Read my latest flash, Venison, at 52|250.

A New York Times article notes that a recent poll shows that Americans aged 17-29 are leaning left, and while I suppose I should be gratified to read that my age group is moving in the direction of my own political beliefs, there are enough specifics in the article to make me come to the cynical conclusion that the article should really be about how young Americans remain easily swayed and continue to have a shallow understanding of politics (though I will grant you that a shallow understanding is probably better than none).

The article starts out by saying that this demographic is more likely than the public as a whole to support “a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage”. And yet, later in the article, we learn that “[t]hey hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans”. Now, how many of the Democrats running for their party’s nomination have come out in favor of these things? Certainly not the ones young Americans know much about: “they appeared to be really familiar with only two of the candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton”.

So yes, maybe US citizens between the ages of 17 and 29 have some vaguely progressive ideals, but they don’t even educate themselves enough to have any clue about how to work towards them. Instead, they swallow the mainstream media portrayals of the political situation whole. They don’t seek out candidates who might better fulfill their ideals, because they accept that the race in the Democratic primary is between Obama and Clinton. They have to have a much higher opinion of Democrats than of Republicans, because they believe that there is no other choice.

The energy of youth, then, gets wasted pushing for a choice that doesn’t make a difference instead of trying to redefine the options. And I can’t help but wonder if this connects with another popular New York Times stories about women staying tied to their mothers through their 20s and 30s.  Don’t get me wrong.  Familial closeness can be a positive force, but that’s difference from dependence.  (I’m also not talking about economic dependence, though in some cases, that can be intertwined with other types. ) You can’t change the world if you can’t even stand on your own two feet, afterall.  And if you never learn to think for yourself and to handle your emotions on your own, how can you learn to critically consider what’s presented in the media?