US: I am a daily eyewitness to the lives of young women in America: Harris
US: As a house mother for a sorority, I watch young women’s lives in America on a regular basis. There is a lot of dread because they know their generation has the power to influence the outcome of the next presidential election.
I’m not ready for this kind of authority to go to a younger generation. What economic knowledge do they possess? concerning foreign relations?
My daughters were terrified by the unexpected darkness when our power was momentarily cut out by a storm last spring.
“Can we still flush the toilet without power?” they were asking. “Do I have to get out of the shower?”
This voting group, which spans the age range of 18 to 24, has hardly had time to exist. Younger voters in America, however, have the power to influence national politics. This house mother didn’t think they could do the job. I questioned if they would be motivated to take on that part at all.
Interestingly, every 18- and 19-year-old I spoke with plans to vote; the majority have already registered. In June, they watched the presidential debate. At least one national convention was viewed by half of them.
I was taken aback by their evaluation of such traditions. They characterized them as divisive and unfavorable. The DNC, according to one lady, is “off the rails.” She said, when questioned, that “all they did was criticize Trump.”
To be clear, she was standing up for Trump’s freedom to be who he chooses to be, not the past president. To get the respect of this age, one must be willing to defend the rights of every single person.
We had a string of thefts in the sorority last year, and the perpetrator was found. Was she shunned? requested to depart? No. She was requested to give the things back. In the society of these young ladies, calling out others is frowned upon, and they wince whenever it occurs.
Another unexpected finding is that young women in my community are calling for character, while some older voters are calling for greater policy discussion. However, they refuse to acknowledge it.
They were silent when I questioned them directly whether they thought a candidate’s character mattered. They refused to say yes, even though our whole discussion had been about their despondent and fruitless search for a president who stood for justice, fairness, integrity, reliability, and moderation.
It seems to me that the term “character” sounds too similar to “convention.” Since they were old enough to choose a pronoun, these women have been defying societal norms, which are based on convention.
You can determine how they feel about frostbite standards and modesty in general just by looking at their Halloween outfits.
If there’s a thread among Gen Z, it seems to be tolerance for others. Because of this, by openly criticizing and denouncing one another in public, Harris and Trump are losing ground with this group of voters.
It can help to keep in mind that guys lie to women in this age bracket every single weekend. These ladies are courted by males who attempt to sneak narcotics into their beverages.
It makes sense why I kept hearing women express their strong misgivings about both candidates.
“How do we know they are telling the truth or just telling us what they think we want to hear?” a lady said.
This is the crying protest taken to a political level: “But he told me he loved me.” After you’ve air-kicked the football, you become somewhat suspicious of everyone in your vicinity.
They all disapproved of celebrity endorsements and even expressed anger that anybody could believe they were so gullible as to follow a performer.
One lady sneered, “Who Taylor Swift votes for means nothing.” “What political knowledge does she possess? She sings.”
All of her sorority sisters, with the exception of one who spoke out for RFK Jr., nodded. “He is the only one who has any right to recommend a vote because he knows the system and he knows the candidates.” Not a word about a dead bear or his brain worm.
However, I’m glad my 18 and 19-year-old roommates are paying such careful attention if they’re more understanding of odd comments and inappropriate conduct than their grandparents would be.
My little charges woke up crying the day after the election eight years ago.
They cried out, “How did this happen?”
I needed to control myself.
Channeling my inner Susan B. Anthony, I had spent the whole day recruiting the same females the day before. My get-out-the-vote effort received a variety of unpleasant comments. Too busy, unfamiliar with voting procedures, uninterested, not my thing.
And what was the outcome? We chose a guy to be our president in November 2016 who, in comparison, represented very little of those young women.
The result might be different this time around. It’s feasible that America may elect a president who sounds and looks a lot more like the people who sit at the salad bar with me.
However, I hope Harris isn’t relying on young women to support her based just on gender—let alone race.
Speaking for herself as a “double minority,” an African American woman stated: “I’m happy that a Black woman is running for president, but that doesn’t mean I’ll vote for her.”
She was digging further, seeking for viewpoints and ideas that matched her own.
It might be an abortion. The sorority sisters with whom I talked were unanimous that every state ought to permit abortion. Their intense emotions could lead this segment to support Harris in the polls. There won’t be a marching band, however.
Though they may be more involved than I anticipated, I wouldn’t characterize the voting bloc I coexist with as enthused. They’re not very enraged nor particularly pleased with the presidential contenders for 2024.
I expected to hear outrage when I brought up Trump’s treatment of women, as I knew this would be a contentious issue. However, I didn’t. Maybe it’s me who is naive.
As I see these young ladies, I’m struck by how many choices they have—to participate in sports, have an excellent education, pursue whatever professional path they want, and hope that the public would view them with the same seriousness as experts now do after Harris’s compelling debate performance.I assumed that they would be incensed that voters were even debating someone with a history of violence and assault.
As an alternative, I overheard someone say, shrugging, “Everyone knows Trump is a total douche bag.” A guy abusing a female? Give these girls some information they don’t already know.