I want to discuss with anyone about what’s happening with the Orange County Board of Supervisors, let alone my daughter. Of course, this is challenging because I serve on a county commission about the art at John Wayne Airport. As a resident of District 1, I’m exhausted from the never ending findings and I just want to serve my community. So, at dinner on the days after commission meetings, we talk about the kinds of interesting art installations coming up soon.
So, let’s forget talking politics with our kids. Instead, I think I may have found another way in. A recent time my daughter brought up the President in a constructive way, she was in Seal Beach, doing a trash cleanup with her girl scout troop, which I happen to help lead. There was a ton of plastic and food waste, and she and her fellow scouts were upset about it. “Well,” I asked the girls. “What do we want to do about it?”
“Write to the President!” they said.
“Put some people in jail!” they said.
We had a conversation about what the President might do about the trash. Some of the girls said they didn’t think the President was in charge of trash. We talked about the local city council. We also talked about whether we thought people who drop trash should go to jail, and whether they deserve to be behind bars. I’m afraid to tell you the current generation of nine-year-olds is not exactly pro-reform on that front. But the girls also talked about putting some more signs up to deter people from littering. They started to wonder why there weren’t more trash cans available on the beach.
It’s going to take a minute. Luckily these girls have another whole lifetime before they’ll be able to vote. Meantime, what I realized is: Generation Alpha cares about politics when various issues show up in our community. They tune out of other conversations, but they’re interested in being part of local ones. And that’s where we should start. Our local park, for example, was supposed to be fenced off until last December while the parks and recreation commission of our local council — on which I happen to serve as an appointed member. The construction ran over, and my daughter was furious about it.
“No playgrounds, no peace!” she said. And I can’t help admitting I was rather proud of her, even if it did make me a touch nervous about the climate in our household over the weeks ahead.
Christine Hernandez lives in Westminster and works for IGNITE, a nonpartisan national organization devoted to building young women’s political leadership. She is a current member of the City of Westminster’s Parks and Recreation Commission.
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