Can Millennials bring back bipartisanship?

How many of you actually are willing to turn on a 24 hour news channel right now, and keep it on? I'm willing to bet some individuals can't keep the program on for longer than 20 minutes, mainly due to the bashing that is being spewed out of the screen at an almost alarming rate. It's similar to the girl who climbed out of the T.V. set in the horror film The Ring when it comes to the information flowing out of these shows.

I believe that one of the major problems facing America today when it comes to any type of semi-political talk is the extreme polarization that has taken place with the two major parties. It has gone from, "I probably just don't understand their issues, but at least I can respect they care about something I don't agree with" to the extreme opposite of, "Are you with me? Because if you aren't, you are my enemy and there is no room for common ground anymore." As
frustrating as this is for me, I'm not alone with how I feel. According to data from voteview.com, the average citizen is seeing this and realizes that we are trending towards opposite ends of the spectrum. Check out the graph below!

The one positive is that our age group, the millennials, get an amazing opportunity to step in and right the ship that is sailing towards the political iceberg. Don't believe me? Below are a few examples of times that people have been able to come together despite differences. 

1. The creation of the League of Nations

Back in 1945, the United Nations was formed. The goal was to create world peace and promote international cooperation. Today there are 193 different members who aim to solve humanitarian problems, international peace, and protect the environment.

2. Relief after Tsunami in SE Asia

In 2004, when Asia was nailed by a 9.0 earthquake and then a tsunami, the world responded. Over 280,000 people died, but the aftermath of what was left was like picking up puzzle pieces everywhere. Billions of dollars were raised, and the international community once again stepped up. I had a buddy who traveled there to help and still talks about how amazing it was to work with individuals from around the world repairing homes.

3. The Olympics

A lot of people can think of images that the Olympics bring to their mind, but they don't realize what the Olympics really stand for. It's a time for nations to put their differences aside and compete in athletic events in a friendly manner. The fact that this still happens every four years should give you some type of hope.

So what can we do? Well the good news is that we have plenty of options.

Run For America-Run For America will help young individuals get involved. Their main mission, right from their website is, "Over the next decade, Run For America will inspire, recruit, and equip a new generation of candidates, supporters, voters, and donors to transform the operating system of American politics".

Millennial Action Project-Millennial Action Project has multiple sub-projects that they're working on, but the one that sticks out is the Millennial Policy Project. They describe this project as, "The Millennial Policy Project synthesizes nonpartisan policy analysis on strategic Millennial issues and organizes forums for policymakers to find post-partisan areas of common ground. Through white papers, op-eds, think tank partnerships, and more, these ideas contribute thought leadership to the national narrative of political cooperation."

Action For America-This last one I am just starting to dig into. For me, Action For America speaks to my soul. Their vision: "We believe in order to change the culture of politics you must change the leaders, the network of supporters and the incentives of the system simultaneously." Their mission: "Action for America is a non-partisan political advocacy group with a mission to re-imagine politics and reinvigorate government." Their whole MO is why I started this blog. Time to get locked in and fired up to make some political change for our generation! Future posts coming up on specific campaign positions and some tips and tricks to being effective in those positions. Any questions or comments, feel free to ask away!

Cheers, 

Brandon