It's College... Do You Know Who Your Kids Are Voting For?

The Washington Post reported today on a study that purports to show that the faux news program The Daily Show is causing young voters to abstain from voting. According to the story, the study analyzed the students’ attitudes towards politics, President Bush and John Kerry and noted that students who watched The Daily Show had a markedly decreased opinion of all three when compared to those who watched the CBS Evening News.

So, let me get this straight – the population that you have already labeled as apathetic and uninterested in politics self-reports that after watching The Daily Show they have an even gloomier view of the American political stage and the knee-jerk reaction is that The Daily Show has made them less likely to vote? Over this, I am become skeptical.

How far we have come from the 2000 and 2004 elections when the youth vote was hailed (or, you know, not depending on where you got your news) as a major electoral force. Suddenly, the under-30 crowd is labeled as being right back to where it was before: lazy, self-involved, and not to be counted on to make a difference. I don’t know exactly why this crowd gets saddled with these traits. The majority of the youth that I know are quite involved, albeit not necessarily in politics.

Still, the chasm between Apathetic Youth and Participating Member of Society grows despite all evidence to the contrary. Observe the vast numbers of Alternative Spring Break trips every year for one. Go to your local college or university and ask if they have a student volunteer corps of some kind. I promise you, you will find one. Even the much-maligned Greek system, keg parties and hazing rituals aside, tend to be some of the largest philanthropy organizations in any given college town. The youth are constantly giving, whether it is of the very little amount of expendable income that they actually have or of their time to worthy causes.

I admit that I have not read the study in question, so it is entirely possible that I’m missing some key element of the story here, but it hardly seems sensible to me to claim that because one’s views of political candidates are less than robust that it means that a television show has caused a decrease in youth voting. The lack of consideration for youth voting patterns in general seems to be at least one missing element here, although potentially not the most significant.

If the youth of today are watching The Daily Show and it is affecting their view of politics, perhaps politics should consider how ludicrous it is being. In the midst of corruption scandals, blatant political maneuvering that has little actual benefits, and worsening news from the frontlines, surely we can’t lay the blame on Comedy Central. I assure you, Jon Stewart is not poisoning America.

Don’t blame the mirror for the displeasing reflection.