I am writing a response to the Editorial Board’s piece titled “Rock(y)
the Vote” from Feb. 1. I agree that celebrity endorsements are not that
important, but I think that you missed an important point, and also
gave too much credit to these public announcements. First of all, to
say that Chuck Norris was “obviously a major reason why Mike Huckabee
won the Iowa caucus” is a complete overstatement, and my hope is that
it was meant as an exaggeration. Iowa is well-known for having a large
evangelical percentage in its socially conservative Republican
electorate, more so than most states, with about 60 percent of GOP
voters identifying themselves as evangelical. Huckabee, an ordained
Baptist minister, has obvious appeal with this group, as he is the most
consistently social conservative candidate in the GOP race. “The
Huckster” simply had to get out and show who he was and he was able to
pull off a still surprising victory.
However, my main point is
that while most people are going to ignore the celebrity endorsements,
there is still the problem that a lot of our young people are not very
politically knowledgeable. At the beginning of his first term, less
than half of young people knew who Dick Cheney was. That number has
changed vastly since, and it has come with an increase in political
involvement and community engagement. That is the precise sort of
movement we need in our country to make it more democratic and a better
place for us all to live. We have an opportunity unlike any other in
our country’s history, and whether it is in creating a more sustainable
economy, a less poverty-stricken world or a society free of
discrimination, the fact of the matter is that it all begins with
greater political involvement of young people, especially those in
college. It is not whether you are a liberal, conservative, Democrat,
Republican, Socialist or Libertarian, or anything else, but rather it
matters that you have an opinion and that you are willing to listen and
engage in political conversations for everyone’s betterment. But as
young people, it is our duty to get more involved and shape our future
political scene today by getting out to the polls!
Alex Luboff
