“How can we get more young people involved?” is a common cry among our Indivisible colleagues. How indeed? It is hard not to notice the lack of diversity in our movement, which is dominated by gray-haired, often affluent white folks. Other people are avoiding our movement for their own reasons; today let’s focus on the younger crowd.

Now, first let me acknowledge that many young people are involved—just not with Indivisible. Many young people are not cynical. And if we want more young people to come to our meetings and events, we should do our best to support the activities they are involved in.

But I run across a lot of young people who are not interested in our work. When I talk to young people, I am impressed by their idealism—and cynicism. “Indivisible is just a wing of the Democratic party,” some grumble. “Why vote when it makes no difference?” “Obama deported more people than Trump. Biden funded Israeli genocide in Gaza. Corporations own Democrats the same way they do Republicans.”

My feeling on hearing these remarks is one of great frustration. Yes, the Democratic party has a lot of problems. It has not been as strong as it could be in fighting the current regime. Yes, politicians take money from corporations and then do their bidding. Yes, Democratic presidents and other politicians have done horrid things. But can these young people not see the difference? Democrats increase access to health care (Obamacare, Medicaid and Medicare expansion) rather than take it away. Democrats defend women’s right to reproductive health care. Democrats would never have allowed DOGE to bulldoze our federal government, to take away money for research on vaccines and diseases, or to put totally incompetent people in charge of major agencies.

Democrats even admit that the climate crisis is real, though their solutions are not generally anywhere near where they should be. But aren’t insufficient solutions better than active denial?

In the case of Israel, there is a recent turn of events where Democrats are resisting the funding for Israel to purchase endless weapons and bulldozers (to destroy Palestinian homes). And guess what? Democratic politicians are easier to convince of the right thing, and less likely to throw people in jail simply for protesting the ongoing genocide.

On one hand I completely identify with the anger and cynicism of many youth. The system has failed them, and they are the ones who will suffer the most severe consequences. It is no wonder that they don’t trust their elders. On the other hand, it is precisely the forces of evil who benefit from this growing cynicism. If young people refuse to vote, or vote in anger for the party that seeks to do the most damage, we cannot retake our government and work to repair what we can.

Now that the Supreme Court has once again handed a major victory to Republicans in the battle for political power, it is more important than ever to engage young people in politics and voting. While the primaries are already upon us, we still have time before the midterms to try to mobilize some of these disillusioned idealistic youth. It is easy to get angry when they cast shade at Indivisible and at Democrats. But responding in anger is not helpful. Difficult as it is, I would argue that we need to listen to young people, take their concerns seriously, and then try to use gentle and respectful questioning to encourage them to vote—and then join us in working to ensure that elected politicians are answerable to the electorate.

  • OK, I hear you. You’re angry. Rightly so. Now what would you like to do about it?
  • How do you think you can help to bring about positive change?
  • It sounds like a great idea to tear the whole system down. The current administration is doing a pretty good job of it. How do we ensure that what replaces it is better, not worse?
  • What are some of your biggest concerns? Do you know of ways to try to influence politicians to address them? Would you like some guidance or suggestions? What guidance or suggestions do you have for us older people?
  • How can we take all of this genuine and valuable anger and use it to start building the free and fair country that we wish for and never truly had?

It feels good to be armed with facts, but facts are rarely convincing in emotional arguments. The very act of listening and taking people’s concerns seriously is an important first step. I would encourage all of us to reach out to the young people around us, refuse to be turned off by their sometimes brutal vehemence, and see if we can work together to make a positive difference in November…and beyond.