Elect me, baby, one more time

Jeffrey Kosseff

Sweet New Style

Over the next seven months, countless rock stars will attempt to mobilize young citizens and encourage them to vote. Rock the Vote is one of the most effective methods of getting out the youth vote. While this program attempts to express the collective voice of young America, it's also shameful.

I'm embarrassed to live in a country where an advertisement featuring Pearl Jam or Sheryl Crow affect the outcome of federal, state and local elections. Rock the Vote sends the message that the only way to get young people to vote is by getting MTV's star de-jour to tell them voting is, like, fashionable.

What happened to the political fervor of the '60s? What happened to primary and general elections where there was actual choice and debate on college campuses?

Monica happened. Elian happened. Flag burning amendments happened. Our elected officials trivialize all the issues that really matter, like the glaring gaps between classes, international conflict and the demise of public schools. They traded them in for hotter issues that are like sitcoms. Politicians can solve these problems in a half-hour show, complete with commercials for their campaign sponsors and censorship of any realistic issues.

In today's political climate, Al Gore's campaign receives a boost from a Julia Roberts movie about an environmental crusader. A pro-wrester wins a gubernatorial election. Leonardo DiCaprio interviews President Clinton about the environment. Politicians are celebrities, and celebrities are politicians.

We no longer live in a country where most young people believe they can affect military policy or economic inequality. Sure, some students are still believers in the democratic system. And they're most likely the ones who are crusading to register their peers to vote. But our student body as a whole is more apathetic than those of generations past.

Young people remain among the least frequent participants in our country's democracy. And state Sen. Mike Rogers, under the disguise of administrative efficiency, successfully passed a bill that requires all residents' driver's licenses to match the addresses where they are registered to vote. Not surprisingly, he is a Republican running for Congress in a district dominated by East Lansing, a college town.

His motives work against everything for which our democracy stands. I don't know how he could even look at himself in the mirror. This bill will result in even lower turnout among college voters.

While some groups challenge this ridiculous law in court, there is a simple solution. Students could either get absentee ballots in their hometowns or switch their drivers licenses to Ann Arbor. Granted, there is not a Secretary of State office within walking distance of campus and new licenses cost money. But if students really care about voting, they could sacrifice the extra hour. Luckily, we no longer live in an era of poll taxes or literacy tests. All the government requires is the effort of registering and voting.

If they don't care enough to cast an absentee ballot or get a new license, then I wonder how much they really care about our democracy. If they only vote when Britney Spears says it's cool, then I question whether they are informed voters.

Is a perfect democracy one where masses of uninformed and apathetic people vote? Or is it one where the voters are all knowledgeable about the issues?

I'd like to think our country is a combination of both; one where every citizen over 18 votes and every voter knows about the issues. But we're not nearly at that point yet.

I don't want every person to vote. I want every informed person to vote. And if people can't take the time to haul their butts to the city clerk's office, they probably won't take the time to learn about the issues.

Rock the Vote valiantly attempts to inform in addition to encourage voting. But I seriously question a rock stars' ability to delve deeply into the pertinent matters of the day. It's effective at registering young people, but we need more for this democracy thing to truly work. If we don't, then people like Rogers will slide into office.

- Jeffrey Kosseff can be reached via

e-mail at jkosseff@umich.edu.