Our Young People Can’t Bail on This Election

I’m not a pollster, but those who are say many millennials won’t be voting this year. And that’s a serious problem.

We as parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents need to do a better job of talking to our young people about the election and encourage them not to bail. After all, this election may well impact their lives more than it will ours.

Related: The Beauty Queen Moms Who Back Trump

Most of them won’t listen to the media or even the candidates because they are sick of the politicking and discussions about everything but policy and plans.

We must help move them past personality politics and do some serious teaching about the major differences between the Republican and Democratic parties to educate them about who (the government or people) should have power and when. Even young children in middle school need to understand the major differences between the parties because in eight years — they’ll be voting. So we must dive in and teach them.

While the first Trump-Clinton debate attracted millions of viewers in part because of its entertainment quality, we must remember this is not just a race between two individuals, but two parties. And those parties are deeply influenced by the vice president as well as the president after the election. So responsible voters need to tune in to the vice presidential debates on Tuesday night.

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While we’ve become absorbed in the “she’s/he’s worse than I am” campaign of personalities, we need to remember we ultimately vote for the party platform. Hillary Clinton represents a left-wing philosophy of the Democratic Party, as does her VP pick, Tim Kaine. If Hillary is elected and can’t perform her presidential duties, you and I and our children are left with Tim Kaine.

And we need to know how he would lead. As the running mate of a candidate who believes in socialized medicine, liberalizing abortion, broadening government programs that will drive us into bankruptcy, you and I need to know how Kaine stands on these issues. After all, these will have a greater impact on our kids than they will on us.

We also need to know more about Mike Pence. Because Trump steals the spotlight, the vice presidential candidate has been hiding in the shadows. Tonight, Pence will come out from behind Trump and stand off against Kaine. My hope during the debate is that the stark differences between the Democratic and Republican Party platforms will become crystal clear.

Young people need to know the defining differences between the two parties and I’m not convinced they know. With Trump’s and Clinton’s personalities so far dominating the campaigns, young voters can’t see through the personal fighting to the real issues at hand. That’s why tonight may be very important.

Related: Trump, the Pro-Parent Candidate

This election will be one of the most significant of  this century. We have enormous moral, economic, political and religious issues at stake. Clinton will help our country collapse economically by spending the country into the ground, crushing the already struggling medical system, increasing abortions, promoting sexual exploitation of children, and leaving the country like France — in a religious vacuum.

You and I need to know if Kaine would advocate the same. So please plan to watch. And make sure that your kids are watching too — so that you can have discussions afterward that go deeper than which candidate tells the most lies.

Dr. Meg Meeker has practiced pediatrics and adolescent medicine for 30 years. She is the author of the online course, “The 12 Principles of Raising Great Kids,” which is part of The Strong Parent Project.