Organizations and movements encouraging civic responsibility can be developed to mobilize this demographic. Students can help educate their peers and the younger generation through community service and projects in schools. Older youth need to set an example of political participation to help foster a culture of civic responsibility. In turn, political activity will generate responsiveness to issues important to youth, which can return relevance to civic participation. Our Expectations In conjunction with our own activation in politics, we expect American institutions to lead the way to greater political activity of youth.
Education is the cornerstone of civic socialization and thus the primary focus of reform.
We need political education with a commitment to alternative viewpoints, exposing students to non-traditional perspectives. Public and private schools should work to institutionalize civic participation into social studies curriculum, providing contemporary context for political education and informing students about local, national, and global issues. Additionally, we need to instruct everyone in the value of participation, showing individuals their place in a democratic society and providing concrete opportunities for participation at an early age. The political process also requires substantial reform to provide greater participatory opportunity. To this end, corporate influence in policymaking must be reduced so that democratic systems respond to social capital and not financial assets.