University of Washington professor Lance Bennett sees the challenge for civics education this way: You have to keep a realistic focus on "dutiful citizen" initiatives, while appealing to the changing civic concerns of younger "actualized citizens," who may view things through a personal lens.
So, as a baby boomer who has shouldered responsibilities for the generations above and below me, I was intrigued by the premise of the Generations Initiative, a five-year effort to develop a multi-generational response to the demographic shifts underway in the U.S. The Initiative, led by Director Hilary Pennington, was presented to a multi-age, diverse group of about 60 Seattle-area community and civic leaders at a conference in early May. Dr. Manuel Pastor, director of the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), shared some national demographic trends, as well as Seattle-specific data.
Nationally, said Dr. Pastor:
- By 2050, over 100 million Americans will be over age 65.
- By 2040, the majority of Americans will be people of color.
- The net worth of youth has decreased by 53 percent since 1984, yet the “dependency ratio is rising. Workers will need to work more to support older and younger family members."
At the local level:
- The Seattle area is more diverse than the rest of the U.S. We are retaining our African American population. At the same time, both our Asian and Latino populations are growing. This makes us unique and puts a premium on coalition politics.
- The states with greater youth/race disparities are the states that spend less on education.
- Seattle-area “imports” are better educated than “home-grown” residents, and are doing better economically. Education is crucial for home-grown residents to be able to take advantage of economic opportunities here.
Changing demographics have strained economic and social welfare programs, such as Medicare, and placed renewed emphasis on providing equal access to education opportunities. For individuals and families, these shifting demographics will require significant strategic planning for an unfamiliar future. This is a game-changer in terms of understanding the future of representational governance, and it begs the question: What do we want our national priorities to be?
When I came of voting age, my sometimes-apathetic peers and I were often overshadowed by the anti-war and civil rights activists who preceded us. Still, we felt compelled to vote.
Yet a spring 2013 Harvard survey of voters under 30 found that many are disillusioned with government and major institutions (the military is an exception). A rise in vitriolic partisan politics and the struggling economy are partly to blame.
