It's still not enough to be honest. I was required to take a government class in high school, but I didn't start voting till the 2016 election. I was 24. I know a lot about how our government works, but I still didn't feel like my vote mattered. I still didn't really care. Trump winning the first time was the push I needed. I know people who are younger than me, that feel the same way I used to and they all had to take a civics class. Maybe it's just not being taught right? But I just think many young adults don't care until they have a reason to care.
As a young person I distinctly remember being "non political." It was almost a badge of honor. Politics was something to be above. Only later did I realize that not being involved meant other people determining what kind of world I would live in.
If you don't know civics, politics looks like Real Housewives. Instead, it's a crazy mix of spoiled brats and hard working civil servants. As voter turnout falls, the election of spoiled brats increases.
Thank u for taking the time and care in talking with him. A solid example of how just listening w/o judgement can create a real, a comfortable learning experience. Am also grateful he is open to listening and learning. I think u both did great 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🕊️
He has a girlfriend with a child and is interested in healthcare, but he has no idea what has been happening for the last few years regarding HEALTHCARE?
I have had people tell me they didn't want to register to vote because they didn't want to have to do jury duty, and in my state all jurors are drawn from voter rolls alone. That kind of blew me away. Later I thought I should have asked them if they were the victim of a crime, do they think they deserve to have a trial and a jury since they're not willing to do that for others?
Make sure that's still true in your state. In mine, they changed it to taking names from the drivers' license records. But people here still believe it, so when someone tells me that, I tell them the truth and that they've just not got called yet.
@@LeftyLinda I totally did, because in my old state that wasn't the case. This is South Carolina, though, where there is a current bill in the General Assembly to give the death penalty to women who try to have an abortion. You can't make this stuff up.
Not really. That's not the reason these ppl don't vote. These are citizens who don't give a crap about politics or about their country. To just simply vote is such a simple, request, and +85MILLION eligible voters were just too busy doing what? Taking selfies, feeding our faces, driving around in the cars they can't afford? There is no excuse for not being a good citizen. Now we all pay. King Musk wants to take over. WTF.
That's the truth! I can't count the times that I've said, your Vote and Voice really matter - even still, after this election. You STILL have a Voice! Use it now.
I listened to your rational and of course your right. Then, I started thinking that in the sixties young men like me were drafted. I hated having to spend 4 years of my life in the military as I was a hard core anti-war citizen. I felt the draft was seriously unjust but it did make it clear to me that getting involved in local and national affairs was much more of a responsibility than my duty to serve. If a citizen fails to get involved, unfairness will be the rule rather than the exception!
i sacrificed EVERYTHING to register when i was 18. i haven’t missed a General since. i’m full of hostility toward Americans who shirk this duty for any reason and i guess i’m not the kind of diplomat who should reach out to them
Many years ago my young husband and I lived in a big suburb in Michigan, and I never voted, although he always did, in every election. I thought my vote wasn’t necessary for some dumb reason. Then we moved to a rural area. I can’t recall the number of registered voters at the time, but under 15,000. I began to vote in every local election after I noticed that issues were being decided by the very small number of people who bothered to show up to vote for things like millages, tax increases, and land use. I haven’t missed any election since.
And why else do you think republicans and maga want to cut all funding. Destroy public education to create ignorance to make it easier to manipulate the poorly educated, and privatize it so the rich and get richer.
All I know is that when people vote for no one, their candidate isn’t elected. Someone is always voted into office. Although it would be nice to have ranked choice voting and an option for ‘none of the above’, and needing another vote with different candidates if ‘None’ gets more votes than anyone else.
I remember being in 4th grade and having a civics class. It made a huge impact on me. I am now 63 and I can still see in my mind some of the illustrations from that textbook. At 42, I had a son, and in the 5th grade, when he was transitioning from private to public school, I had a parent/teacher meeting where they went through the curriculum with me. I asked where civics fit in and when it would be taught, and the 20 something teacher looked at me like i had grown a second head. She said they didn't teach it in our district because it was an unnecessary waste of resources. So, I went to the principle. Same answer. So i went to the superintendent, same answer. So I went to the school board, where in a public meeting I explained that people cannot and won't participate in their democracy if they dont know how it works, their role in it, and why their voice matters. I was treated in a very condescending way, like I was an annoying ignoramus and everything I said was dismissed. So, I wrote a letter to the editor of our regional paper explaining what would happen to our democracy if citizens did not understand it and did not engage, and called for civics to be reintroduced to the classroom in our district. They didn't publish it. I was so appalled by that overall experience. I felt like a cassandra. Now, here we are. It is so sad and so frustrating. I now understand that these choices are not accidental, that there is a machine dedicated to ensuring as ignorant and unengaged a populace as possible because it ensures they can be exploited. I wish more people would speak out, even if it does feel like you are tilting at windmills. If enough people do it, change CAN happen.
The dismantling of public education began with Reagan, amped up with GWB when civics and government classes were cut in favor of focusing on reading and passing state tests, which meant teaching to said tests. So of course civics and government were considered an unnecessary waste of resources. The next step was demonizing teachers and lying about them "indoctrinating" students. Now there is the push for "school choice", where tax money goes to for profit private and/or religious schools, and destroying the Department of Education so there are no standards about what is taught, or for funding things like Special Ed. The powers that be having been working on dumbing down the electorate for over 40 years and now here we are.
This is very true. I've talked with people who didn't know what local taxes pay for in their community. We seriously need civics education to begin early in school and continue throughout.
It’s shameful about too many adults’ apathy toward public policy and policymakers and voting. People worldwide over time have died fighting for the right to democratically elect policymakers.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing! Edmund Burke. Ignorance is no excuse to ignore a woman's rights and bodily autonomy and equal pay!
This is why they want to get rid of the Department of Education and eventually privatize education altogether. The oligarchs have a vested interest in an ill-informed electorate.
@@chrisg8767 it's the best way to build the Maga party. There's nothing knew about this strategy. Most people like to be told what to do and think, apparently.
@@chrisg8767 Ill informed or what we have now under your Leftist scumbag TEACHERS UNION, ILLITERATE…. 78% of our children can NOT read to grade level and 81% of our children can NOT do simple math to grade level…. But they can state their teachers pronoun!!!!!
@ simple, they have their OWN SELF first and not the children. They will not stand up to the leaders in the Teachers Union and tell them they are completely wrong…. The children come first..The essentials come first, reading, writing, math….. Not teachers pay, not teachers time off, not teachers benefits…. You don’t hold my child hostage so you can get a better deal on a contract!!!
@ That is a ridiculous comment…. Why does the left, Teachers Unions, prohibit school vouchers which have been extremely successful for poor neighborhoods???? And America wants a plan that puts children first and foremost for Everyone…. Trump understands we need a educated employment pool of workers for the country to grow… He sees on the other hand what the Dept. of Education advocates for and pushes onto the schools, which is not reading, writing, and math…
In the Netherlands we have the national vote service on internet. You fill in a form, and then the program search the party that fits your ideas the best. It’s really helpful. And it’s also saves time, we have 19 political parties on national level, imagine to have to read all their plans. 😀
Lay it at the feet of the parents. My kids are responsible, informed voters by my choice. They don’t parrot my political beliefs, they form their own. They know it’s their duty to be informed and involved. It’s call being an American citizen.
I've said for years that voting should at least require some establishment of basic logic understanding and governmental knowledge. I couldn't care less if some people think its undemocratic. The idea that so many people are ok with everyone having an equal say, despite so many having zero clue about any of it, is astounding.
Also some of the policies should be written in laymen's terms, I looked through Project 2025 and a lot of it is misleading if you don't fully know what to look for. Transparency is important. Also, can we cut out the political mud slinging. That played a huge part in all of this the poisoning of the mind setting political factions against each other to a point where paranoia and madness took over for reason. I know a lot of people thinks every maga is some racist sexist monster, and yes there are those who are. However, some are merely misguided folks who if you didn't know how they voted you'd never know they were a part of maga.
I think those of us that are passionate about voting and participating in a democracy are so sooo mad at those people that don’t participate because of apathy. We see how critical elections are. So in turn (at least for me) it’s difficult to discuss these things without getting upset.
Because the DNC Does Not listen to what the people want. You wanna know the true person the election was "STOLEN" from?! It was MF BERNIE SANDERS!! There was proof that he won and the DNC covered it up and pushed for freaking Hillary and now they tried the same thing to force a candidate because anyone is better than DT but just like the first time IT DID NOT WORK! And now we are all screwed
We definitely need civic awareness. It should be a requirement if you are getting licenses to drive your car. Civics should be a requirement before graduating from high school. Keeping people uniformed is how dictatorships form. My Lord we are in trouble. Thank you for your insight on how to talk to people when confronted with these issues. I will be using your method going forward.
Very cool. On so many levels. That he wasn’t just looking for a reason to yell at, lecture, and eventually resort to mocking and personally insulting you, which gets so exhausting. In 2016 through 2020 I used to enthusiastically interact with kindness and sincerity and respect. Now that I’ve been incessantly mocked in place of any type of debate and realized how there is just no critical thinking and no interest, I have gotten so exhausted I don’t try. But he was sincere and you really made a difference and he really cared, so cool guy and cool that you did that. ❤
I’m a Californian and I voted for the first time in November. Didn’t matter for the presidential election, but at least a close House district remained blue.
No one ever explained all this to me either, but every election (including primaries and midterms), we saw our parents walk down the street to our grade school to vote. A lot of people just didn't have this modeled for them and so they don't think about it. For me it's just what you do.
I had a similar experience with a awesome young guy one day. He was a young father and he didn't vote. He offered me some of his cannabis as we talked. I don't smoke but during the conversation I mentioned in jest if he thought a "Cannabis Fairy" arriving in California a few years back granted him legal access to weed OR was it politicians and state proposition and measurements? I explained to him that though I didn't smoke, I always thought the criminalization of Marijuana was wrong and had voted for its legalization and the expunged records of prior offenders. He was shocked. It was good to connect with him in the place he was without judgment and with patience and understanding. I encouraged him to vote and find out about issues effecting his life.
Awesome. For 90 million people I think it’s a little more complicated than someone listening and then explaining (correctly). That was a fantastic opportunity that you took advantage of. 🏆 I think it’s worth being a part of a larger conversation about getting people who don’t bother to vote into the voting headspace. I think we as a society are somewhat illiterate about how our government works and that’s at the heart of the problem. Understanding why we have a large number of citizens who are illiterate about how our government works is a big assignment, but it’s a critical one that impacts the political environment of this country. So how do we address it now that the powers that be don’t want us to address it?
I've been immersed in politics since Jan. 7, 2021. There are things I'm still learning about, like the Popular vote and the Mandate. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for sharing, this is fantastic! I will take note of the things you said and try to do the same if/when I have conversations with non-voters. By the way, I have signed up as a paying subscriber to your chop wood carry water newsletter. I really appreciate that you have action items in every email. Thank you!
California IS compromised by the Congressional cap placed on some states in the 1920s. We have much fewer representatives per our population than Montana or Wyoming for example. If we had the same ratio of people to representatives we would have quite a few more Congresspeople. And electoral college votes. We aren’t the only state this applies to but we are the biggest.
You have to be registered to vote. Every state has different regulations. For example, in Colorado, you can register on the same day you vote. In Arizona, it is 30 days. Those impacts also matter.
It’s pretty simple. Your voice matters and republicans know that. Thats exactly why the put so much effort into gerrymandering, suppressing votes, knocking people off voter rolls. If it didn’t matter, they wouldn’t put so much energy into these things!
Trump got the popular vote by a few million, but like you said each of those swing states were won by a much tighter margin, sometimes just a few thousand votes. And that’s the margin that can be influenced by lies and such.
@@russellharrell2747 He lost to others Trump... 77,297,721 Others... 77,528,058 -------------------------------------- Trump 77,297,721 Harris 75,009,338 Stein 782,506 Kennedy 756,103 Oliver 641,294 Other 338,817
In my state Republicans tried to pass a law that would require people with disabilities to have income to get disability pay. Its actually fucking insane. People need to vote.
I know how he feels. I served in the Army and worked in STEM, and the whole time I thought everyone else was taking this seriously. Now here we are. It's like I wasted all my that effort... and people are telling me I've got *more* work to do to keep the government from turning into a fascist oligarchy. Maybe this is how it was going to go all along. Maybe no amount of effort will stop it.
It wasn't until I hated a judge's decision that I found out that his appointment was actually an elected position. Blew my mind and changed everything.
Who's people who feel that their vote doesn't matter? They need to understand that even votes for non-winning tickets have an impact. For years. Ralph Nader ran in the presidential election. Very little to no chance of ever winning the presidency. However, The voice of his supporters mattered. The candidates of the two major parties adjusted their platform to pick up his likely voters. So while not having a direct impact by being president, he had a huge impact by affecting the major party candidates. Now if you don't vote, you're not somebody that's going to affect the major party candidates. The only time your voice doesn't matter is when you decide not to use it.
2:06 How did he not know? I live in Europe and I know. I think that is just a Trump supporter masquerading as non voter. They apparently love to do that.
I don't like that carpetbagger, but I wasn't going to vote for the circus. So I sat it out, I think I made the correct choice too. Y'all are getting extra crazy
Thank you for this informative video and story based on your experience! I think too many peope are dismissive of how many people don-t regularly focus on politics, or even worse just assume everyone is dumb. You can see it in the comments here. We have a culture of individuality that shuns community in favor of isolation. Few people know their neighbors. Without sufficient community, there are fewer opportunities for conversations like this to happen. These conversations can't happen online. I like evidence-based methods, and in my experience being rude or dismissive of non-voters or even low-info voters does not help. It may feel good to rip someone a new one, but all you do is burn bridges and commit ties.
I’m 41 and it was taught in my high school. Social Studies and Civics. Things may have changed in the 24 years I’ve been out of high school though… still that being said, I honestly don’t think too many high schoolers care… even in my classes I would say less than half students actually cared or paid attention enough…. I got D’s, C’s, and B’s in those classes during my 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12th grades… pending the instructor… so I was among them… I didn’t start to care to till college… it sometimes makes me wonder if the voting age shouldn’t be increased like how they talk about cigarettes and alcohol… but I’m not sure if that will make a difference or make the apathy worse… to me kids ands teens don’t have time to be just that… they’re bombarded with so much pressure plan and figure their whole life out at such an early age and as I said I’m 41… I still often feel like I don’t know what I want to do with my life… like I have a career but it’s not exactly fulfilling…. It’s what I can do to check out and get the day and work week before I get two days off…. So the attitude of giving a damn isn’t as high as it should be…. Oh and I’ve voted in ever since I was able… but it was only around 2006 that I really started to pay attention and look things up… also it was in 2016 I learned that you can have your cell phone with you in the booth to look up issues and candidates while voting! When you’re in the booth you can take as much time as you need! An most people have smartphones these days… so check out ballotpedia(?) and look things up from an objective perspective! That site gave me candidates history and party affiliation when at times the voting screen did not! An it explained issues in regular terms vs the legalese which can often be misinterpreted or misleading! So those are tools that helped me care more and pay attention over the decades!
The explanation that "my vote doesn't matter because of the electoral college" is the most common reason I hear about why people don't vote. We could improve our electoral politics instantly by getting rid of the electoral college.
For me, there is NO EXCUSE. When your life, and ours, is going to be dramatically changed because of your lack of caring to find out about candidates, the price we ALL must pay can topple democracys. So you indifference is every bit to blame as much as the brainwashed voters.
They act like this is not a kitchen that we all have to help in but rather it's like a restaurant and they are demanding to be served exactly what they want the way they want and when they want it.
@@elliottbaker201 So basically instead of choosing the lesser of two evils, you threw a silent hissy fit. Good for you, real noble and brave. If you really believe that both were horrible choices (which in many ways there were), and you Actually genuinely care about progress (in whatever way that means to you), I hope you're putting your money where your mouth is and getting active politically during the next two years. Otherwise you're a coward.
I plan on making every election i possibly can even if it's just to vote against extremists in local positions. I've voted in every general and midterm election since i was 19 and i plan to keep that up till I'm six feet under. Thank you for explaining to that guy the importance of his vote, especially on local elections!!!
It's not just non-voters; from kids to the elderly, everyone reacts better when you talk to them instead of shouting at them. Remember to keep your cool if they start yelling at you in response, and continue to speak softly. And carry a big stick.
I believe if we could vote in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, that more people would vote. They would feel like their vote counted for more and they would be right.
Civics class in 11th grade, 1967-8, had a whole section on voting - followed by a booth out in the hall manned by the League of Women Voters, to register anyone who would turn 18 before the next election. This was in Maryland.
Here's what I say to people: I am grateful to live in a country where I have so many choices and freedoms. In many other countries the citizens are not so lucky. I've always thought it very reasonable that the United States only request two things from their citizens-to cast your vote if you are eligible to and therefore participate in the way a democracy is run, and, when called to, serve jury duty so that our judicial system can continue to have accused judged by a jury of their peers. Seems such a small price to pay.
Also the request/requirement of registering for Selective Service System for male citizens and the request/law for Americans who live outside of the US to allow the US government to monitor our bank accounts & the request/threats the US government makes against financial institutions to hand over American citizens' personal details, among others.
I kind of wish America would bring in compulsory voting, Its no big deal and people will tune in a bit because they understand it's their duty to vote.. It's a rite of passage in Australia, like being able to drink, drive and VOTE !
Keep up the great work Jessica. You are saving my sanity. This speaks of the dumbing down of America in public education started in the 1980s. In previous years Civics was a required subject under Social Studies. We were required to read newspapers, know who our local politicians were and what their functions were from County, to State to Federal elected officials. Many people in their 20s, never had a Civics class. Find videos of Charlotte Isyerbet she lays it all out.
Use it or lose it. If you think you aren’t “smart enough” to vote trust me people way dumber than you already voted and against everyone’s interest including their own.
Good point. Plus, there are actually some people in Congress itself who are, apparently, way dumber than you. If I had known when I was a young adult what I know now, I would probably have gotten into politics and run for either the House or the Senate. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I was smart enough at the time, but with what I know now, yeah, I’d have been just fine.
A kind word keeps the hearer's mind open. When there is someone yelling in their face they just shut down and walk away, convinced even more they were right after all.
This is why we need government and civics classes in schools.
It's still not enough to be honest. I was required to take a government class in high school, but I didn't start voting till the 2016 election. I was 24. I know a lot about how our government works, but I still didn't feel like my vote mattered. I still didn't really care. Trump winning the first time was the push I needed.
I know people who are younger than me, that feel the same way I used to and they all had to take a civics class. Maybe it's just not being taught right? But I just think many young adults don't care until they have a reason to care.
Good job! You did a good deed, He didn't know what he didn't know,, and now he does!
As a young person I distinctly remember being "non political." It was almost a badge of honor. Politics was something to be above. Only later did I realize that not being involved meant other people determining what kind of world I would live in.
If you don't know civics, politics looks like Real Housewives. Instead, it's a crazy mix of spoiled brats and hard working civil servants. As voter turnout falls, the election of spoiled brats increases.
Thank u for taking the time and care in talking with him. A solid example of how just listening w/o judgement can create a real, a comfortable learning experience. Am also grateful he is open to listening and learning. I think u both did great 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🕊️
He has a girlfriend with a child and is interested in healthcare, but he has no idea what has been happening for the last few years regarding HEALTHCARE?
Jessica, you’re magical! Thank you angelic goddess!
I have had people tell me they didn't want to register to vote because they didn't want to have to do jury duty, and in my state all jurors are drawn from voter rolls alone. That kind of blew me away. Later I thought I should have asked them if they were the victim of a crime, do they think they deserve to have a trial and a jury since they're not willing to do that for others?
Make sure that's still true in your state. In mine, they changed it to taking names from the drivers' license records. But people here still believe it, so when someone tells me that, I tell them the truth and that they've just not got called yet.
america: "what's in it for me?"
most of the rest of the world: "we're in this together."
My state pulls jury candidates from voter rolls but also drivers license holders.
@@LeftyLinda I totally did, because in my old state that wasn't the case. This is South Carolina, though, where there is a current bill in the General Assembly to give the death penalty to women who try to have an abortion. You can't make this stuff up.
@@LeftyLinda Yes, I double-checked because I was doing voter registration in both NC and SC. SC still only takes from voter lists.
You gave him grace and an education. Thank you for sharing this beautiful experience.
GOOD FOR YOU! I'm so happy you did that and came here to tell us about it. This is a good way to do it, and one I might not have tried. Now I will.
One of our local races was decided by fewer than 10 votes out of votes cast by around 50,000 eligible voters.
Many people have been convinced that their vote doesn’t matter. Thanks for helping at least one person see a possible alternative understanding.
Not really. That's not the reason these ppl don't vote.
These are citizens who don't give a crap about politics or about their country.
To just simply vote is such a simple, request, and +85MILLION eligible voters were just too busy doing what? Taking selfies, feeding our faces, driving around in the cars they can't afford?
There is no excuse for not being a good citizen. Now we all pay. King Musk wants to take over.
WTF.
That's the truth! I can't count the times that I've said, your Vote and Voice really matter - even still, after this election. You STILL have a Voice! Use it now.
@@alzabeesww it can be discouraging to live in a RED state where incumbents don't have challengers!
I listened to your rational and of course your right. Then, I started thinking that in the sixties young men like me were drafted. I hated having to spend 4 years of my life in the military as I was a hard core anti-war citizen. I felt the draft was seriously unjust but it did make it clear to me that getting involved in local and national affairs was much more of a responsibility than my duty to serve. If a citizen fails to get involved, unfairness will be the rule rather than the exception!
Thank you for explaining this to that young man and to all who are watching this video.👍🏼
Hope you have a wonderful Holiday. 🎄🎄🎄
i sacrificed EVERYTHING to register when i was 18. i haven’t missed a General since. i’m full of hostility toward Americans who shirk this duty for any reason and i guess i’m not the kind of diplomat who should reach out to them
Many years ago my young husband and I lived in a big suburb in Michigan, and I never voted, although he always did, in every election. I thought my vote wasn’t necessary for some dumb reason. Then we moved to a rural area. I can’t recall the number of registered voters at the time, but under 15,000. I began to vote in every local election after I noticed that issues were being decided by the very small number of people who bothered to show up to vote for things like millages, tax increases, and land use. I haven’t missed any election since.
Great story. Make more videos about the importance of voting. So many people don't vote because they don't understand. Thank You.
Civics in school is a must
And why else do you think republicans and maga want to cut all funding. Destroy public education to create ignorance to make it easier to manipulate the poorly educated, and privatize it so the rich and get richer.
All I know is that when people vote for no one, their candidate isn’t elected. Someone is always voted into office.
Although it would be nice to have ranked choice voting and an option for ‘none of the above’, and needing another vote with different candidates if ‘None’ gets more votes than anyone else.
I remember being in 4th grade and having a civics class. It made a huge impact on me. I am now 63 and I can still see in my mind some of the illustrations from that textbook. At 42, I had a son, and in the 5th grade, when he was transitioning from private to public school, I had a parent/teacher meeting where they went through the curriculum with me. I asked where civics fit in and when it would be taught, and the 20 something teacher looked at me like i had grown a second head. She said they didn't teach it in our district because it was an unnecessary waste of resources. So, I went to the principle. Same answer. So i went to the superintendent, same answer. So I went to the school board, where in a public meeting I explained that people cannot and won't participate in their democracy if they dont know how it works, their role in it, and why their voice matters. I was treated in a very condescending way, like I was an annoying ignoramus and everything I said was dismissed. So, I wrote a letter to the editor of our regional paper explaining what would happen to our democracy if citizens did not understand it and did not engage, and called for civics to be reintroduced to the classroom in our district. They didn't publish it. I was so appalled by that overall experience. I felt like a cassandra. Now, here we are. It is so sad and so frustrating. I now understand that these choices are not accidental, that there is a machine dedicated to ensuring as ignorant and unengaged a populace as possible because it ensures they can be exploited. I wish more people would speak out, even if it does feel like you are tilting at windmills. If enough people do it, change CAN happen.
The dismantling of public education began with Reagan, amped up with GWB when civics and government classes were cut in favor of focusing on reading and passing state tests, which meant teaching to said tests. So of course civics and government were considered an unnecessary waste of resources. The next step was demonizing teachers and lying about them "indoctrinating" students. Now there is the push for "school choice", where tax money goes to for profit private and/or religious schools, and destroying the Department of Education so there are no standards about what is taught, or for funding things like Special Ed. The powers that be having been working on dumbing down the electorate for over 40 years and now here we are.
I have so many of these conversations all day. Uber driver in Las Vegas.💙💯🙏🏽
This is very true. I've talked with people who didn't know what local taxes pay for in their community. We seriously need civics education to begin early in school and continue throughout.
It’s shameful about too many adults’ apathy toward public policy and policymakers and voting.
People worldwide over time have died fighting for the right to democratically elect policymakers.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing! Edmund Burke.
Ignorance is no excuse to ignore a woman's rights and bodily autonomy and equal pay!
So you got physical therapy and he got patriotic American therapy. Win/win.
This is why they want to get rid of the Department of Education and eventually privatize education altogether. The oligarchs have a vested interest in an ill-informed electorate.
@@chrisg8767 it's the best way to build the Maga party. There's nothing knew about this strategy. Most people like to be told what to do and think, apparently.
@@chrisg8767 Ill informed or what we have now under your Leftist scumbag TEACHERS UNION, ILLITERATE…. 78% of our children can NOT read to grade level and 81% of our children can NOT do simple math to grade level…. But they can state their teachers pronoun!!!!!
@ simple, they have their OWN SELF first and not the children. They will not stand up to the leaders in the Teachers Union and tell them they are completely wrong…. The children come first..The essentials come first, reading, writing, math….. Not teachers pay, not teachers time off, not teachers benefits…. You don’t hold my child hostage so you can get a better deal on a contract!!!
@ That is a ridiculous comment…. Why does the left, Teachers Unions, prohibit school vouchers which have been extremely successful for poor neighborhoods???? And America wants a plan that puts children first and foremost for Everyone…. Trump understands we need a educated employment pool of workers for the country to grow… He sees on the other hand what the Dept. of Education advocates for and pushes onto the schools, which is not reading, writing, and math…
@@chrisg8767 maga is taking a page from Chairman Mao's " Cultural Revolution". All the while calling others Commies.
My former friend didn't vote, and it was due to complete apathy.
In the Netherlands we have the national vote service on internet. You fill in a form, and then the program search the party that fits your ideas the best. It’s really helpful. And it’s also saves time, we have 19 political parties on national level, imagine to have to read all their plans. 😀
I bet he knows nothing about the tax system either……….it must be wonderful to just plod through life like that.😑
Wow this is an excellent therapeutic intervention
Lay it at the feet of the parents. My kids are responsible, informed voters by my choice. They don’t parrot my political beliefs, they form their own. They know it’s their duty to be informed and involved. It’s call being an American citizen.
Thank you! My neighbor 40 something just said she never votes. This gen X was devastated. You have given me some good info to pass on.
That's the tragedy, if people were actually informed they would be very eager to vote.
You were an inspiration instead of criticism. That moment of education as to why his voice and vote mattered is the difference.🔥
Voting education should be required.
I've said for years that voting should at least require some establishment of basic logic understanding and governmental knowledge. I couldn't care less if some people think its undemocratic. The idea that so many people are ok with everyone having an equal say, despite so many having zero clue about any of it, is astounding.
Civics and government should be mandatory education. Why you vote should be a part of that curriculum.
We should remove 'social studies' and reinstate the Civics Curriculum it replaced.
Also some of the policies should be written in laymen's terms, I looked through Project 2025 and a lot of it is misleading if you don't fully know what to look for. Transparency is important. Also, can we cut out the political mud slinging. That played a huge part in all of this the poisoning of the mind setting political factions against each other to a point where paranoia and madness took over for reason. I know a lot of people thinks every maga is some racist sexist monster, and yes there are those who are. However, some are merely misguided folks who if you didn't know how they voted you'd never know they were a part of maga.
Republicans in red states would ban that before it could be voted on.
This is a great story! An organizer's dream 😍
I think those of us that are passionate about voting and participating in a democracy are so sooo mad at those people that don’t participate because of apathy. We see how critical elections are. So in turn (at least for me) it’s difficult to discuss these things without getting upset.
Some are apathetic.
Many are blocked from being able to because of the color of our skin.
The Navajo Nation is in court over the latter right now.
7 million people who voted for Biden didn't bother to vote for Harris.
WE have no memories, just resentment against the person in office who did not make life perfect for us.
Because the DNC Does Not listen to what the people want. You wanna know the true person the election was "STOLEN" from?! It was MF BERNIE SANDERS!! There was proof that he won and the DNC covered it up and pushed for freaking Hillary and now they tried the same thing to force a candidate because anyone is better than DT but just like the first time IT DID NOT WORK! And now we are all screwed
How could he not know about the book banning?! jeez....could on you for explaining all this to him.
You are FAR more patient than I would have been in that situation. Non voters infuriate me.
Very smart way to approach and educate a non-voter. Kudos
You not only are smart, you are adorable in your demeanor, communication skills….and so much more!
Pretty much every young person I spoke to said they wouldn't vote. They stated their voice doesn't matter because the rich own the politicians.
They may be right. All this voting shit may be just for letting the peasants believe they have a democracy.
You did a great job explaining and you were remarkably patient. Kudos!
We definitely need civic awareness. It should be a requirement if you are getting licenses to drive your car. Civics should be a requirement before graduating from high school. Keeping people uniformed is how dictatorships form. My Lord we are in trouble. Thank you for your insight on how to talk to people when confronted with these issues. I will be using your method going forward.
Very cool. On so many levels. That he wasn’t just looking for a reason to yell at, lecture, and eventually resort to mocking and personally insulting you, which gets so exhausting. In 2016 through 2020 I used to enthusiastically interact with kindness and sincerity and respect. Now that I’ve been incessantly mocked in place of any type of debate and realized how there is just no critical thinking and no interest, I have gotten so exhausted I don’t try. But he was sincere and you really made a difference and he really cared, so cool guy and cool that you did that. ❤
I’m a Californian and I voted for the first time in November. Didn’t matter for the presidential election, but at least a close House district remained blue.
No one ever explained all this to me either, but every election (including primaries and midterms), we saw our parents walk down the street to our grade school to vote. A lot of people just didn't have this modeled for them and so they don't think about it. For me it's just what you do.
I had a similar experience with a awesome young guy one day. He was a young father and he didn't vote. He offered me some of his cannabis as we talked. I don't smoke but during the conversation I mentioned in jest if he thought a "Cannabis Fairy" arriving in California a few years back granted him legal access to weed OR was it politicians and state proposition and measurements? I explained to him that though I didn't smoke, I always thought the criminalization of Marijuana was wrong and had voted for its legalization and the expunged records of prior offenders. He was shocked. It was good to connect with him in the place he was without judgment and with patience and understanding. I encouraged him to vote and find out about issues effecting his life.
You're lovely. I wish I had as much grace, patience and wisdom as you.
Awesome. For 90 million people I think it’s a little more complicated than someone listening and then explaining (correctly). That was a fantastic opportunity that you took advantage of. 🏆 I think it’s worth being a part of a larger conversation about getting people who don’t bother to vote into the voting headspace. I think we as a society are somewhat illiterate about how our government works and that’s at the heart of the problem. Understanding why we have a large number of citizens who are illiterate about how our government works is a big assignment, but it’s a critical one that impacts the political environment of this country. So how do we address it now that the powers that be don’t want us to address it?
Awesome story-great work JC!!
I've been immersed in politics since Jan. 7, 2021. There are things I'm still learning about, like the Popular vote and the Mandate. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for sharing, this is fantastic! I will take note of the things you said and try to do the same if/when I have conversations with non-voters. By the way, I have signed up as a paying subscriber to your chop wood carry water newsletter. I really appreciate that you have action items in every email. Thank you!
California IS compromised by the Congressional cap placed on some states in the 1920s. We have much fewer representatives per our population than Montana or Wyoming for example. If we had the same ratio of people to representatives we would have quite a few more Congresspeople. And electoral college votes. We aren’t the only state this applies to but we are the biggest.
You’re so amazing. The clarity and patience you showed is an inspiration.
Thank you!
You have to be registered to vote. Every state has different regulations. For example, in Colorado, you can register on the same day you vote. In Arizona, it is 30 days. Those impacts also matter.
I had to discuss voting with my 3 siblings who had similar misconceptions like the young man you helped. Voting education should be required.
It’s pretty simple. Your voice matters and republicans know that. Thats exactly why the put so much effort into gerrymandering, suppressing votes, knocking people off voter rolls. If it didn’t matter, they wouldn’t put so much energy into these things!
You are such a nice person, because I would have handled that differently
Trump one less than 50% of the vote. In the margin of victory in the swing states for Trump was razor thin.
Trump got the popular vote by a few million, but like you said each of those swing states were won by a much tighter margin, sometimes just a few thousand votes. And that’s the margin that can be influenced by lies and such.
@@russellharrell2747
He lost to others
Trump... 77,297,721
Others... 77,528,058
--------------------------------------
Trump 77,297,721
Harris 75,009,338
Stein 782,506
Kennedy 756,103
Oliver 641,294
Other 338,817
Brilliant!
In my state Republicans tried to pass a law that would require people with disabilities to have income to get disability pay. Its actually fucking insane.
People need to vote.
Wow you’re really patient with this person!💆💆🏽♂️
My 19yo daughter has taken it upon herself to try and educate her friends of similar ages.
We need more of your positive, Jodie-Foster-look-alike story telling. ❤
I know how he feels. I served in the Army and worked in STEM, and the whole time I thought everyone else was taking this seriously. Now here we are. It's like I wasted all my that effort... and people are telling me I've got *more* work to do to keep the government from turning into a fascist oligarchy.
Maybe this is how it was going to go all along. Maybe no amount of effort will stop it.
In an age of misinformation and mass apathy, it's a privilege to have access to accurate information and know how politics impact our lives.
Your really a good person, all I can say in complete discussed is that
Voting prevents unwanted Presidencies…
Now, howabout unwanted kings??
Musk is self-crowned & Rethugs don't care.
Good one! I like your play on words for the phrase "prevent unwanted pregnancies".
Get rid of the electoral college. Nice name for racist policy.
It's racist and elitist. The elitist part is right there in the name. They aren't a board or panel. They're a college.
It wasn't until I hated a judge's decision that I found out that his appointment was actually an elected position. Blew my mind and changed everything.
Who's people who feel that their vote doesn't matter? They need to understand that even votes for non-winning tickets have an impact. For years. Ralph Nader ran in the presidential election. Very little to no chance of ever winning the presidency. However, The voice of his supporters mattered. The candidates of the two major parties adjusted their platform to pick up his likely voters. So while not having a direct impact by being president, he had a huge impact by affecting the major party candidates. Now if you don't vote, you're not somebody that's going to affect the major party candidates. The only time your voice doesn't matter is when you decide not to use it.
You are the most diplomatic person on the planet! 💖
2:06 How did he not know?
I live in Europe and I know.
I think that is just a Trump supporter masquerading as non voter. They apparently love to do that.
"my vote doesn't count in CA" confirms it.
I don't like that carpetbagger, but I wasn't going to vote for the circus. So I sat it out, I think I made the correct choice too. Y'all are getting extra crazy
@@elliottbaker201 I'm gonna guess you're not a person of color or counted as being within a marginalized group. Prove me wrong.
Thank you for this informative video and story based on your experience!
I think too many peope are dismissive of how many people don-t regularly focus on politics, or even worse just assume everyone is dumb. You can see it in the comments here.
We have a culture of individuality that shuns community in favor of isolation. Few people know their neighbors. Without sufficient community, there are fewer opportunities for conversations like this to happen.
These conversations can't happen online. I like evidence-based methods, and in my experience being rude or dismissive of non-voters or even low-info voters does not help.
It may feel good to rip someone a new one, but all you do is burn bridges and commit ties.
How our government works should be taught in K-12. Grow them up with the process and it will be easy and comfortable to them as adults.
And you can thank republicans for taking it out.
It IS taught in schools!!
It's taught in schools and on Saturday mornings with Schoolhouse Rock!
It was called civics class when I was in school...with the dinosaurs.
I’m 41 and it was taught in my high school. Social Studies and Civics. Things may have changed in the 24 years I’ve been out of high school though… still that being said, I honestly don’t think too many high schoolers care… even in my classes I would say less than half students actually cared or paid attention enough…. I got D’s, C’s, and B’s in those classes during my 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12th grades… pending the instructor… so I was among them… I didn’t start to care to till college… it sometimes makes me wonder if the voting age shouldn’t be increased like how they talk about cigarettes and alcohol… but I’m not sure if that will make a difference or make the apathy worse… to me kids ands teens don’t have time to be just that… they’re bombarded with so much pressure plan and figure their whole life out at such an early age and as I said I’m 41… I still often feel like I don’t know what I want to do with my life… like I have a career but it’s not exactly fulfilling…. It’s what I can do to check out and get the day and work week before I get two days off…. So the attitude of giving a damn isn’t as high as it should be…. Oh and I’ve voted in ever since I was able… but it was only around 2006 that I really started to pay attention and look things up… also it was in 2016 I learned that you can have your cell phone with you in the booth to look up issues and candidates while voting! When you’re in the booth you can take as much time as you need! An most people have smartphones these days… so check out ballotpedia(?) and look things up from an objective perspective! That site gave me candidates history and party affiliation when at times the voting screen did not! An it explained issues in regular terms vs the legalese which can often be misinterpreted or misleading! So those are tools that helped me care more and pay attention over the decades!
They never should have taken civics out of the school curriculum!
The explanation that "my vote doesn't matter because of the electoral college" is the most common reason I hear about why people don't vote. We could improve our electoral politics instantly by getting rid of the electoral college.
For me, there is NO EXCUSE. When your life, and ours, is going to be dramatically changed because of your lack of caring to find out about candidates, the price we ALL must pay can topple democracys. So you indifference is every bit to blame as much as the brainwashed voters.
They act like this is not a kitchen that we all have to help in but rather it's like a restaurant and they are demanding to be served exactly what they want the way they want and when they want it.
@@Maineprepper-o1bor, it's like a free nation where we were offered two horrible choices, and didn't want to enter a certain group 🤷
@@elliottbaker201 who you kidding pal? you're a trump troll working for billionaires
@Thomas-fj8ol jeesh, you got some inner demons still huh. No, swing and a miss. Both were literally horrible choices.
@@elliottbaker201 So basically instead of choosing the lesser of two evils, you threw a silent hissy fit. Good for you, real noble and brave. If you really believe that both were horrible choices (which in many ways there were), and you Actually genuinely care about progress (in whatever way that means to you), I hope you're putting your money where your mouth is and getting active politically during the next two years. Otherwise you're a coward.
Great video. Thank you for your service.
I plan on making every election i possibly can even if it's just to vote against extremists in local positions. I've voted in every general and midterm election since i was 19 and i plan to keep that up till I'm six feet under. Thank you for explaining to that guy the importance of his vote, especially on local elections!!!
So many people don't invest in the critical decisions, listen to NPR in the car…watch a solid news program on TV. I applaud what she did! ❤
It's not just non-voters; from kids to the elderly, everyone reacts better when you talk to them instead of shouting at them. Remember to keep your cool if they start yelling at you in response, and continue to speak softly. And carry a big stick.
Excellent conversation you had with that young man.
It's nice to know that your approach was non threatening and he could think about voting next time
Thank you for this. I will keep this in mind next time I speak with someone who is a non-voter.
Well done. Thank you for sharing 🎉
I believe if we could vote in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, that more people would vote. They would feel like their vote counted for more and they would be right.
Civics class in 11th grade, 1967-8, had a whole section on voting - followed by a booth out in the hall manned by the League of Women Voters, to register anyone who would turn 18 before the next election. This was in Maryland.
They need to bring Civics back. And maybe not wait till 12th grade to teach it.
Here's what I say to people: I am grateful to live in a country where I have so many choices and freedoms. In many other countries the citizens are not so lucky. I've always thought it very reasonable that the United States only request two things from their citizens-to cast your vote if you are eligible to and therefore participate in the way a democracy is run, and, when called to, serve jury duty so that our judicial system can continue to have accused judged by a jury of their peers. Seems such a small price to pay.
Also the request/requirement of registering for Selective Service System for male citizens and the request/law for Americans who live outside of the US to allow the US government to monitor our bank accounts & the request/threats the US government makes against financial institutions to hand over American citizens' personal details, among others.
Thanks for this. I get this a lot in Hawaii (I don’t bother to vote)This is invaluable advice.
I kind of wish America would bring in compulsory voting, Its no big deal and people will tune in a bit because they understand it's their duty to vote.. It's a rite of passage in Australia, like being able to drink, drive and VOTE !
I cannot vote. A non-felonious US citizen. Not allowed to vote.
Because I live in Puerto Rico!
How about that?
I'm so plugged into politics it's hard to understand how people just couldn't have heard about book bans.
Outstanding!
Keep up the great work Jessica. You are saving my sanity. This speaks of the dumbing down of America in public education started in the 1980s. In previous years Civics was a required subject under Social Studies. We were required to read newspapers, know who our local politicians were and what their functions were from County, to State to Federal elected officials. Many people in their 20s, never had a Civics class. Find videos of Charlotte Isyerbet she lays it all out.
Use it or lose it. If you think you aren’t “smart enough” to vote trust me people way dumber than you already voted and against everyone’s interest including their own.
Good point. Plus, there are actually some people in Congress itself who are, apparently, way dumber than you. If I had known when I was a young adult what I know now, I would probably have gotten into politics and run for either the House or the Senate. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I was smart enough at the time, but with what I know now, yeah, I’d have been just fine.
Good information 🇺🇸💙🇺🇸😘
A kind word keeps the hearer's mind open. When there is someone yelling in their face they just shut down and walk away, convinced even more they were right after all.
True but these people are demanding that we kiss their ass and also some of them won't vote for either candidate because neither one of is Perfect.