Apathy: A War at Home?

Nov. 8, 2006 — -- When 26-year-old Sgt. Zack Bazzi returned from serving in the National Guard in Iraq to finish school at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, the student attitudes on campus distressed him.

Many young people, while respectful of his service abroad, had limited knowledge about what was going on overseas, he said. His frustration mounted when students created more of an uproar over changes to an online social network than they did about the war in Iraq or global warming.

"More college kids are knowledgeable about [the Internet networking service] Facebook than they are about others their age who are fighting and dying in Iraq," said Bazzi, who spent a year patrolling the roads of Iraq to protect military supply trucks from improvised explosive devices and insurgent attacks.

"I would hate to tell those veterans that there are kids your age more concerned about Facebook than they are about you."

Bazzi is one of many soldiers who are fighting and even dying to instill democracy in the Middle East, only to come home to find that an overwhelming number of their peers don't exercise their right to vote.

In the last midterm election, 22 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the 2004 presidential elections, voter turnout for this age group was 47 percent.

"People should keep in mind that it would be disrespectful to their service men and women to not participate in government," said Bazzi, a Lebanese-American who was also one of three National Guardsmen featured in the award-winning documentary "The War Tapes."

"Regardless of your political affiliation, you should go out and vote so leaders know what their public wants."

But for Scott Erwin, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford who traveled to Iraq in 2003 with the Department of Defense to teach University of Baghdad students about democracy, a representative government is not just about voting.

"What's far more important are the responsibilities associated with democracy, including civic participation, development of a civic society and being informed about issues," Erwin said. "I hesitate to say that [U.S.] students are apathetic. If you look at students today, they are heavily involved in the fabric of our society."

In fact, many student leaders across the country have demonstrated that there is more to be said about taking action in government and society than just voting.

Students have organized at the university and national level to bring energy independence and green building to their campuses, as well as volunteer to rebuild areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Yet, after working with Iraqi students, Erwin observed that American youth sometimes "take their freedoms for granted."

"[Iraqi] students risked their lives and livelihoods to engage in debate once a week," Erwin said.

Erwin was shot four times and lost two Iraqi friends after insurgents attacked his car in Baghdad while returning from teaching.

"People in my generation take for granted the freedoms we've been afforded, and that's certainly not the case with Iraqi students," he said.

Profile of a Generation

There are 27 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States, and a new study from Harvard finds that their midterm election turnout could be historic. Their main issue of concern: Iraq.

Most said they believe things in the nation are on the wrong track, with 42 percent citing the war in Iraq, terrorism and national security as the most important issues facing the country.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 were a defining point for this generation, prompting more political activism. Yet, the Harvard study finds that "the trust that young people developed in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 in the government, elected officials, political institutions and the system, has seemed to dissipate."

Instead, the vast majority believe that change can be met through community volunteerism.

"Eventually I do want to help the country through direct political changes but, at this point in my life, I think I can make the biggest difference through hands-on work," Marina Fisher, a Harvard undergrad, told the survey group.

Michael Ratliff, senior vice president of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and a former director of Naval Intelligence, said that students and young people are disengaged in citizenship because the education system has failed to teach them about American history, economics and government.

"The main reason why our young people are not voting is because they don't know enough about our history or constitutions," said Ratliff, who directed a joint study between the ISI and the University of Connecticut called "the Coming Crisis in Citizenship."

The three-year study, conducted at 50 schools, found that college seniors scored an average of 53 percent on a test about American history, political science and economics.

"There's reason to believe that maybe the strongest factor in students being less engaged is that they don't know enough about the practice of democracy," said Ratliff, who advocates universities take a stronger role in preparing students to be responsible citizens. "If people don't know, they're more likely to be indifferent. And ignorance and indifference are the enemies of democracy."

A Nation's Future

Historically, men and women between 18- to 24-years-old register and vote at lower levels than any other age group.

About a third of these young people surveyed in the Harvard study said they plan to vote this midterm election. As analysts predict tight races for the House and Senate, their votes could be pivotal in making change.

The effect that ordinary people have on their government is a reality that Bazzi knows well.

Finishing his last semester at New Hampshire with an undergraduate degree in psychology, he's set to be deployed to Afghanistan in two months.

"At the end of the day, soldiers are at the command of our commander in chief, and the government," Bazzi said. "We all serve our country and have an unwavering commitment. Because I am a soldier, you are at the whim of your government and their policies. So you pay attention."