Power Lines, by Jason Carter: on Government Reform

Jason Carter: Americans don't vote because we take democracy for granted

Most people wanted to know how we did things in the greatest country on Earth. "Is there apartheid in America?" "No," I said quickly. "There is no apartheid." "So, then black people and white people just live together?" "Well, not exactly." "Do black people live in locations?" "No," I answered. "They live right in the center of town." I marveled at my answer and wondered if that makes some sort of difference. "Do black Americans speak many, many languages?" "No," I said, "not like South Africa. Most speak only English." "It must be so easy for black people and white people to communicate!"

Jason Carter: Young don't vote because those issues don't affect them

We discussed what we might say onstage. I knew that he was going to speak about the widening global gap between the rich and poor, how stingy America is in giving foreign aid, [especially to] Africa. I would talk about being young, a member of my generation. I tried to explain why we often don't vote or seem to care about world issues. I told him we were alienated from the world's debate over "major issues" because we did not see how those issues affected us. We could not muster the energy to march for small changes in the tax laws on international capital mobility. We needed some new rallying cries, something to latch onto as a cause.

Jason Carter: Make election day a national holiday to celebrate democracy

I had seen elections in 5 countries. Without a doubt, the ones in the US are the least joyous. I talked to one girl my age who was voting for the first time. She said she had practiced making X's all morning so that her first ballot would be perfect. The community was jubilant, and I went home at the end of the day excited and full of hope. I wrote an e-mail to everyone I knew saying that Election Day should be a national holiday and a celebration of democracy at home in the US.