A familiar narrative has taken hold in American civic life: young people are disengaged from democracy.
The evidence usually cited is voter turnout. But focusing on that single measure obscures a deeper and more consequential truth. Many young people have not rejected democracy — they have grown skeptical of institutions that appear unable or unwilling to respond to the crises unfolding around them.
Today’s younger residents have come of age watching democratic systems falter in real time. On their phones and in their classrooms, they have witnessed political paralysis in the face of climate change, repeated cycles of violence without resolution, and promises of reform that rarely translate into lasting change. Their distance from formal politics is not rooted in indifference, but in experience…