Ellington

Is it OK with you that only about a third of Mississippians are making decisions for all of us? Are you tired of not having anyone you want to vote for, who addresses your concerns? Do you want to be heard? Then, speak up, sweetheart, and change the world while you're at it—one vote at a time. Here's how (and, get this, it's fun). Who knew?

MEDIA MATTERS, BUT...?
A 2002 survey by MTV found that young people, ages 18-25, care a lot more about newspapers than the staffs of newspapers give them credit for. But, too often, they just don't like what they find—stories that are often irrelevant to their lives and biased against them. So they turn to the Internet and cable television instead of print. Here's why, and what needs to be done about it:

What they want (in this order):
1. Music
2. Local news
3. Current events
4. International news
5. National news
6. Politics

Why they don't read newspapers:
1. Too many "old white dudes"
on the cover
2. Newsprint is messy
3. Very little, if any, music coverage
4. Bias towards youth
5. Overwhelming negativity

ELECTION REFORM
Rock the Vote (rockthevote.org) is
calling for major election reform:
• Reform the Electoral College system to provide for fair presidential elections that reflect the will of the people.
• Pass comprehensive legislation for meaningful campaign finance reform.
• Investigate reports of voter intimidation and fraud, and implement procedures to prevent future occurrences.
• Improve procedures and technologies to remove barriers to voter registration and increase access to voting.
• Stop voter disenfranchisement of non-violent felons and released felons.
• Remove restrictions that unfairly hinder third party and independent candidates from qualifying for an election.
• Increase investment for civic education in the nation's schools.

REGISTER RIGHT NOW!
You must be 18 by the date of the election. You can register to vote at your county circuit clerk's office, local city hall, or by a mail-in voter registration form available at http://www.sos.state.ms.us In Jackson, call 968-6628 for details.

VOTE ABSENTEE
If you just can't stand to face a little gray-haired lady on Election night (calm down, ladies, we're kidding), here's how to vote absentee. It's really easy. There are two ways to vote absentee. You may either vote in the circuit clerk's office in the county where you are registered (up to 45 days in advance of the election). Or you can request the office send you an absentee ballot. To request an absentee ballot you must contact the circuit clerk's office in the county where you're registered. They will send you an application. Fill it out and send it back. You'll receive your ballot in the mail. Check the candidates you want, get it notarized and send it back before Election Day. Allow at least three weeks for this process.

IF YOU WANT YOUNG VOTERS
1. Talk directly to them.
2. Go where young voters hang out; don't expect them to come to you.
3. Listen.
4. Don't ridicule youth culture. Understand it.
5. Be willing to risk alienating older voters to address younger issues.
6. Have young staff and give them real responsibility.
7. Read a variety of media.
8. Don't make fun of their music, or their clothes, or their tattoos. People with lip rings can still vote your butt out of office.
9. Don't be beholden to big money.
10. Don't assume young people are bad, or stupid, or anything. Don't assume. You know of whom that makes an ass.

MAKE ELECTION DAY A PARTY:
1. Wear costumes to the polls.
2. Meet your friends at the polls to have a sing-along.
3. Write a spoken-word piece to perform at the polls.
4. Make snacks and pass them out in line.
5. Bring your boom box. That'll wake the gray hairs up.
6. Have a breakfast meeting to discuss candidates (and the possibility of meeting a date at the polls)
7. Adorn your car with ballons and streamers. When people ask why, proclaim "Why, it's Election Day!"
8. Make it a race; see who can vote the fastest.
9. Perform an interpretive dance about what voting means to you.
11. Invite all your friends to a post-election party. Throw stuff at the stupid candidates on TV.

UTNE MAGAZINE'S "14 WAYS TO CREATE THE AMERICA YOU WANT"
1. Think long-term.
2. Be populist, not elitist.
3. Embrace institutions.
4. Support what's working.
5. Court unlikely allies.
6. Socialize.
7. Get personal.
8. Listen with all you've got.
9. Ask questions.
10. Don't try to convince anyone of
anything.
11. Take the next step; broaden the
discussion.
12. Be the change you want to see.
13. Be playful.
14. Make activism fun.
From Utne magazine, April 2003

SOMEONE TO LEAN ON
Think you're the only one who cares in an apathetic world? Here's support. Get on the list, speak up, say your piece.
1. Party Y is a coalition of young American leaders (all in their
20s) who launched a Web -based "virtual party" to link young voters with equally young political candidates.
2. Rap the Vote is a hiphop alternative to Rock the Vote.
3. Project Vote Smart provides government information and contact information for congressmen and senators.
4. World Wrestling Entertainment and the League of Women Voters present Smack Down Your Vote One Million More in 2004.
5. The Democracy Action Project is a national multi-racial movement of young people wanting to return the country to its citizens.
6. The NAACP is determined to keep African Americans of all ages informed and involved.
7. The National Youth Rights organization is determined to win what they are calling the "last civil rights movement "– that of youth rights.
8. Rock the Vote wants to empower young people to change their world by keeping them informed and voting.
9. Mobilizing America's Youth wants to involve America's disenfranchised youth by creating young leaders.
10. The Close Up Foundation promotes responsible and informed participation in the democratic process

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
In our "argument culture" it seems that relatively little debate occurs in the public arena—and, no, "Hardball" is not debate. Here are some suggestions for civilized discussion that engages people instead of enraging them:
1. No insults. Arguments that attack the person instead of his positions are called "ad hominem," and they aren't true debate or discussion. Both "You're just a fascist" and "You're just a pinko-commie liberal" apply.
2. There are more than two options. An argument that states "If we don't do X, the only alternative is Y" is probably creating what logic teachers call a "false dilemma." If you're not with us, you're against us is one of the more obvious examples we can come up with.
3. Are you listening to refute? If you're listening to someone else only to find the holes in their argument or the catchphrases with which you disagree, you're "listening to refute." Catch yourself and, instead, try to listen with an open mind, working from the assumption that a new idea doesn't have to be immediately shunned to keep it from killing you.
4. Don't argue to win. Discuss to learn, not win. Most decent debaters can easily switch sides and debate the other point of view, meaning winning is easy. It's not the fight that counts, but the ideas.

JOIN UP
Join the new Mississippi Voter Project (MVP), being organized now by the Jackson Free Press and friends. E-mail [e-mail unavailable] to get on our update list. We want you on board.

Previous Comments

ID

76837

Comment

Here's a story about Party Y: http://www.wiretapmag.com/story.html?StoryID=15390 "To make politics cool, Party Y will enact a traveling political road show of colorful buses, bands, and DJs driving from town to town (and school to school), auditioning, enrolling, and recruiting local youth talents. The end result will be a national convention to announce the winners of the new, groovy political team. The political road show will commence in 2003 and culminate in November 2004 -- when Party Y hopes to elect several young Representatives to the U.S. House (obviously over the Constitutionally-required age barrier of 25, but no older than the age of thirty). 'This seems like a great idea,' says high school senior Joshua Deitel, 18, of Dallas, Texas. But he offers one bit of skepticism to Party Y's party: 'If the young person isn't representative of my views, I wouldn't want them to be elected.' Ideological purity is only one of the many obstacles Party Y faces, but Breyer and other Party Y members remain optimistic because of the many positive reactions they receive on a continual basis."

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T13:17:02-06:00

ID

76838

Comment

Here's one about t-shirt censorship in high schools: http://www.wiretapmag.com/story.html?StoryID=15436 "When a student showed up at Leland High School in San Jose, Calif., last week wearing a T-shirt that said †'Bomb Saddam' on one side and †'Attack Iraq' on the other, the vice principal in charge of discipline told him if he wore the shirt again, he would be suspended."

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T13:18:30-06:00

ID

76839

Comment

This essay is by a 15-year-old who backs Bush and the Iraqi war: http://www.wiretapmag.com/story.html?StoryID=15428 "Hereís what I feel: George W. Bush is not an idiot. President Bush is protecting us as a nation from the serious threat of Saddam Hussein. We as Americans should stand behind our president; he is an honest man and deserves our respect and support. As Bush pointed out in his State of the Union Address, Saddam Hussein has developed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons such as anthrax. Hussein says he doesnít have them, but he is lying about it, as he has been for years. Bush said, 'The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. He is deceiving.'"

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T13:20:46-06:00

ID

76840

Comment

If you're a candidate and look for young voters, this site can help you find and reach out to them: http://www.campaignyoungvoters.org/

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T13:22:04-06:00

ID

76841

Comment

D, what about getting Party Y, MVP, and RTV together in Jackson? Could be an exciting event for the young voters in the area filled with entertainment and information.

Author

Knol Aust

Date

2003-04-18T13:34:30-06:00

ID

76842

Comment

There's an incredible listing of resource links on the Teen Power Politics Web site, done by Sarah Jane Boyers. http://teenpowerpolitics.com/tpp_ref.html And I was thrilled to find that Sarah included my Village Voice story about the New York Times' bad coverage of young people in one of her newsletters (see, Clarion-Ledger, you're not the only daily newspaper I've had my eye on! Even the best screw up crime and youth coverage). http://www.teenpowerpolitics.com/newsletter11.html

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T19:01:44-06:00

ID

76843

Comment

Knol, sounds groovy to me, although we might have to cut back on the acronyms. ;-D Everybody reading this, especially if you're 25 and under, note that Knol is the head of the new Rock the Vote chapter here. Write his butt if you want to volunteer to help out. The JFP's new Mississippi Voter Project (MVP) is working closely with Knol to do some really fun stuff starting in May (involving music, film, giving away free stuff, stree theater and other multimedia). But we need your help. E-mail [email][email protected][/email] to get on the update list, or write Knol directly at his address above. This is going to be really fun; spend the summer making a difference and meeting cool people at the same time.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T19:06:04-06:00

ID

76844

Comment

One mo' thing: We're planning to have an all-ages party, probably in early May, for volunteers to get to know each other and such. So, yes, you can consider yourself on the party list if you write to volunteer. Nudge, nudge. [email][email protected][/email]

Author

ladd

Date

2003-04-18T19:09:02-06:00