As we know, one main goal of the Bush administration's foreign policy is to "spread democracy" throughout the world. In order to protect our freedoms at home, the argument goes, we must help free other countries from authoritarian or tyrannical governments. If we succeed (via force or "diplomacy"), we must also shepherd these countries through the how-to-run-a-democracy learning process, as we're doing right now in Iraq.

Note that we haven't required Iraqi citizens to go through democracy training school before "letting" them run their own country; all the civics courses in the world can't really teach democracy. You have to live it. Thus, you won't find the Iraqi populace sitting in a classroom, studying a textbook and holding mock elections or mock jury trials before being set free as fully fledged citizens of their own country. They're learning by doing, or in this case, by living.

And if Iraqi voter turnout is any indication, they're eager to self-govern. In January 2005, an estimated 60-70% of eligible Iraqi voters cast a ballot in Iraq, even though they risked being blown to smithereens (and some were). A high percentage of expatriates also voted.

Hey, Aren't We Supposed To Set the Standard?

Contrast that with our own, well-established democracy (representative republic, actually, but let's not quibble), which we Americans tout as the example Iraq and other countries should emulate. Only 53% of eligible Americans voted in the 2004 elections. Our youngest voters voted least, with 51% going to the polls. That number represents a dramatic increase over the previous presidential election, but it's still low, especially when you consider we're threatened only by annoying exit pollers.

In general, half of eligible Americans don't vote. Why? Apathy certainly plays a part. Many Americans feel as if their vote won't change a thing. They're jaded about the machine that our government has become.

But that explains some of the older voters. But what about our youngest voters, the newly emancipated young adults, who, much like the Iraqi citizenry, are tasting the democratic process for the first time? Why don't they vote in droves when they finally have a say in how they're governed?

Not Rocking the Vote

For one, young people don't see how the hotly debated issues relate to their own lives. How many 20-year-olds think about social security, never mind understand it?