The below is a real letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. The writer urges her fellow young people to get off their butts and vote, because “Yes, the people who take arthritis meds and think that gardening is a snazzy hobby are the ones who make your decisions.”
As it happens, I’m probably on track for arthritis meds in a few years, as I’m starting to notice mild pains in my fingers, and my shoulders generally ache all the time. And this year I got into growing vegetables, in a minor way. And in a few days, I stop being “fortysomething.”
“I am old, I am old, I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.”
Bonnie Solberg has a point though: young adults should vote and be involved, because if the infrastructure and educational support isn’t there for them to build lives and careers, no amount of Social Security and Medicare will ensure a comfortable old age for them.
Salt Lake Tribune – Young people unite!
This is for all you 18- to 20-somethings. We need to be active voters. We need to get off our butts and outrun our grandparents to the voting booths.
Here’s the truth: Old people control everything. Yes, the people who take arthritis meds and think that gardening is a snazzy hobby are the ones who make your decisions.
It’s no secret how they do this. Grandpa and his cronies vote. That means the senior group’s opinions are taken more seriously by those in office. That’s the way it works. People who vote decide who gets in office, whether some laws are passed and how tax dollars are spent.
If we make the decision to vote then our opinions will also be heard. The laws will be more angled toward our needs and interests, like minimum wage instead of Medicare. Also, the bookoo (sic) federal and state tax dollars that are ripped out of our paychecks will be spent on parks and recreation centers, upkeep of state colleges and universities and providing scholarships.
Voting is not hard. It does not take much time. By being a registered and active voter, you are contributing not only to your own interests, but helping to make this country what it should be, a country of the people, whatever their age. Bonnie Soelberg
Age 20
Ephraim
