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distribute material resources more equally as well. More procedural democracy (higher voter turnout)
may lead to more substantive democracy (socioeconomic equality).
So why don’t the young vote? We might characterize two main explanations as the alarmist point of view
and the pragmatic perspective. The alarmists say that political participation is inextricably tied to political
knowledge. As Popkin and Dimcock (1999) put it, “The dominant feature of nonvoting in America is a
lack of knowledge about government.” Study after study has bemoaned the youth’s lack of knowledge
about our political system (Lutkus, et. al. 1999; Morin 2000; Gallup and Gallup 2000; Sax et. al. 1999;
Vanishing Voter 2000). Raise civic competency, according to this view, and you will raise voter turnout.
On the other side, there are the pragmatists who look to the weight of history and suggest that the most
important indicator of political participation is simply getting older (Coulson 1999). Young people who
do not vote now will more than likely become voters once they progress through the life cycle (Wolfinger
and Rosenstone 1980). The alarmists speak about a sense of dire urgency; the pragmatists advise us that
simply time and maturity will increase participation in a generational cohort.
If forced to choose which camp we would join, we’d throw our hat into the alarmist ring simply because
doing so would force us to confront the problem of a lack of political knowledge amongst youth today,
rather than waiting for them to acquire it tomorrow. As we look around the landscape of American
society, we see unprecedented campaigns being launched across the nation to engage young people in not
only registering to vote, but in becoming more informed about the issues that affect young adults. Rock
the Vote, Rap the Vote, Vote or Die, Hip Hop Political Conventions: Music may be the way to sooth the
soul, but it is fast becoming the favorite way to light the spark of political involvement among the youth
culture. Sports, hamburgers, TV commercials, all delivering the message that we are in an election year,
and that voting is the most important thing you can do to express your freedom and responsibility in a
democracy.
Convention