As November approaches, it is impossible to avoid the reality that the elections will soon be upon us. As citizens of a free county, it is important that we take some time to educate ourselves about the various issues and policies that all of the candidates are supporting. Then we need to take that knowledge and use it to vote for the candidates that we agree with. Now, I am not going to force my opinions on anyone nor will I talk about any political issues at hand. I simply want to encourage everyone to exercise their right and privilege to vote in the upcoming election.
You may be asking yourself why I would be talking about elections when I am a youth coordinator whose primary focus is kids who aren’t even old enough to vote. The answer is rather simple: I teach youth that they have the power of voice and choice. Whether those youth exercise that power in school, during an extra-curricular activity, or at home, they are building upon their skills for the future. Eventually they will be old enough to vote and they should understand their abilities to choose who they want as their president or other government officials.
As I think about the history of the 4-H program, I realize that many things have changed since it started in 1902. Back then, girls were in cooking clubs and boys were in corn clubs. Now, boys and girls are mixed together in clubs and the members can learn about anything that interests them. Back in 1902, the youth didn’t have much voice or choice in what they learned while in their 4-H clubs. Now, we encourage our youth to practice and build upon those skills so they will make strong adults. However, when you think of the 4-H program and its inception, you never think about all of the other rights we have today that people didn’t have back then.
In 1902 when 4-H was established, voting in an election was not a right that everyone had. Instead, only white males over the age of 21 were allowed to select governmental leaders during an election. It wasn’t until 1920 that women received the right to vote and it wasn’t obtained very easily. Many women had to find their strength and use their voice in order to get the message across to the elected officials. Although it was legal for African Americans to vote in the 1860’s, many obstacles prevented them from exercising that right. In the 1960’s, African Americans were legally allowed to participate in the voting process. Nearly 100 years passed with many people using their voices before the first African American was allowed to cast a ballot in the election. And finally, it wasn’t until 1971 when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. This was done because many young men were being drafted to go fight a war without having the opportunity to voice their opinions during an election. Not only has 4-H changed a lot, but the election system has changed as well during the past century.
After realizing just how much power voice has in influencing our history, it is no surprise that we want our youth to develop that skill. I feel that voice and choice are privileges that many of us take for granted today. Just take a look at the history books our youth are reading in school and you will see many stories about how people fought so hard just to have those rights. We need to teach our youth the importance of these rights and help educate them so that they can make the right decisions in the future when it is their time to go into the voting booths and cast their ballots for an election. Just because they may not be old enough to vote in this election doesn’t mean that they should be learning more about the process, the candidates, and the history behind these traditions. After all, today’s youth will be leading our country in the future. Don’t wait to start teaching the youth in your life about the power of voice and choice.
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