Politics As Usual Turns Off Our Young Leaders

THEY'RE the best and the brightest. They are deeply connected politically but deeply cynical about politics. They will, quite possibly, be among the most influential people of the next generation. But they say they won't soil themselves with elective office. As a group, the dozen young adults who gathered one blustery January morning at a suburban Maryland conference center are an inspiration. One was the son of immigrants, a medical student who volunteers at a clinic for the uninsured. Another, a Native-American woman who works to preserve ancient religious sites from development. And another, a college freshman who helped get local legislation passed to ban self-service tobacco displays in neighborhood stores. They came as members of the youth council of the Partnership for Trust in Government, a project of the Council for Excellence in Government. Here were a dozen movers and shakers - proven leaders, bright with promise, hand-picked by corporate and non-profit sponsors. They have witnessed, in two quick years, seismic events of the sort that shape political generations: the Sept. 11 terror attack and the 2000 presidential election imbroglio. The idea of the focus group, which I attended, was to see how these quakes shook politically active youth. Results are to be released today. These youth do not have the clarity of the flags still affixed to so many rear bumpers. They like seeing red, white and blue - but abhor the idea of patriotism as a choice in black and white. There was, among them, discomfort about the aftermath of Sept. 11. They do not fear for their safety. They fear for the national purpose. In the fallout of the terror attack, said Jeffrey Huo, a University of Michigan medical student, "many of the big, underlying problems have been swept under the rug." These, he said, are "collapsing social and medical services." This generation has had Arab-American students as roommates; they wonder about their fate. They have, within them, a vague concern about where the country is heading, now that the Taliban has been ousted and the airport-security people make you take off your shoes. "I'm nervous we're handing our leaders and the government a blank check," said Maeve Pinto, a George Washington University freshman whose participation was sponsored by the Girl Scouts of the USA. "I don't know where this is all going or why." Trust in government, which soared in polls taken since Sept. 11, has not seeped into this group's psyche. Only one of the dozen, Matthew Hannigan, sensed positive change. "Government service is no longer the butt of jokes for people seeking out jobs," said Hannigan, a graduate student who has been a Capitol Hill intern and now works for a county government in suburban Pittsburgh. Here is what the others said, when asked what first came to mind when they heard the word government: "Fiasco" ... "Power, controlling, money. Old white men" ... "A necessary evil" ... "To get to the national level, you need to have money and connections." Election 2000, not September 2001, had a deeper impact on their political outlook. Pinto, who had wanted to run for office, changed her mind because of the Florida fracas. "It was kind of discouraging, as somebody who would like to become a public official through merit, [to] see the president get there through money and connections." Money and connections. You can follow them to the heart of what the nation's political talent pool thinks about politics. They are contemptuous of politicians and the political process. They see a Congress driven by a desire to bestow favors on corporate benefactors. They see a political system that rewards the worst and discourages the best. And why wouldn't they? Congress reluctantly passed campain finance reform, but its members rush now to fill their accounts with soft money before the new law takes effect. The Enron scandal of corporate greed and political influence-pedaling has disappeared from the headlines. Gone with it are prospects for real change. Here are the people who would serve, if asked. They already do. Then we do them a disservice. We want them to build shelter for the homeless, to treat the uninsured, to knock on doors and get people to vote. And they do. In return, we give them a political system that dishonors their service by making it seem their advancement within it will make them corrupt. Sept. 11 didn't change their view of politics and government. Because we, the adults, did not demand much change from our politics and government.