Apathy and Democracy; Not One and the Same

With the recent impeachment of former President Park Geun Hye and the election of Moon Jae In in South Korea, great strides have been made with regards to politics in South Korea. Additionally, even more change is bound to occur in the political and social sphere of South Korea. The main catalyst for such great change has been due to the success of the nonviolent protests occurring throughout the nation sparked by the younger generation of South Korea. In fact, the recently elected President, Moon Jae In, is a former human rights attorney and a student activist, exciting the younger generation and their activist tendencies. Looking into the near future, South Korea may be making more social progress as a country than the United States may be.

The newly elected President Moon Jae In is a liberal, bringing an end to the very long conservative rule in comparison to the United States, where a Republican President has taken office. Our current President, unlike popular favor, has enacted many heinous bills, enraging the citizens he swore to protect and serve. He continues to lose the trust of the American citizens, particularly the minority groups and women. Although Trump’s actions are controversial, the bigger problem is that half of America simply does not care about the future of this nation. There have been a myriad of resistant marches to show support for those communities that feel unsafe after Trump’s election, but unlike South Korea, they do not seem as effective.

It seems as though the only people who care about Trump’s actions are those who are directly and negatively affected or advocates of those affected. However, there are those who are politically active but are active based on their blind ignorance of the impact their actions entail. These political activists seem to be unaware of the repercussions until it hits closer to home and they are individually or collectively affected. Either way, being politically active matters in this country because everyone has a voice that needs to be heard. Preferably, the right voice should be heard but that is not up to me, that is up to the people to speak up. What affects us now affects the future generations and those who choose to remain apathetic should stop, take a look around, and start caring.

This is not an article to create division between conservatives and liberals, nor is this about the different beliefs and ideals they hold. This is about how major change can be made through a collective effort. This is about the strength our younger generation has to bring about great change in the United States. Learning a lesson from South Korea and the leaps and bounds they have reached through their resist marches and protests, the younger generation here in the United States can do the same.